Guardians' closer voted most desirable to pitch in clutch situation

During an anonymous spring training poll, MLB players were asked a variety of questions to gauge their opinions regarding fellow major leaguers. One such poll asked who they wanted on the mound to close out a Game 7, and unsurprisingly, the runaway winner of that poll was Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.

The poll, appearing on MLB.com, has Clase beating out the likes of the Athletics' Mason Miller, St. Louis' Ryan Helsley, New York's Gerrit Cole, and Detroit's Tarik Skubal. Interestingly enough, the fourth and fifth spots on this poll are occupied by starters which is actually quite telling.

Clase beating out every other closer in baseball for the top spot on this list is hardly a surprise, as he is in a class by himself. With that in mind, the fact that two of the best overall pitchers in the sport, Cole and Skubal, occupied the fourth and fifth spots on this list says a lot about how Clase is viewed against major league hitters.

Cole and Skubal are elite starters capable of shutting down the best lineups in baseball, and that could be quite useful in closing out a Game 7. However, Clase's arsenal and effectiveness were more than enough to receive more votes than the last two winners of the American League's Cy Young Award.

An anonymous first baseman mentioned his 0.61 ERA from last season, stating, "That's all that needs to be said.”, while an anonymous third baseman said, "He's one of the nastiest pitchers in the world.". These are clearly ringing endorsements of Clase's pitching abilities and just how dominant he is when he's on the mound.

It was a rebound season of sorts for Clase in 2024, as he was somewhat volatile the year before following the new rules instituted to speed up the game. Clase finished with a .0.61 ERA and 0.657 WHIP en route to saving a major-league-leading 47 games for the Guardians. This was the third straight season that Clase led all of baseball in saves and in games finished (66). Clase would finish in third place in American League Cy Young Award voting with this performance, the first time a reliever was in the top three vote-getters since Los Angeles Angels' Francisco Rodriguez in 2008.