How Valuable Has a 27-Year-Old Lefty Reliever Been to the 2026 Padres?
It’s been a lovely month of August in San Diego, California. The 2026 Padres have successfully placed themselves back into playoff contention after an atrocious stretch of baseball in July. The club sits at a very impressive 71-60, much improved after their eight-game losing streak. As of August 24th, the Friars sport a comfortable two-game cushion over the division rival Diamondbacks for the third National League Wild Card spot. All of this recent winning is a massive necessity as well. The National League is loaded this year, full of teams scratching and clawing for position through the playoff push, but the Padres have done an excellent job of crafting a massive upper hand in the form of their bullpen, a wildly elite unit. This, coupled with a three-time all-star going nuclear in the box, has resulted in a winning squad, but lurking in that bullpen is one of the most electric arms in baseball.
Finding a Role
The Padres actively sit at second in the entire MLB in bullpen ERA behind only the New York Yankees. It’s easy to point at Mason Miller and rain down praise for his absurd 2026, but the man setting him up is nearly as valuable. Adrián Morejón has been absolutely stellar for three years in a row now, a massive victory considering his early struggles. The left-hander was initially a starting pitcher, one who struggled. Morejón pitched to a 5.28 ERA in just 75 innings from his debut in 2019 to 2023, dealing with injuries and poor performance. The swap to a full-time bullpen role had an instant effect as the 25-year-old dazzled for the playoff-bound 2024 Padres. Morejón threw 63.2 innings of 2.83 ERA baseball, a far cry from the previous struggles. The strikeout potential was on display, with 71 punchouts in that frame of work. Those stellar numbers were followed up by an even better 2025. The flamethrower ranked in the 95th percentile in pitching run value, earning his first and only all-star nod to this point. It’s easy to see why. Morejón racked up 2.3 WAR in 73.2 innings, sporting a 2.08 ERA in those frames. Heading into 2026, it was expected to see a repeat performance for the former international signing.
Continued Dominance
Despite some occasional hiccups, the 27-year-old reliever has been nothing but dominant in 2026. FanGraphs WAR rankings place him as the fifth most valuable reliever in all of baseball with a mark of 2.2. This stems from his ridiculous value in high-leverage situations, a spot where the former all-star absolutely does not fold. He has an overall ERA of 2.74 while collecting a career-high 84 strikeouts. The punchouts come from his absurd 99.5 average fastball velocity, a mark that puts him in the 98th percentile of fastball velocity. Morejón also does an incredible job of limiting hard contact, ranking in the 97th percentile of opponent barrel rate. The season has been exceptional largely thanks to his increase in strikeouts. The 27-year-old has always been able to induce groundballs, a fact that hasn't changed with a 98th percentile ground ball rate, but his career-high 90th percentile strikeout rate has added another level. If the Padres are leading late, it’s safe to say the opponent odds are about as low as they can be with Morejón popping into the game; the squad will need to lean on their lefty entering the postseason push.
