There was a day last week when Royals starter Jason Vargas was the best pitcher in baseball.
Though that’s not something I ever expected to be typing, a screenshot from Fangraphs WAR leaderboard Thursday gives the proof.
So how is this happening? How has a 34-year-old with a max fastball of 89 mph this year turned himself into the game’s most dominant starter over the first three weeks?
The answer, mostly, appears to be the improvement one pitch — and Vargas altering his mechanics since Tommy John surgery in 2015 to help make it one of the best in baseball.