The Compelling Case For Guardians' Emmanuel Clase As AL Cy Young

Does Cleveland Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase have a legitimate chance of winning the AL Cy Young award this season?

Jun 4, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts after a win over the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been selected to his third straight MLB All-Star Game, and this season may be his best one yet.

Clase leads the majors with 28 saves and has pitched to the tune of a 0.83 ERA over 44 appearances. He also boasts a microscopic 0.669 WHIP and was recently compared to Mariano Rivera.

But is Clase doing enough to win the American League Cy Young award?

ESPN's Paul Hembekides thinks so and makes a compelling case.

If the season ended today, Emmanuel Clase would be American League Cy Young choice. Here’s why 👇 pic.twitter.com/bV23K03Sii

— Paul Hembekides (Hembo) (@PaulHembo) July 10, 2024

Hembekides notes Clase's insane ERA+ (485, which nearly 400 points above league average) and WPA (3.4, which leads all pitchers in both leagues and all players in general in the AL)

The Guardians are also 41-3 in games in which Clase has appeared.

Those are indeed some pretty insane numbers, but there is also no question that Clase is fighting an uphill battle when it comes to winning a Cy Young as a reliever.

The last relief pitcher to win the award was Los Angeles Dodgers close Eric Gagne, who took home the honor in 2003. That year, Gagne racked up an MLB-best 55 saves to go along with a 1.20 ERA. He also registered an incredible average of 15 strikeouts per nine innings.

In total, nine relievers have won a Cy Young, and the last one to do it before Gagne was Dennis Eckersley, who earned the hardware with the Oakland Athletics in 1992.

With the host of spectacular starting pitchers gracing the American League this season, it seems hard to fathom Clase actually winning the AL Cy Young.

But, stranger things have happened, and the numbers don't lie.