Mason Miller is breaking baseball

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: Mason Miller #22 of the San Diego Padres reacts after pitching the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park on April 10, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images Before the start of the 2026 season the San Diego Padres were projected to win 79-80 games by FanGraphs and PECOTA. The assumption was the bench was not deep or talented enough, the starting pitching was not deep or talented enough and the bullpen wouldn’t be as good with the departure of closer Robert Suarez.

It is obviously way too early to prove any of those assertions wrong. The returns so far show that the Padres have the potential to be way better than assumed and a lot rests on the starting pitching. The one thing no one expected, not the so-called experts or anyone who covers, or is a fan of the team, was for new closer Mason Miller to overwhelm baseball.

Coming to the Padres from the A’s at the 2025 trade deadline, in exchange for top prospect Leodalis DeVries, Miller was the setup man for Suarez. And he was really good. He pitched in 22 games and 23.

1 innings with a 0. 77 ERA, allowing 10 walks with 45 strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 104.