Emmanuel Clase, the Cleveland Guardians’ closer, has been one of the best and most consistent relievers in baseball for the last five years.
Even when he was clearly not at his best last year, he posted a 3.22 ERA and saved 44 games.
Imagine what he can do at his best.
Fine, we will tell you: he posted 1.29 and 1.36 ERA finishes in consecutive campaigns in 2021 and 2022, and currently has a 1.97 ERA for his career.
Many fans, given how things unfolded last year, were worried about his performance in 2024.
Well, he is doing his best to appease some of those concerns with some excellent games in the early going.
Clase is on his way for closer dominance again this season 🔥#ForTheLand | @CleGuardians pic.twitter.com/2U79MP5a7C
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) April 6, 2024
Bally Sports Cleveland posted a graphic with some of Clase’s numbers in the first couple of weeks.
The Guardians have won seven games and top the standings in the AL Central division.
Four of those games were successfully saved by the talented right-hander, who hasn’t allowed any earned runs in four innings.
He also hasn’t walked anyone yet, and while he has surrendered four hits, he has also struck out four batters.
He is looking like vintage Clase out there, and that represents excellent news for a Guardians team that is currently without Shane Bieber, Gavin Williams, Trevor Stephan, and other top pitchers on the staff.
As long as Clase is pitching like this, opposing teams will virtually have eight innings to score their runs and win the game.
When Clase enters the contest, scoring runs becomes much, much more difficult.
He is just one of the best in business.
NEXT: Guardians Insider Details New Pitching Plans For The Week
