The Dominican of the Guardians, Emmanuel Clase, and the Puerto Rican of the Mets, Edwin Díaz, made life very easy for their managers in June, for which they have been recognized as the Reliever of the Month.
Class was nearly perfect in June, as the 24-year-old flamethrower allowed no runs in his 15.0 innings of work. He only allowed seven hits all month, and hitters averaged just .137 against him. Clase leads the Major Leagues with 18 saves, 11 of which were in June.
Clase averaged 97.4 mph with his pitches, the most among major league relievers, and hitters are hitting .200 with their sliced fastball this season.
Díaz was almost on a par with Class in June, since in 9.2 innings of work for the leading Mets, he gave up only one run. In June, he had five saves and limited hitters to a 0.93 WHIP. His electric fastball continues to fool hitters, too, as they rank in the 100th percentile in swing and hit rates and strikeout rates.
Diaz’s finest hour this season came on June 12 when he struck out five batters and hit 101.6 mph on his fastball.
This is the fifth time in his career that Diaz has been named reliever of the month. It is the first time that Clase has won an award of any kind.