Edwin Diaz is the Best Reliever in Baseball, and It's Not Close

Edwin Diaz's season has been nothing short of phenomenal. From the very beginning, he has been nearly unhittable. In fact, despite the fact that his walk-rate is just around average, he still has a WHIP of .787, a number lower than MVP candidate(yes, MVP. not cy young) Jacob Degrom, who sits at .958. It is a ludicrously low number, and it doesn't seem to be going up anytime soon either. He is even on pace to approach Francisco Rodriguez's 62 save record, as he currently sits at 47 on a team that has been known all year for winning close games. His odds are about as good as somebody can hope for.

The craziest part of the Diaz's season is that he seems to be getting stronger. While most people his age usually start to falter in August, he has only gotten better. He even just finished a four game series versus the Astros in which he finished ALL FOUR games. That is a Brandon Morrow in the World Series level of effort. Even in his last appearance in which he blew the save was not a bad showing. He gave up a line drive homer to Max Muncy, who had 27 round-trippers before his game saver. That one bad pitch aside, his appearance was still very solid, as he did not give up any other runners and even got two of his three outs via the K. While Diaz does not have bad appearances often, when he does they are typically like that. He just never gives up runs, allowing just 14 ER through his 61.0 innings of work.

The most impressive thing Diaz has done this year is his unbelievable strike-out rate. It currently sits at 15.5, and for the longest time it seemed like he had a chance at two K's an inning. Despite the inevitable step-back, if you can even call it that, he still has one of the highest strike-out rates in the league. Coupling K's with an ability to produce weak contact, and BOOM, you've got a top reliever. Diaz certainly fits that mold.

Diaz's success may have come a little bit out of nowhere, but still it is quite remarkable. Few players at his age manage to be as consistently dominant as he has been so far in 2018. What is even more promising is that he had been very solid in his career before this season as well. Relievers come and go more than any other position in baseball, and so it is impossible to say how long his success can last. However, with luck, the M's may have something in the 24 year old that other clubs can only dream of, a player who can anchor their pen for years. Who knows how long it will last, but their is certainly hope that Edwin eventually be on the same level as players such as Craig Kimbrel or a pre-Harper strangling Johnathon Papelbon. The talent is there, but only time will tell if he can keep it up.