Blue Jays’ Louis Varland named top AL reliever for March, April

Louis Varland has emerged as one of the most reliable arms in Major League Baseball, and the Toronto Blue Jays reliever was recognized for his dominant stretch.

Varland was named American League Reliever of the Month for March and April after a dominant stretch that saw him earn the team’s closing role.

Across 16.0 innings, Varland posted a 0.56 ERA, struck out 43.3 per cent of the batters he faced, and converted all four of his save opportunities.

Varland didn’t enter the season as the Blue Jays’ established closer. Initially deployed in a flexible, high-leverage role, he was tasked with bridging the gap in key moments — sometimes as early as the seventh inning.

However, inconsistency from Jeff Hoffman forced Toronto to re-assess its late-game structure early in the month with the team operating with a closer-by-committee approach, with Varland handling most of the ninth-inning situations.

Varland is in his first full season with the Blue Jays after joining the team in a trade last summer with the Minnesota Twins.

San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller was named the NL award winner after posting 10 saves and a 1.17 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched.