This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
TORONTO -- Mason Fluharty will probably pitch tonight. Maybe tomorrow night, too. He pitches, pitches and pitches.
Fluharty’s 71 appearances lead Major League Baseball this season. He’s on track to clear 80 appearances, which has only been done by four relievers in total over the past five seasons.
Quietly, Fluharty has been one of the Blue Jays’ most important pitchers, a rock in the middle of a bullpen that’s evolved throughout the year. He’s underrated, but isn’t that a compliment for relievers? Unless you’re a closer, it’s rarely good news for a reliever to be part of the daily discourse among fans. Just like Tyler Rogers, Fluharty flies an inch under the radar, supremely reliable.
None of this is by accident. The 25-year-old Fluharty has built himself for this exact role, even if there have been some painful sacrifices along the way.
“I can’t be eating Taco Bell every night,” Fluharty said. “As much as I want to. Big Taco Bell guy. Honestly, it’s about being honest and telling [the staff] when I need a day. There was a point in the season where I was gassed, but I got over it pretty quickly. We have the best trainers in the league. They’re not running me out there for three innings, either. I might have the most appearances, but I probably have the least amount of innings. That’s just the life of a lefty.”
Fluharty’s got a point, and if he’d come into the league before the three-batter minimum, his numbers would be even more extreme. He’s pitched 53 2/3 innings, used against pockets of lineups where there are a couple of lefties or one big bat.
He’s dominated lefties, too, holding those hitters to a .159 average and .451 OPS. That’s nasty, even if Fluharty wants to downplay it.
“Maybe I’m not having the best ‘reliever season,' and I’m not Louis Varland. That’s pretty hard to beat,” Fluharty said, “but they trust me enough to where, if there’s a big spot and there’s a lefty coming up, they’re going to throw me. It doesn’t matter what day it is. They’re ready to get me in there and I’m always ready to answer their call. I’m just thankful they trust me. I’m going to keep answering that call."
This is a manager’s dream. Again, with Fluharty and Rogers being similar in this regard, every manager needs an “easy button." When in doubt, throw in Fluharty or Rogers. They’re both made of rubber and both can handle it.
Fluharty’s come to this so young, though. Last season, he made 66 appearances between Triple-A and the big leagues, but when we think of these ultra-durable relievers, it’s typically a more grizzled veteran like Rogers.
“He’s worked really hard to be a workhorse reliever,” Schneider said, “and he works to be available as much as he is. We’re talking about a two-pitch pitcher last year who has three now with the changeup. He does his homework really well, too. It’s nice to have that presence, especially from the left side in this league and this division. It sets a blueprint for younger guys. Hey, this is how we do it.”
Making Fluharty even friendlier to a manager is how quickly he can warm up. This is rarely talked about, but it matters, because it allows Schneider and Pete Walker to take their decisions down to the last moment without wasting relievers.
Fluharty can warm up with as few as four or five pitches, which is extremely rare. He calls it “a batter,” and he’s ready to rock.
“Everybody wants the ball. There’s no guy in that bullpen who doesn’t want the ball,” Fluharty said. “Everybody wants the ball and we want to help the team win. Our bullpen is a big part of us winning. I’m just waking up every day ready to take the ball.”
You need the right attitude for this job, too. Closers are a different type of human being altogether, thriving on the highest adrenaline that baseball has to offer, but the workhorse relievers tend to go one of two ways. You can have one like Rogers, who looks as calm on the mound as most people do sipping their morning coffee. Then, there’s Fluharty, who brings more of an edge but is wonderfully stubborn, never backing down from a challenge.
Varland gets the headlines, but Fluharty, over and over again, sets it up. If you don’t hear about him much, that just means he’s doing