ATLANTA — An engine revs over and over every time Louis Varland descends the home bullpen steps. As the Blue Jays reliever exits a door in left field, smoke spraying over his head, Varland’s warm-up song begins: “Animal I Have Become,” by Three Days Grace.“I’m still caged inside,” the lyrics go. “I can’t control myself.”And so, for an inning or two, Varland becomes an animal.The revving engine is new for Varland, kicking off the sort of pre-appearance hype video usually reserved for closers. He hasn’t formally been named Toronto’s ninth-inning man — the club still utilizes a committee of relievers to handle saves — but Varland leads the team in saves and save opportunities since April 21. Regardless of role, he has become one of the best relievers in baseball.In 29 appearances, Varland owns a 0.28 ERA, the lowest among all relievers with at least 10 outings. His ERA+, adjusted for park factors, was 1,417 percent above league average before a multi-inning save in Thursday’s 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. His win probability added (2.81) was third among all players, behind only Shohei Ohtani and Nick Kurtz. Varland’s always been competitive. He’s possessed an electric arm for years. Now he’s brought that fire to the back of Toronto’s bullpen.“He’s just easy-going and about as nice and carefree as you can be in the clubhouse,” manager John Schneider said. “On the mound, it’s a whole different animal for him.”Blue Jays bullpen coach Graham Johnson had heard of Varland but hadn’t seen him pitch before a 2022 minor-league outing. Johnson, the Yankees’ Triple-A pitching coach at the time, was standing in the outfield watching Varland prepare for a start.“It was pure electricity,” Johnson said.The right-hander, ramping up for his second Triple-A start, zipped long tosses to his catcher’s glove and worked his way to the outfield bullpen. When the throwing program was complete, Varland got about 20 feet from the outfield wall and jumped into a crow hop, unleashing a final throw at the padded wall.The ball pierced the padding, creating a cavernous hole in the foam. The ball was stuck.