Mark Melancon set up for monster year as Padres closer
Drew Silva explains that even though Mark Melancon isn't a flamethrower like most closers, he has established himself among the elite as he anchors the Padres' bullpen.
Video Transcript
DREW SILVA: It's easy to forget at this point that there was a big mystery surrounding the closer role in San Diego as the 2021 season got under way. Would it be Drew Pomeranz getting the majority of the save chancers? Emilio Pagán? He had some late spring hype. Keone Kela with his previous ninth inning experience? Carousel even? How about none of the above?
Mark Melancon was brought in on a one year, $3 million contract in mid-February, and it's proving to be a serious bargain so far, with a 0.60 ERA 0.467, WHIP, and a 14 to 1 strikeouts to walk ratio through 15 innings. He stands as the MLB leader in saves with 11 as of the first week of May. Melancon doesn't have the triple-digit fastball or power slider of a typical modern closer. He barely tops 90 miles per hour these days. But the 36-year-old right-hander is a maestro at inducing soft contact, and he figures to sit high atop the saves leaderboard for the duration of this season as the shutdown, ninth-inning man for a loaded Padres team.