Clase making push for Cy Young with incredible season

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Jhonkensy Noel just laughed. Emmanuel Clase couldn’t help but smile.

The two met with the media Tuesday night after Clase had just recorded his fourth save in four days. Noel had just hit his third homer in two games. So, Noel was posed the question: “How would you approach Clase if you were facing him?”

Noel didn’t even wait for interpreter Agustin Rivero to translate the question or his answer. He knew what was asked and he was mostly glad that he didn’t have to seriously create a game plan.

“I don’t know,” Noel said in English. “Maybe take a walk. No swing.”

Honestly, with the way Clase is pitching right now, you may have a better chance of getting on base by just resting the bat on your shoulder.

Clase led the Majors in saves in each of the past two seasons -- but last year, he also led in blown saves. It was hard to get a read on how successful his season was. On one hand, he was still dominant. On the other, he wasn’t as reliable. So, Clase was determined to make it crystal clear this year that he’s as dominant and as reliable as anyone in the game.

His 37 saves rank second in the Majors (St. Louis' Ryan Helsley leads with 38). Clase's cutter has averaged 99.4 mph and it’s holding opponents to a .161 average as opposed to last year’s .267.

“It’s a version of [Mariano] Rivera, I think,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s a cutter at really high velocities. It’s not quite the same cutter, but it’s a higher velocity and a little smaller movement. … It’s 100 mph and cutting -- that’s a tough at-bat.”

The cutter has been Clase's strikeout pitch, as it's responsible for 32 of his 49 K's, but his slider has induced a whiff rate of 33.8% -- up from 31.3% last year. A cutter that can reach 102 or 103 mph is lethal. A slider that averages 90.5 mph with some of the best horizontal movement in the game is dangerous. Put those two together and there’s a reason that the Guardians are confident the game is over any time the drumroll plays over the public address system at Progressive Field at the start of the ninth inning.

And when that arm is ready to go night after night, needing little rest, it’s a recipe to help the Guardians' bullpen remain the best in the Majors.

“To go four in a row, he’s one of a kind,” Guardians starter Matthew Boyd said. “What people are witnessing with him is really, really special. … And everyone needs to take notice.”

After those four straight saves, Clase became the only reliever in Cleveland history to have a 0.64 ERA or lower through the team’s first 120 games (minimum of 30 games pitched). He’s just the second reliever to hit that mark while recording at least 35 saves in that same span, joining Zack Britton, who had a 0.54 ERA and 37 saves at that point for the Orioles in 2016.

Clase is causing the baseball world to revisit the conversation about whether a reliever should win the Cy Young Award. He’s putting up ridiculous numbers that we haven’t seen in a while -- such as having allowed just four earned runs all season. And he’s doing it all for a team ready to make a postseason run.

Clase says the more he pitches, the better he gets. We can only imagine what that could mean by the time October rolls around.

“He is just incredible,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I’m so thankful for him.”