Emmanuel Clase projected to be in the Cy Young conversation

When it comes to Cy Young Award winners, it is an award that is typically reserved for starting pitchers. With that being said, every once in a while, a member of the bullpen can force his way into the conversation and disrupt end-of-season award voting. As things stand currently, it appears this could come to fruition this season in the form of Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.

Clase has been lights out for the Guardians this season, anchoring the best bullpen in all of baseball. Being a standout performer among this group is beyond impressive, considering how dominant they have been since the start of the season. Clase's sub 1.00 ERA and 0.700 WHIP through the season's first half were clearly factors in appearing on a list of Top 5 American League Cy Young candidates. Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly had Clase as his fifth-ranked Cy Young candidatein the American League in Predicting the Top 5 MLB Cy Young Finishers in AL and NL Post-2024 All-Star Break.

Not only did Clase close out an All-Star Game victory for the AL, but he's having the finest season of what's turning into a really impressive career. Clase currently leads the AL with 29 saves, and has finished an MLB-best 40 games. Clase also has a minuscule 0.81 ERA and 0.677 WHIP. On a team without a true ace, he's been the standout arm.

Appearing ahead of Clase on this list are Seattle's George Kirby (4), Kansas City's Cole Ragans (3), Baltimore's Corbin Burnes (2), and Detroit's Tarik Skubal (1). The fact that Clase is being mentioned alongside these names with the seasons they are currently having just shows how impressive he has been this season.

While it would be nice to see Clase win the American League Cy Young Award, this is something that is always going to be an uphill battle for a non-starter. The last time the award was on in either league by someone not in a starting rotation was Eric Gagne in 2003 while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the last time this happened in the American League was back in 1993 when Oakland's Dennis Eckersley came away with the award after an outstanding season.

As long as Clase can keep pitching at his current level, he may be able to help Cleveland go on a deep postseason run and possibly win a more important team-based achievement, which would make missing out on Cy Young honors a little more tolerable.