Seattle Mariners: Edwin Diaz, baseball’s next great closer?
Seattle Mariners flamethrowing pitcher Edwin Diaz could be baseball’s next dominating closer.
Go back seven days and mark your calendars on August 2nd. That’s the day that the Seattle Mariners made a change in their bullpen that could very well earn them a playoff spot for the first time in 14 years.
New Mariners closer Edwin Diaz has been absolutely dominant since taking over the role after Steve Cishek blew two saves in back-to-back games.
Not a surprise, Servais says postgame that Cishek will get a break from closing. Diaz will take over.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) August 2, 2016
Up to this point, the rookie fireballer has pitched just 30 innings, making his debut on June 6th. Where the numbers truly start to shine a light on just how dominating he’s really been are his strikeout totals. Of the 90 batters that Diaz has retired, 56 of them have come via the strikeout. With just 12 walks ( 3 HBP and 1 IBB) it’s easy to understand why the 22-year-old has an ERA of 1.80.
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Facing his toughest test yet, a 6-4 lead against the Los Angeles Angels, Edwin Diaz went up against Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Andrelton Simmons in the ninth inning. He struck them all out, swinging, to end the game. Check out a video of the performance.
Looking at only his five appearances since being given the closer’s role, Diaz is a perfect five-for-five in save situations and has struck out seven of the 15 batters he’s retired.
It’s unquestionably too early to recognize Edwin Diaz as one of the premier closers in baseball. He does have the talent, however. His fastball has reached as high as 101 MPH and it may not even be his best pitch. The slider he used to strike out each of the three batters in the video above may be one of the best pitches in the league. Although Diaz is a righty, the fastball/slider setup he uses is similar to what made Randy Johnson (a lefty) so successful with the Mariners, and then later with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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The Mariners are 6-1 since August 2nd. Having Diaz lock down the ninth has allowed manager Scott Servais to use Cishek and Tom Wilhelmsen, another former M’s closer, in setup roles. Seattle is now just 2.5 games back of an American League Wild Card spot.