It has been 23 years since a major league closer has won the Cy Young Award. Plenty of today’s top relievers still have their warts — specifically, the occasional blown save that tarnishes their regular season. Thus, making it virtually impossible for them to gain any traction in the Cy Young voting.
However, San Diego Padres Mason Miller is the perfect storm. His statistical numbers are impossible to believe because few relievers have been that dominant.
Here is Miller’s 2026 line:
0.00 ERA – 0.353
WHIP – 27 K – 2 BB – 8 Saves – 11.1 IP
Miller has been unhittable.
You have to be amazed that no major league hitter can make contact off him during an at-bat. They cannot pick up the ball out of his hand. Unlike answering multiple-choice test questions, guessing is not a sound approach to getting a base hit.
Boasting the majors’ best fastball/slider combo, Miller has fanned 71% of the batters he faced. His four-year major league career strikeout rate is a 41.4%. The league average is 22.5%.
Since he arrived in San Diego, the formula for Miller’s success has been simple: three batters up, three batters down for a Friars win. Over that span, the big right-hander has allowed only two runs in 34.2 innings pitched. More importantly, the Padres’ closer is two innings away from setting the franchise record for scoreless innings. In 2006, Cla Meredith set the franchise record by pitching 33.2 scoreless innings.
Closers can win the Cy Young Award
In MLB history, nine relievers have won the Cy Young Award. The most recent winner was the Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne in 2003. He converted 55 consecutive save opportunities to a 1.20 ERA. A former Padre is on the list, as Mark Davis recorded 44 saves with a 1.85 ERA to win the award in 1989.
It is difficult for a closer to win the Cy Young Award, primarily because their workload cannot match a starting pitcher’s final total. Thus, it is hard to make an argument for a pitcher who throws 70-80 innings in a season to a starter who logs close to 200 innings for their team.
Analytics’ role in selecting award winners
Today’s award voters are highly influenced by the game’s analytic numbers, especially in the Wins Above Replacement category. However, the Cy Young Award’s criteria require that they prioritize each candidate’s performance throughout the season. This stipulation gives specialists like relief pitchers a chance to build a case for their workload.
WAR is designed to place a value on a player’s importance to their team’s win total. The metric formula for pitchers is straightforward because it measures every run (earned and unearned) that happens on the field per nine innings.
bWAR is an analytical stat created by Baseball Reference that allows closers to be viable candidates for the Cy Young Award. The metrics are results-driven because relief pitchers get credit for their ability to strand base runners.
Yes, Miller will blow a save opportunity, but it may not come this season. Baseball just works that way. Dominance is limited for some players, but for others, it lasts a long time.
The Cy Young Award debate hinges on value: is the closer a more worthy candidate because they’re called to lock down the final three outs to a potential win, or the starter, who must navigate a lineup several times to earn a victory?
Voters have run out of excuses; Miller’s dominance has outgrown the “small sample” label. What he has accomplished since putting on a Padre uniform might be enough to put him in the Cy Young Award conversation.
