TORONTO — In the fifth most overtaxed bullpen in terms of innings pitched, Sam Gaviglio has thrown the second-most innings (27 2/3) of all major-league relievers thus far this season.

“He's been outstanding,” his manager Charlie Montoyo told Sporting News. “He should have been, in my opinion, the reliever of the month in the American League."

Those honours instead went to Shane Greene of the Detroit Tigers, who has had an outstanding start to the season, but there is a case to be made that, aside from perhaps Eric Sogard, Gaviglio has been the Jays’ most valuable player through the first six weeks of the season.

The 28-year-old right hander from Ashland, Or. has made the transition from starter to reliever seemingly seamless as evidenced by all statistical indicators. His K/9 rate (9.43) and LOB percentage (90.3 percent) are both up while his BB/9 (0.98), HR/9 (1.30), BABIP (.169), ERA (1.95) and WHIP (0.65) are all well below his 2018 values.

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Montoyo has been impressed. “He's throwing all his pitches for strikes, pitching in and out and keeping hitters off balance with his cutter and slider. He's been really good.”

A deeper dive into MLB’s Statcast data sheds more light on the type of statistical season Gaviglio is putting together thus far. He ranks in the top six percent or better among all MLB pitchers in xBA (.171), wOBA (.218), xwOBA (.235) and BB% (2.9).

His dominance out of the bullpen is a surprise given his ERA of 5.31 with a BABIP of .313 and 2.77 BB/9 over 123.2 innings of work in 2018. Gaviglio, whose reserved nature manifests in him being a man of few words, credits consistency carried forward from spring training for his good start to the season. “Mechanics have been feeling good all spring and I took it into season,” he explained. “Slider's been sharp and I think it plays well off my fastball.”

Key to Gaviglio’s successful transition from starter to reliever has indeed been the increased use of his slider, which accounts for 43.4% of his pitches thrown. This is in comparison to throwing his slider 28.8 percent in 2018 when he started 24 of the 26 games in which he appeared and 20.7 percent in 2017 when he started in 13 of his 16 games.

“I know I've had success with (the slider) but I think as a starter you have to use your fastball a little bit more, especially when you're facing hitters a few times as opposed to when I'm coming out of the bullpen I might just face them once that night,” Gaviglio told Sporting News. “So, I guess I’m attacking hitters a little bit differently. … I think coming out of the 'pen and also trying to just go after guys and not necessarily think too much.”

Gaviglio says that he is in a better spot mechanically, which he believes has allowed him to throw his slider harder so it plays better off his fastball. He’s has gained two miles per hour on both his slider and his cutter in comparison to the past two seasons,

Blue Jays’ bullpen coach Matt Buschmann believes the increase in velocity is a function of him coming into games from the bullpen and facing hitters less while also exhibiting confidence in a pitch that hitters have yet to prove they can hit. The result? Opponents’ hard-hit percentage has dropped from 40.1 percent last season to 30.4 percent this season, per Statcast.

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Buschmann credits Gaviglio’s cerebral nature as a key factor in him being able to take a big step forward this season.

“He's really smart, he's intelligent,” Buschmann told Sporting News. “I think he did learn a lot from what happened last year, seeing both the bullpen and starter roles. There hasn't been many adjustments, I think he's just learned how to get big-league hitters out. He understands what works and any lesson he learns on the mound he always takes into the next one.”

Gaviglio has been a starter his entire career but, by all accounts, he has made the transition to his new role as reliever quite smoothly.

“It's actually been a lot easier than I thought,” Gaviglio said with a smile. “I thought when the phone would ring down there, I thought it would be harder for me to get going and get warmed up, but actually that's been a way easier adjustment then I thought it would be.”

Along with the other relievers, Gaviglio readies himself in-game by riding a stationary bike and using bands to warm up and activate his muscles. Nailing down a between-games routine has been somewhat more challenging as he no longer has a set five-day schedule off of which to work.

“I'm limited in the bullpen with my innings. I've always been a starter and having that routine has always been nice. But that's something I've been learning on the fly, and I guess my workouts in the weight room to my running, trying to keep it all on a scheduled day so that way I don't get too far in-between workouts without pitching. So, pretty much every other day I'm doing a workout but the load is a lot smaller than if I were a starter trying to get ready for that fifth day.”

Given the decimated state the Blue Jays’ starting rotation is in, with season-ending ACL surgery for Matt Shoemaker and with Clayton Richard, Ryan Borucki and Clay Buchholz all currently on the injured list, there may be some temptation on the part of the team to transition Gaviglio back to the rotation. The analytics from the first six weeks of the season suggest, however, that he profiles better as a long-reliever rather than a starter.

When asked if he would like to one day transition back to the starting rotation, Gaviglio’s team-first mentality was evident. “I like starting, I think that's something I want eventually to get back to. But, if I'm having success in the 'pen and helping my team then I'm fine with that as well.”