Louis Varland’s last pitch of 2026 was a 100 mph fastball that crossed the plate to land in the upper third of the strike zone and strike out Sal Stewart, which sparked the classic unrestrained excitement of the fans at Rogers Centre. It was Varland’s 71st outing of the season and his 35th save to secure the Blue Jays’ 6-5 victory on Sept. 25 against the Cincinnati Reds.
He finished the year with the second-best fWAR (3.1) among qualified relievers across all of Major League Baseball and led in ERA with 1.27, leaving behind even the fWAR leader (3.7), San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller (1.67). Varland’s consistency took him much further than that, as he became the most reliable pitcher in the entire Blue Jays bullpen and, without a doubt, one of the team’s most valuable players alongside starter Dylan Cease.
His story during the season did not begin with such a significant ending, and Varland was not even expected to be the Jays’ closer. After Jeff Hoffman’s inconsistency with save opportunities from Opening Day against the Athletics, Varland became the best option to prevent a collapse at the end. If he had not been so consistent, Hoffman would have regained his position, but Varland overcame the challenge and, starting on April 21, began a streak that extended to 41 consecutive relief appearances without wasting a single save opportunity.
During that stretch, between April 21 and August 5, Varland had a 3-3 record, saved 24 games, recorded two holds, posted a 1.39 ERA, struck out 55 opponents, and allowed just one home run against 180 batters.
He had only two blown saves all year and finished with the best average percentile rankings in the 16 metrics Baseball Savant presents in its Statcast Player Comparison Tool.
A Well-Deserved Award
After his great breakout season, Varland was named a reliever on Sporting News’ 2026 American League All-Star team, announced on Thursday. The awards are voted on by players, coaches, and executives. Since they began recognizing relievers in 2013, Varland has just become the first Blue Jays closer, and the first pitcher since Roy Halladay was selected in 2003, joining Dave Stieb (1982), Jimmy Key (1987), Pat Hentgen (1996), and Roger Clemens (1997 and 1998).
Here is the entire American League All-Star team
C: Dillon Dingler (Detroit Tigers)
1B: Pete Alonso (Baltimore Orioles)
2B: Chase Meidroth (Chicago White Sox)
SS: Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals)
3B: Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays)
OF: Riley Greene (Detroit Tigers), Cedanne Rafaela/Wilyer Abreu (Boston Red Sox) Randy Arozarena (Seattle Mariners)
DH: Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros)
PA: Cam Schlittler (New York Yankees)
RP: Louis Varland (Toronto Blue Jays)
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