Padres' Mason Miller earns obvious distinction from MLB insider amid Cy Young chase

Miller has been elite this season, posting a 1.17 ERA across 15 games of work with an MLB-best 10 saves through the first two days of May.

He's faced 54 batters this season, and he's struck out 29 on the year. He's striking out 53.7 percent of the batters he's facing this season, right in line with his ridiculous 54.2% strikeout rate for the Padres last season in 23.1 innings pitched.

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Miller has a 362 ERA+ this season, and it's only not better thanks to his last two outings, where he allowed two earned runs on three hits with one walk while striking out just two total batters.

Across all of MLB, there isn't a reliever who's been better than Miller this season. In the Cy Young race, Miller has a legitimate chance to win the award this year.

It might be a long shot, but if Miller continues to strike out this many batters all season long, and the Padres can either stay in lockstep with the Los Angeles Dodgers or even surpass them, his odds might increase for the Cy Young this year.

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