Padres' Mason Miller has been unreal ever since Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s historic blast

On August 5, Padres reliever Mason Miller contributed to history, but he was on the wrong side of it. He threw the fastest pitch in MLB history to be hit for a home run, courtesy of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who turned on the fastball while down in the count, 1–2, tying the game at five apiece.

But since that moment, Miller has been absolutely dominant. In 17.1 innings over 16 appearances, he has yet to allow a run in any form, and has boasted a 17.13 strikeouts per nine innings. He continues to overpower batters with high velocity, while also carving them up with finesse, generating a ton of swing and miss with the slider.

Mike Shildt should be thrilled to be getting this type of production out of Miller, who will be the anchor of the back end of the bullpen for years to come.

The Padres have been without Jason Adam since the start of the month, as the right-hander suffered a ruptured quad tendon that required season-ending surgery. Miller’s ability to record tough outs in the seventh while dominating in the eighth has been, and will be huge for the team’s potential playoff run.

A.J. Preller is somewhere smiling, as he gave up a king’s ransom to bring in the 27-year-old, trading away four prospects, including MLB’s No. 3 overall, Leo De Vries. The trade piece that he took a gamble on putting up video-game numbers is certainly something he should be proud of.

With a Robert Suarez opt-out being inevitable, Miller’s dominance as the team’s setup man is all leading up to him being next year’s closer. After all, he was one of the league’s flashiest closers before being traded to the Padres.

The Padres have Miller under team control through the 2029 season, which was in part why the asking price was so high. But, seeing the way he has performed, it is safe to say that it was totally worth it.