To say that San Diego Padres closer Kirby Yates has been good in 2019 would be the understatement of the season.
Leading MLB with 27 saves, the Hawaii native has enjoyed the best season of his career. Yates has a career-low 1.27 ERA, 1.33 FIP, and 0.849 WHIP so far this year. He owns a 3.1 WPA (win probability added), which ranks fifth in the MLB.
As if that’s not enough, he has converted 27 out of 28 save opportunities for an impressive 96.4% save rate. He’s averaged more than 14 strikeouts per nine innings, given up a mere 0.