Edwin Diaz has been on another level lately.
The All-Star closer has been tearing it up for the New York Mets.
Last night, he struck out four New York Yankees hitters to pick up the save as the Mets took the opening game of the three-game Subway Series.
In fact, Diaz is on pace to make some strikeout history this season.
Codify, a baseball analytics Twitter page, posted a tweet featuring the highest single-season strikeout rates per nine innings of pitchers who have thrown at least 40 innings.
Diaz is at the top of the list with a 17.9 strikeout rate.
Other pitchers on that list include Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman, and Craig Kimbrel.
Highest single-season K/9 rates in MLB history
(at least 40 IP):Edwin Díaz, 2022 —-> 17.9 🔥🔥🔥
Aroldis Chapman, 2014 —-> 17.7
Craig Kimbrel, 2012 —-> 16.7
Craig Kimbrel, 2017 —-> 16.4
Josh Hader, 2019 —-> 16.4
Aroldis Chapman, 2018 —-> 16.3 https://t.co/PpX8mwOamM— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 27, 2022
Diaz’s Strikeout Prowess
This is a nice list to be a part of.
Even more impressive is that Diaz is on the top and the season isn’t even over yet.
It just goes to how Diaz has simply been unhittable this season.
He’s on another level with the way he’s pitching.
He’s emerged as one of the top closers in all of baseball, and he can get you out with his high-octane fastball that can touch triple digits, which makes for a very difficult and very uncomfortable at-bat for any hitter.
The mere presence of Diaz on the mound more often than not signals that the game is over, and the opposition doesn’t have a great chance of making a comeback.
Right now, this is the last guy you want to face when you’re at the plate with the game on the line.
Diaz has been on another level all season long and he is making a strong case for the National League Reliever of the Year Award.
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