Brett Cecil Workload

The Most Heavily Used Blue Jay Pitchers in the PITCHf/x Era

Workload isn’t as easily defined as the number of games, innings, or pitches a pitcher throws. It is an interaction of all of these things – and to summarize them all, I came up with the metric “Fatigue Units”. Well, I came up with the Metric… Jenn Smith came up with the name. In the PitchFX era, we can calculate Fatigue Units by querying databases and factoring in velocity, days of rest, pitch counts, and pace between pitches. Historically, who had the highest fatigue unit workloads for the Toronto Blue Jays?

Single Season Workloads

Rank Fatigue Units Season Pitcher Inning Apperances Pitches 4 + Days Rest 1 – 3 Days Rest 0 Days Rest
1 28.75 2008 A.J. Burnett 230 3540 31 4 0
2 27.01 2008 Roy Halladay 250 3413 32 2 0
3 25.7 2011 Ricky Romero 233 3345 32 0 0
4 25.25 2016 Roberto Osuna 92 1255 11 43 25
5 25.09 2009 Roy Halladay 239 3386 32 0 0
6 24.42 2016 Marcus Stroman 224 3277 34 0 0
7 23.85 2010 Ricky Romero 215 3209 32 0 0
8 23.31 2016 Aaron Sanchez 207 3106 32 0 0
9 22.63 2015 Roberto Osuna 94 1198 10 51 14
10 22.47 2012 Henderson Alvarez 195 2857 31 0 0
11 22.45 2012 Ricky Romero 193 3060 32 0 0
12 22.4 2011 Brandon Morrow 188 3108 30 0 0
13 22.39 2016 J.A. Happ 218 3210 34 0 0
14 22.3 2013 Esmil Rogers 151 2258 22 16 6
15 22.01 2009 Brandon League 88 1109 8 45 14
16 21.89 2015 Liam Hendriks 89 1101 11 39 11
17 21.53 2009 Jesse Carlson 91 1133 10 45 18
18 21.53 2013 Mark Buehrle 212 3299 33 0 0
19 21.51 2014 Aaron Loup 96 1084 7 50 14
20 21.47 2009 Ricky Romero 185 2979 29 0 0
21 21.42 2013 R.A. Dickey 231 3503 34 0 0
22 21.14 2015 R.A. Dickey 227 3387 34 1 0
23 21.13 2014 Drew Hutchison 193 3051 32 0 0
24 21.01 2013 Aaron Loup 93 1037 6 49 9
25 20.96 2014 R.A. Dickey 229 3508 34 0 0
26 20.79 2010 Kevin Gregg 67 1079 10 37 16
27 20.6 2014 Mark Buehrle 212 3082 32 0 0
28 20.56 2015 Marco Estrada 211 3200 34 3 0
29 20.25 2016 Joe Biagini 94 1211 13 42 11
30 20.14 2009 Brian Tallet 171 2661 26 11 0

It should surprise no one to see Roy Halladay’s name appear twice in the top 5 on this list – even though he was only with the Jays for two years during this time period. He was the go-to guy. What is slightly surprising is not seeing him in the #1 Spot.

#1 – 2008 – AJ Burnett, #2 – 2008 – Roy Halladay

AJ Burnett and Roy Halladay had absolutely amazing 2008’s, with both pitchers in hot pursuit of 20 wins all season long. How didn’t this team do better?! Oh right…one 20 home run hitter. Joe Inglett playing in over 100 games… I’ll just leave it there. AJ appeared in 230 innings, completing 221.1 innings, and throwing a whopping 3540 pitches in 35 games (34 starts). While Doc appeared in one fewer game, he appeared in 20 more innings than Burnett that season. The difference in workload stems mostly from how AJ got hitters out – striking out 231 hitters, and walking 81 batters. Halladay only struck out 206 while walking 39. Take a look at those numbers again; those are insane.

#3 – 2011 – Ricky Romero

*** Cut to Mike clutching his Ricky Romero jersey in his basement while a single tear rolls down his cheek ***

Oh, what might have been for Ricky Romero. His knees betrayed him and his career plummeted shortly after. But in 2011, he was a workhorse – and the Jays rotation looked primed for the future. Romero appeared in 233 innings, completing a total of 225 that season, while throwing 3345 pitches.

#4 – 2016 – Roberto Osuna

This is where things start to get interesting on the workload list. Osuna didn’t appear in as many innings as the guys up above, but it was the fact he appeared on back to back days 25 times that really drove his workload up. 25 times…the next closest for the Blue Jays in this time period is 19. The trips to the post season contributed to this number, undoubtedly, but Osuna’s isolation in a bullpen that struggled to get hitters out has left him on an island in Blue Jay land. The Jays do need to get a few more reliable arms to reduce Roberto’s huge workloads, year after year.

