From: MLB
San Diego Padres General Manager AJ Preller has been known to be a wildcard around the deadline. The Padres consistently offload major prospects to acquire big league talent. Thankfully, Preller's staff has been elite at evaluating and developing talent to replenish their farm system. Preller's biggest trade to date emptied the farm system at last year's deadline, acquiring closer Mason Miller from the Athletics for Leo De Vries (Just Baseball's #9 prospect) and others. Miller is the best bullpen arm in the world and has started the season on a tear. With pitchers like Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the National League, is it possible for the Padres' closer to become the first reliever to win the Cy Young since Eric Gagne in 2003?
Short answer? Yes. Long answer? Miller is the best closer I have seen since prime Aroldis Chapman. Through 8 and 1/3 innings, Miller has allowed zero runs and struck out 20 hitters. K's per nine is not the best metric for relievers since they only pitch one or two innings an outing, but 21.6 strikeouts per nine is a ludicrous number that I had to share. A better statistic is strikeout rate, where he is striking out batters 74.1 percent of the time. Miller's batting average against is just .038. The only "negative" stat The Reaper possesses is an above-average hard hit rate. However, this is because he throws a triple-digit heater. When you throw that hard, it makes it easier for batters to send 101 mph back into the field of play. Not to mention, he has one of the best closer entrances in recent memory:
https://twitter.com/Jimmyking35/status/2038092437659210066?s=20
Eric Gagne's 2003 season was one of the best we've seen from a reliever. 82 and 1/3 innings, 55 saves, and a 1.20 ERA. He had a 100% save percentage as well. While Mark Prior, Jason Schmidt, and Russ Ortiz all had solid seasons, Gagne did not have the fiercest competition for the award.
Mason Miller has some stiff competition. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Nolan McLean, Christopher Sanchez, Sandy Alcantara, and Chris Sale have all had strong starts. Paul Skenes had a rough first start, but has given up one run per outing since Opening Day.
Projecting onto the rest of the season, obviously, Mason Miller is going to give up a run (I think) at some point. He has had a 2.63 and 2.49 ERA the past two seasons. However, since joining San Diego at last year's trade deadline, Miller boasts a .06 ERA. If Miller posts a sub-1 ERA on a playoff team with around 50 saves, he should have it in the bag, considering his strikeout rate. To tone down expectations, let's say he has a sub-2 ERA. Either way, we are looking at the closest a reliever will get to the Cy Young since Eric Gagne.
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