#30 Bryan McArdle

What will McArdle do for an encore in 2016? For those of you who are not familiar with McArdle's 2015 campaign, let me sum it up for you with one sentence. When #30 stepped foot on the mound, whether he was starting or relieving, the Blue Jays did not lose. 10 appearances for McArdle, 8 starts, 9 personal wins, and 10 team victories. Yeah, I'll get into his impact offensively and defensively, but I cannot say enough about his pitching.

Let's start with offense, since there isn't all that much to talk about. McArdle finished with a .208 batting average (5-24) and a .240 on base percentage. He managed to go 1/1 stealing bases and had one extra base hit to add to his resume. Head coach Joe Wanderlingh likes to DH for the starting pitcher, so McArdle did not see any at bats when he was on the bump. However, he did his at bats when he was not pitching, most often playing left field. McArdle certainly held his own in the field, considering he never committed a single error all season, one of only three players on the team to not commit any errors.

Now, let's dive into his pitching and that 9-0 record. McArdle threw 49 innings, good for second best on the team. In those 49 innings pitched, he gave up TWO earned runs. Let me say that again... In those 49 innings pitched, he gave up TWO earned runs. Are you kidding me? An ERA of 0.28? That is beyond unheard of. He was most effective in the stretch, considering his WHIP was exactly 1, meaning he would allow a baserunner an inning. He had 35 hits allowed and 14 walks, while striking out 41. Seven runs total winded up crossing the plate against him, but five of them were unearned. The defense wasn't at its best when McArdle took the hill, as the five unearned runs charged to him were the most on the team. Moser, the other ace on the Jays who threw 6 1/3 more innings than McArdle, was only charged with one unearned run in 2015. One thing to make McArdle even better in 2016 is to have a stronger defense around him.

There is not much room for improvement for McArdle in 2016, and having Moser on the top of his game as well makes McArdle that much stronger. The two of them battling it out for being named the true #1 on the team brings out the best in both of them. It will interesting to see if either one of them can distance himself away from the other, and stand alone as the top ace of the defending champs.