Before Marcus Stroman became one of the Blue Jays’ top starting pitchers, he played second base for Duke.
Although he eventually became a full-time pitcher, he can still rake.
Following catcher Luke Maile's home run, the former Duke standout hit his first career big-league home run Thursday against the Braves, launching a 91 mile-per-hour fastball off Braves ace Julio Teheran into the right-field stands. Stroman’s opposite field shot made the duo the first American League battery to hit back-to-back homers in nearly 50 years.
The Medford, N.Y., native has earned just 10 at-bats in the big leagues thus far, but hasn’t missed the opportunity to make an impact—he scored the winning run in the 11th inning April 25 against the Cardinals after hitting a pinch-hit double.
Stroman played both ways for his first two seasons in Durham, making the bulk of his starts at second base, but also earned time at shortstop, center field, right field and even first base in his junior season. During those two years, he hit .259, including two homers, driving in 35 runs and swiping 23 bases.
By his third year at Duke, Stroman played sparingly in the field—his value came on the mound, posting a 2.39 ERA and earning second-team All-American Honors.
After a rocky first half in 2016, the four-year MLB veteran has rebounded, posting a 3.68 ERA in the second half last season before owning the American League this year.
Stroman has moved away from his changeup and relied more heavily on his fastball and slider, inducing many more ground balls en route to the eighth-best WAR in the American League. Toronto’s ace leads the league in complete games with two and has given up just two runs in his last three starts.
One of those starts was Thursday, when Stroman struck out six Braves and earned the win after pitching 5 2/3 scoreless frames.
Despite Stroman's best efforts, the Blue Jays still dwell in the cellar of the American League East after an abysmal 6-17 start. Toronto has since won 12 of its last 20 games, but still faces an uphill battle in a crowded division in which every other team is .500 or better, sitting eight games behind the first-place Yankees.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.