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John Tudor, Jimmy Key, Charlie Leibrandt and Jamie Moyer.  They all had a little different style but you could always tell in the first inning if they were on or not.  After the first inning in game 4 of the 85 world series Sparky Anderson, who was doing the color analyzing on TV said that Tudor was going to throw a shut out with the way the first inning went.  And he was right.
Jimmy Key was the only one of the pitchers listed above who had a great career from the get go.  The other three had to morph into the polished change of speed specialist.  Tudor with Boston was a high fastball pitcher.  Moyer tried it as a fastball pitcher as well for a long time.  Leibrandt had more success as his career went on as he mastered his changeup.
The other point of comparison is the composure that all of these pitchers have.  You can't be a successful changeup artist without ice water in your very soul.  Orel Hersheiser said that it was easier to pitch in the playoffs because the hitters are so keyed up that they get themeselves out (don't see Ackley doing this).  All of these lefthanded pitchers have had a great deal of success in the playoffs because they are so calm, cool and collected.  
Vargas is 28 or so and is coming into his own.  He still has an inning that can be scary but his composure is such that he can rebound.  These types of pitchers get better with age.  Now here's to Danny Hultzen being this type of pitcher only with a 94 mile an hour fastball.