Blue Jays Player Profile: J.A. Happ

The Blue Jays finish April with a 11-14 record. Not exactly the start they were hoping for, but this under .500 performance cannot fall on the shoulders of the starting rotation. They have done an exceptional job of giving their team a fighting chance on getting a win each and every night. The bullpen and high number of strikeouts are what have been the downfall to start the year.

One starter, J.A. Happ is having a great start to his season and has carried over his success with the Pirates last season to this one. In five starts he has a 3-0 record and twenty strikeouts over 32.2 innings pitched. Throw in a 2.76 ERA and the Blue Jays have another great guy on the mound, and hopefully this remains so for the next three seasons.

Drafted 92nd overall by the Phillies in 2004 he was expected to perform at a high level in the majors. His rookie season came in 2009 where he went 12-4 with three complete games and two shutouts. He pitched 166 innings that year with 119 K’s. Include a 2.93 ERA to the mix and he went home with GIBBY Rookie of the Year along with Players’ Choice Outstanding Rookie honours.

Despite an amazing rookie campaign the Phillies traded Happ to the Astros for a proven veteran in Roy Oswalt. He has played for five teams over his MLB career and been traded four times.

This is his second stint with Toronto and it looks to be starting out much better than the first. Before his trade to Seattle, in which the Jays acquired outfielder Michael Saunders, he pitched for two seasons in the blue and white. Over that time, he compiled a 16-18 record with a 4.39 ERA. Not exactly what you want from a guy in the middle of your rotation. He did throw 250.2 innings over those two years with 210 strikeouts however, which would make him a desirable pitcher to have on any team.

Fast forward a little to 2015 and he is traded once more to the Pirates and that is where he takes off. In eleven starts with the Pirates he went 7-2, had a 1.85 ERA, stuck out 69 batters over 63.1 innings, and only walked thirteen. This late season success had him become one of the more desirable pitching free agents on the market. One year does not solidify you as a star, but it surely puts teams on notice.

When the Blue Jays first signed him to a three-year contract this past off-season I know it was not something Jays fans were overly thrilled about. He struggled with the Jays the first time around, but after his performance in April I’m sure Jays fans are more and more confident with each passing start that he makes.

His career numbers will never jump off the page, but he has shown he can be a competent middle of the rotation arm. He has gone 65-61 with a 4.09 ERA and 1045.1 innings over his career and, nearing this season’s end, will likely reach a career milestone of 1000 strikeouts, currently sitting on 879.

J.A. Happ is back in Toronto and if he builds on this early season success he will make Blue Jays fans Happy all the way through September and beyond.

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