If you want an example of why the win statistic isn't the most useful in baseball, just take a look at Emmanuel Clase.
The Cleveland Guardians closer has a 3-0 record this season.
The problem: Closers aren't supposed to get wins. They're supposed to get saves.
And in all three of Clase's "victories," he blew a save before his offense took the lead back and got him the win decision that he really did nothing to earn.
The latest came Sunday in Pittsburgh.
The Guardians took a 4-1 lead to the ninth, the simplest of save situations with the three-run advantage.
Clase gave up three runs to send the game to extras. But the Guardians scored in the top of the 10th, and Joey Cantillo pitched a scoreless bottom 10.
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The big righty now has an 8.38 ERA and a 2.28 WHIP.
He's also tied for the MLB lead in wins. LOL.
A quick look at Clase's Baseball Savant page is confusing. He's still in the 94th percentile in MLB in chase rate and the 87th percentile in whiff rate, yet he's only in the 38th percentile in strikeout rate.
Part of that is due to his high walk rate, and hitters have found the barrel against him at a 68th-percentile rate, not his usual self.
Clase is allowing the highest average exit velocity of his career by more than a full mile per hour.
Hitters are also finding a 10-degree launch angle on average, with the highest Clase has ever given up before down at 3-degrees, a much less likely direction to do damage.
He's throwing his cutter and slider both a little slower than last year, which probably isn't ideal.
Something is definitely wrong with Clase. For the Guardians to contend in the AL Central, they have to figure out what.
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