Fastball

Cleveland Guardians Superstar Working to Join Elite Baseball History in 2024

It has been a very special year for Cleveland Guardians star Emmanuel Clase, who is working to join some elite baseball history with his dominance at the back end of the bullpen.

Brady Farkas

Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) celebrates a win over the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on July 24.
Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) celebrates a win over the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on July 24. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
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The Cleveland Guardians are one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball. At 72-49, they lead the American League Central by 4.0 games and are currently positioned to earn the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs.

All this after finishing in third place in the American League Central a year ago and losing Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona to retirement.

One of the biggest reasons why the Guardians have been able to be so good is because of the dominance of closer Emmanuel Clase. An All-Star again this season, Clase is putting himself in Cy Young consideration with his performance at the back end of games, which is a huge luxury for manager Stephen Vogt.

Clase has gone 4-2 this season with a microscopic 0.64 ERA. He's struck out 49 batters in 56.1 innings pitched and has a whopping 37 saves, which leads all of baseball. He also led baseball in saves each of the last two seasons and is on track to join some very rare baseball history.

Per @JayHayKid on social media:

Emmanuel Clase (0.64 ERA, 37 saves) could join the trio of pitchers to have a season with 40+ saves and an ERA under 0.75:

Zack Britton (2016)
Fernando Rodney (2012)
Dennis Eckersley (1990)

The lowest ERA in a 50-save season is 1.20 by Eric Gagné in 2003.

Still just 26 years old, Clase is positioned to be the best closer in the game for years to come. He uses upper 90s velocity and a dominant upper-90s cutter to make hitters extremely uncomfortable in the box.

The Guardians will take on the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night at 8:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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