Welcome to the big leagues, Lazaro Estrada.
The 26-year-old made his MLB debut for the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, delivering four innings of one-run ball in relief and recording his first four career strikeouts.
Estrada, signed by the Blue Jays as an international amateur free agent in 2018, has been one of Toronto's longest-tenured minor leaguers. The five-foot-10 right-hander has spent seven seasons climbing the organizational ladder before being called out of the bullpen in the sixth inning on Saturday afternoon.
The La Habana, Cuba, native kept the Angels' lineup at bay by throwing 33 of his 47 pitches for strikes. His first career strikeout came on the second batter he faced, as Estrada got fellow Cuban Jorge Soler swinging on a down-and-away slider. His second came by retiring three-time MVP Mike Trout to close the seventh inning.
Perhaps his most impressive inning of the afternoon came in the ninth, where Estrada kept the game tied, setting the Angels down in order with two more strikeouts.
Los Angeles was able to push a run across against Estrada in his second frame of work. Luis Rengifo reached on a leadoff single, was pushed to second on a sacrifice bunt and came in to score on a two-out single by Nolan Schanuel.
As Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling wrote during spring training, Estrada was a lucky find for the Blue Jays, who first saw the breakout hurler at a Dominican air force base in Boca Chica, D.R. — while on a scouting trip to watch Naswell Paulino.
Estrada has cleared his fair share of hurdles on his journey to the majors, undergoing an internal brace procedure to repair a damaged UCL in 2021. He was unable to pitch in games for over a year between the recovery process and some setbacks along the way.
Since he returned to the mound in 2022, however, Estrada emerged as a potential long-term option for the Blue Jays.
In 2023, he pitched to a 2.83 ERA over 76.1 innings at high-A Vancouver — his first full season since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
He returned to Vancouver in 2024, threw a seven-inning no-hitter in June after a strong start to the season and was promoted to double-A shortly after. After finishing out the year in New Hampshire, Toronto sent Estrada to the Arizona Fall League, where he was named to the All-Star Game after striking out 19 hitters in 11.2 innings.
This season, he was sent to triple-A Buffalo to start the year, and after getting roughed up in April — carrying a 10.93 ERA through his first five starts — settled in to deliver two straight months of consistent results.
Between May 4 and his recall to the Blue Jays, Estrada pitched to a 2.89 ERA over 46.2 innings, collecting 48 strikeouts compared to just 15 walks.
Estrada showcased the riding fastball that has helped him find so much success on Saturday, using the offering 25 times against the Angels, while mixing in 19 sliders and a curveball over three important innings for a depleted Toronto bullpen.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.