Marco Estrada, starting rotation helping keep Blue Jays afloat

Last year, the Toronto Blue Jays rode a high-octane offence to their first playoff appearance since 1993. This year, that same offence has gone dry for long stretches, leaving the Jays around the .500 mark two months into the season.

But Toronto has been able to stay afloat in the AL East, thanks to a starting rotation that was thought to be a weakness but has turned into a strength.

While youngster Aaron Sanchez has been a pleasant surprise and opening day starter Marcus Stroman has done a nice job following his strong run in last year's playoffs, it's Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ who are most responsible for turning the rotation into one of the better units in the American League.

Estrada in particular has been Toronto's best pitcher this season and may find himself in contention for the Cy Young Award if he keeps it up.

Who needs Price?

Going into last off-season, the big question was whether or not Toronto should pony up the cash to retain ace pitcher David Price. He ended up skipping town for Boston, signing the largest contract ever for a pitcher, worth $217 million US. His departure left Toronto's front office with decisions to make on how to solidify their weakened pitching staff.

The Blue Jays decided bringing back Estrada was essential and re-signed him to a two-year contract worth $26 million — $191 million less than what Price got from the Red Sox. They also added Happ with a three-year deal worth $36 million in free agency.

Was that the right course of action? Well, through June 1, Price has been mediocre at best, pitching to a 5.11 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 11 starts. Yes, he sports a 7-1 record, but win-loss marks for pitchers are largely dependent on their team's performance, and Price has received the highest run support in the American League with 6.82 runs per start.

Happ has been an adequate replacement considering the substantial savings in cost. So far in 2016, he's posted a 3.06 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP — both superior to what Price has provided this season.

But the linchpin to the success of the Jays rotation has been Estrada.

Mystifying hitters

His record is only 3-2, but Estrada has received the 11th-worst run support in the AL at 3.20 runs per start. His ERA is fifth-best in the AL at 2.43, his WHIP ranks third at 1.02, and with a changeup that is considered one of the best in baseball, hitters can't seem to figure him out.

Batters continue to appear mystified by Estrada's ability to change speeds — last year, the velocity gap between his fastball and changeup was 10.7 mph, the largest in the majors for a right-handed starter, according to Fangraphs.

Estrada leads the AL in opponents' batting average, holding them to a miniscule .177 average. The lowest mark put up by an AL pitcher this century was Pedro Martinez in 2000, with .167. He unanimously won the Cy Young that year. Other than that, no AL pitcher has had a number below .190 in the last 17 seasons.

Estrada's numbers don't seem to be an aberration — he led the AL in opponents' batting average last year at .203 and finished 10th in Cy Young voting.

If he keeps up his current pace, you can bet Estrada will be a lot closer to winning the award this season, and the Blue Jays could be back in post-season contention.