#8 – 2016 – Aaron Sanchez

This was the year where Sanchez was the pinnacle of controversy in the Toronto market – should he move to the bullpen? Should he be shut down for the season? In the end, neither of these actions happened and Sanchez pitched his way to an ERA title and the playoffs. Now, 2017 was a different story… Sanchez missed the vast majority of the year with various finger and blister issues. Keep in mind, high FUs are tied to an increase in Tommy John Surgery in subsequent seasons – not blisters. Hopefully 2017 was a blip on the radar of a successful career.

Pitch Tracking Era Workload Leaders

Rank FUs Name Starts Inning Appearances Pitches 4 + Days Rest 1 – 3 Days Rest 0 Days Rest Seasons
1 115.95 Brett Cecil 74 770 10521 106 184 48 8
2 94.61 Ricky Romero 127 834 12755 129 0 0 5
3 88.34 Aaron Loup 0 423 4570 43 217 62 6
4 80.97 R.A. Dickey 132 868 13126 131 2 0 4
5 78.6 Casey Janssen 5 377 5253 56 195 49 6
6 72.52 J.A. Happ 109 682 10718 113 4 0 5
7 68.91 Jason Frasor 0 327 4457 42 188 43 5
8 66.37 Brandon Morrow 93 563 9114 95 4 1 5
9 64.6 Shawn Camp 1 328 3788 43 155 38 4
10 64.38 Marcus Stroman 94 617 9156 96 4 0 4
11 62.01 Mark Buehrle 97 628 9209 96 1 0 3
12 61.23 Roberto Osuna 0 256 3412 28 137 55 3
13 58.16 Marco Estrada 96 607 9571 99 3 0 3
14 55.45 Aaron Sanchez 51 397 5735 59 41 14 4
15 52.09 Roy Halladay 65 489 6799 64 2 0 2
16 49.01 Scott Downs 0 218 2650 27 106 48 3
17 49.01 Brian Tallet 30 334 4911 52 60 11 4
18 48.48 Drew Hutchison 73 430 6747 75 1 0 4
19 45.74 Jesse Carlson 0 204 2151 20 98 43 3
20 42.96 Steve Delabar 0 181 2592 20 105 18 4
21 40.3 Dustin McGowan 31 272 3639 47 44 11 4
22 37.36 Jesse Litsch 47 326 4626 50 16 2 4
23 35.62 Joe Biagini 18 226 3144 33 62 15 2
24 33.79 Shaun Marcum 56 357 5247 55 1 0 2
25 31.92 Todd Redmond 15 188 2772 37 22 7 3
26 31.8 Brandon League 0 130 1588 13 66 19 2
27 31.3 Ryan Tepera 1 167 2067 24 76 27 3
28 29.97 Henderson Alvarez 41 260 3833 41 0 0 2
29 29.87 Carlos Villanueva 30 246 3741 42 27 2 2
30 29.24 Luis Perez 4 146 1842 20 48 10 3

 #1 – Brett Cecil

The results often fluctuated between great and… not so great, but it’s tough to deny that Brett Cecil was a big part of the Blue Jays pitching staff during his eight years here. Cecil had 74 starts during this time with the Blue Jays and appeared in 770 innings. When he left the rotation for good, he seemed to find more success – including his long scoreless streak during the magical 2015 run.

#3 – Aaron Loup

Much like Squints, Loup has had his ups and down with the Blue Jays – but he has always been just on the cusp of being an excellent reliever. During his six seasons with the Blue Jays, no other pitcher has appeared on back to back days more than Loup – averaging just over 10 per year.

#5 – Casey Janssen

Janssen was the only consistently effective reliever in the Toronto ‘pen before Roberto Osuna came along and made that role cool. Janssen managed to close 90 games for the Jays – even while missing the entire 2008 season with a torn labrum. Thats not an injury that is easy for a pitcher to return from – so the fact he was able to put up these high workloads, be effective, and consistently answer the manager’s call is a true testament to Janssen’s toughness.

#10 – Marcus Stroman

A Blue Jays list just isn’t complete unless you talk about the Stro Show. Marcus is 10th in workload in the era starting in 2008 – also known as “when Stroman was a high school student who didn’t even have a clothing brand.” These numbers are slightly misleading too – sure, he appeared in 4 seasons, but one was the injury shortened ACL year. In those 4 seasons, Stro has played an important role in the Jays post season runs and done this without an injury that would raise any concerns about his durability (the ACL is a fluke). Stroman is a workhorse now and for the Blue Jays future.

Height doesn’t measure heart, but Fatigue Units do measure Workload!

Lead Photo © Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

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