MLB power rankings: Untouchable Mason Miller powers Padres toward the top
San Diego closer Mason Miller has been electric early in 2026, leading the Padres to a hot start.
Mason Miller has been untouchable all season. And so have the San Diego Padres lately. Miller's scoreless streak is now at 32 ⅔ innings, just one shy of the Padres' franchise record.
And perhaps most impressively, the best closer in the game has struck out 27 of 38 batters faced this season, his 71. 1% strikeout rate the highest by a pitcher in his first 11 appearances since 1900. But it takes a good team to give a closer a chance to shine and the Padres are just about baseball's best right now.
They've won 13 of 15 to close within a half-game of the Los Angeles Dodgers - and zoom seven spots to No. 2 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings. At 15-7, the Padres have baseball's second-best record, thanks in large part to their closer with the wipeout fastball-slider combo that's proven untouchable.
Or, as Fernando Tatis Jr. put it, "Game over. " Miller's next task?