Close To Perfect! Texas Rangers Closer Kirby Yates Has Put Up All-Star First Half

Kirby Yates has been perfect in 11 save opportunities and has done something only three other Texas Rangers pitchers have done.

Jun 13, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Kirby Yates (39) reacts after the final out of the ninth inning to earn a save against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

If there is a clear-cut All-Star for the Texas Rangers in 2024, so far it has to be closer Kirby Yates.

Yates is perfect in 11 save situations and has a 0.95 ERA in 28 1/3 innings in 2024.

You might recall, the Rangers bullpen was quite the issue during the regular season a year ago.

Yates, 37, is second only to the Cleveland Guardians' Emmanuel Clase's 0.70 ERA among qualified American League relievers.

Yates was an All-Star in 2019 with the San Diego Padres, the year he led the league with 41 saves.

"Any time you have an opportunity to make it, you want to make it," Yates told MLB.com Off Base arlier this week. "Especially since we're hosting it this year, being in front of the home fans would probably be really neat."

Yates is the fourth reliever in club history to post a sub-1.00 ERA in his first 28 appearances of a season. The last Rangers pitcher to do it was Neal Cotts, who had a 0.91 ERA from May 21 to July 24, 2013.

He's one of only two Major League relievers without a blown save in 11 or more chances. The other is the Los Angeles Dodgers' Evan Phillipps.

Yates has 38 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings, including two or more strikeouts in 12 of his 28 appearances this season. Yates' 12.07 strikeouts per nine innings average is second to David Robertson (14.02) on the club and 10th in the AL. Yates is one of only nine MLB pitchers with three or more wins and 11 or more saves.

Yates was moved to the closer spot until 17 games into the season on April 15. He took over for Jose Leclerc who struggled the first couple of weeks of the season.

Despite Yates' success, the Rangers' 14 saves are the second-fewest in the AL.

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