Blue Jays' Zach Pop could be a surprise star out of the bullpen

Zach Pop entered 2023 as no sure bet to crack the Toronto Blue Jays' Opening Day roster. Less than three weeks into the season, he looks like one of the most dynamic arms in the team's bullpen.

The Brampton, Ont., native never lacked talent, but the fact he had options made him a candidate to begin the season at Triple-A until long reliever Mitch White hit the IL with a shoulder issue.

Instead of waiting for a big-league opportunity, Pop was able to hit the ground running at the MLB level — and he's impressed in the early going with 8.1 innings of one-run ball with just six base runners allowed.

A sample that small can be hard to get excited about, but it's clear the right-hander has made some changes to his approach that give him a better chance to excel in 2023.

Pop's signature offering is a mid-90s power sinker, but when he came to the Blue Jays last season he was absolutely reliant on it. The Canuck used the pitch 76.5 percent of the time last season, which allowed opponents to hone in on the pitch.

This year, Pop has become far more balanced, throwing his slider far more than he's done in the past:

Not only does Pop seem more comfortable with his slider, he's commanding it better, too. Last season, he generally did a good job of keeping it low, but it often wound up over the centre of the plate:

This season, he's done a far better job of painting the corner:

That's made the pitch far tougher for opposing hitters to handle, like Spencer Torkelson, who geared up for a power sinker only to see Pop clip the edge of the plate with his breaking ball for an inning-ending strikeout last week.

The pitch can also make opponents look foolish off the plate. Alex Bregman learned that the hard way on Monday night against a Pop slider that trailed away from the dish for a strikeout.

As Pop has harnessed his slider better, he's seen his strikeout rate rise.

When it comes to racking up Ks, he's in the midst of an nine-game stretch far better than anything he managed last season.

Improved confidence and command with the slider isn't the only factor putting upwards pressure on Pop's strikeout rate, either.

The Canadian is also getting more whiffs with his sinker than he has in previous seasons:

We're talking about just 65 pitches, so this could be statistical noise. That said, the movement on the pitch has become more impressive year-by-year:

While his high-velocity sinker has always possessed impressive movement, Pop's ability to make the pitch dance is improving — with highly GIF-able results.

Pop is already a hard thrower who excels at keeping the ball on the dirt. His career ground-ball rate of 57.4% ranks 14th among the 321 pitchers who've thrown 100-plus innings since the beginning of the 2021 season.

If he's able to add a strong strikeout rate on top of that baseline, he could be in for a huge season.

When the Blue Jays acquired Pop, he was part of a two-player package that included Anthony Bass. Bass was meant to help the team right away in a high-leverage role while Pop seemed like a longer-term project.

Less than a year later, Pop has a 1.65 ERA in 26 appearances with the Blue Jays. He's well on his way to overtaking the veteran in the Blue Jays' bullpen pecking order — if he hasn't done so already.