Mason Miller’s name has become synonymous with dominance. Through his first nine outings of 2026, Miller has been in complete control for the Padres.
He has only allowed two baserunners in 9.1 innings, allowing one walk and one base hit, which came off the bat of Luis Arraez. Miller has struck out 23 batters, giving him a 22.2 K/9 ratio. Of course, he is a perfect six-for-six in his save opportunities.
Miller’s dominance has been on another level in 2026, and fans are taking notice.
Relief Pitchers Don’t Usually Win Cy Young Awards
A reliever has not won the Cy-Young award since 2003, when Eric Gagne won the NL Cy-Young as the closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. That year, he appeared in 77 games, completing 82.1 innings. He finished the year with a 1.20 ERA and 337 ERA+. He led the league with 55 saves and accumulated 3.7 bWAR, a very respectable mark for a reliever.
Unfortunately for Mason Miller, Cy Young voting has shifted since 2003. Voters are much more interested in awarding pitchers with the most WAR. For example, in 2025, the AL Cy-Young went to Tarik Skubal, who led the AL with 6.5 bWAR. The NL Cy-Young went to Paul Skenes, who finished second with 7.7 bWAR, and Cristopher Sanchez, who led the NL with 8 bWAR, finished in second place.
Only one relief pitcher from either league received votes. That was Aroldis Chapman, who had a dominant season. Chapman saved 32 games, posted a 1.17 ERA, and accumulated 3.6 bWAR, but earned just 2% of the vote, finishing in seventh place.
The last time a reliever finished in the top three in Cy-Young voting was 2024, when Emmanuel Clase finished third place in the AL. The Guardians‘ closer finished with a 0.61 ERA, 4.4 bWAR, and a league high 47 saves. Clase’s 2024 was as good a season that a closer has ever had, yet he finished well behind Skubal, who led the AL with 6.7 bWAR.
You can probably see where this is going. The last time a pitcher won the Cy Young with less than 6 bWAR was Justin Verlander in 2022, who still had 5.7 bWAR to his name. Excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season, it’s been 10 years since a pitcher won the Cy Young with less than 5 bWAR. That was Rick Porcello in 2016, who narrowly won the AL Cy Young with 4.7 bWAR. Before that, you’d have to go as far back to 2005, when Bartolo Colon won the Cy Young with 4.0 bWAR.
Increasingly, the standard for Cy Young award-winning pitchers has been at least 5 wins above replacement, and it’s incredibly difficult for relievers to reach that mark. Mariano Rivera did it once, in 1996, but that year, he threw 107.2 innings, much more than Miller’s career-high of 65 innings in 2024. Rich Gossage surpassed 5 bWAR as a reliever twice, in 1975 and 1977, but threw over 130 innings in both of those years. John Hiller’s 1973 season, one of the greatest relief seasons of all time, earned him 7.9 bWAR, as he led the league with 38 saves while posting a 1.44 ERA in 125.1 innings. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting.
The point is, it’s incredibly hard for a relief pitcher to accumulate bWAR, and even those who have reached 5 bWAR have not managed to win the Cy Young. It is going to take a legendary season out of Miller to give himself a chance at the NL Cy Young.
However, that is not stopping Padres fans from championing Miller as an early Cy Young frontrunner.
Padres Fans Have Begun the Mason Miller Cy Young Campaign
“Mason Miller Cy Young, Offense on the rise, Buehler looked competent. We back baby,” wrote one X user with the handle @TatisTruther.
According to Just Baseball, only Paul Skenes has more bets placed on him to win the NL Cy Young.
Another user said he was feeling “Eric Gagne vibes,” from Miller this season.
If any reliever is going to win the Cy Young, it will probably be Miller. There’s a long way to go, but fans around the league are already taking notice.
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