Mason Miller gets most of the accolades in the San Diego Padres bullpen, but he thinks another reliever is valuable.
The San Diego Padres have a powerhouse bullpen that’s the best in baseball, and the consensus around the league is that it’s led by closer Mason Miller, who’s having an unworldly season that’s made him an MVP contender.
But Miller doesn’t see it that way. He looks to the relievers in front of him and sees left-hander Adrian Morejon also havning a special season, and Miller referrred to Morejon as the most valuable reliever on the team and in all of baseball in a piece written by Dennis Lin of The Athletic.
Miller is offering props to a teammate, of course, but he’s not entirely wrong in some ways. In Saturday’s 7-6 win over the Giants, Morejon pitched for the sixth time in nine days, and his innings count is now up to 80-2/3 with a total of 100 strikeouts.
Morejon has also been able to maintain his velocity throughout the season, with his fastball clocking in at an average velocity of 99 mph, per Lin. That’s some serious constant heat, and it’s one reason why Padres opponents have come to dread getting behind late.
“He’s the most valuable reliever on our team and, I would argue, in baseball too,” Miller said. “The ability to get swing-and-miss, the ability to limit damage, the ability to be really efficient — I think that’s the separator for him.”
Morejon’s superpower is his ability to prepare for games. Most relievers lose velocity over the course of a season, especially when they’re called on so often. But manager Craig Stammen has turned to Morejon time after time to stop a rally or make sure Miller gets to pitch with a lead, and that gets noticed, too, along with the work he does to stay available.
“There are so many guys that have really good stuff in this game,” the closer added, “but the reason he’s able to throw so often and so many innings is obviously what he does to prepare for the games, but also his ability to go after guys, strike guys out if he needs to.”
Lin also offered some telling stats to back up Miller’s claims. Since April, Morejon has a 2.00 ERA in 64 innings. He’s been worth 2.3 fWAR in that span, trailing only Miller (2.5 fWAR) on the reliever leaderboard.
Moreover, the trio of Miller, Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez have thrown an astounding total of 1,805 pitches at a velocity of at least 99 mph, per the writer. The Padres constantly shut down teams late, and Stammen has also called on the bullpen multiple times to get more than two or three innings when the starters falter.
The bullpen depth has given San Diego the ability to schedule in some days off for the top three, but even doing that feels precarious given their tenuous hold on a wild card spot, and Miller is more than aware how unique this entire situation is.
“I think this is the time of year that kind of separates guys — who put in the work, and who stayed consistent and on top of things throughout the year,” Miller said. “You see guys that maintain this trajectory instead of fading a little bit.”
