Mets mates believe Diaz should be in mix for Cy

Only nine relievers have won a Cy Young Award, none since 2003, when closer Eric Gagne did it with the Dodgers.

And with two months left in this season, Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara is the heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young.

But does Mets closer Edwin Diaz have a case in the midst of a downright dominant season?

“One-hundred percent,” Mets reliever Tommy Hunter said Friday. “Who’s throwing better than him?”

Diaz, who did not appear in the Mets’ 9-6 loss to Atlanta on Friday night, is in a class of his own. After his six-out save against the Braves on Thursday, Diaz has struck out 87 of the 167 batters he has faced this year to go with a 0.89 WHIP, 1.44 ERA and 24 saves in 43 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate of 52.1 percent is the highest by a relief pitcher through 43 appearances in a season in MLB history.

Alcantara, meanwhile, has been the most elite starter. Entering Friday, he had a 1.88 ERA, 141 strikeouts, three complete games and a 0.93 WHIP across 158 ¹/3 innings.

“Yeah, he’s got great stuff, but not anywhere close to being as dominant [as Diaz], respectfully,” Hunter said. “He’s great, don’t get me wrong. But he’s definitely not in the same category as Edwin right now.”

Of course, across the way in the Mets clubhouse, a starting pitcher had a different view of a reliever’s Cy Young candidacy.

“To be quite honest with you, it’s very, very hard to win it as a reliever because the value,” Chris Bassitt said. “The value of a starter over the value of a reliever is drastically different. You have a starter who could win a Cy Young, that’s significantly more valuable than a closer.”

Wins Above Replacement would agree with Bassitt. Diaz has recorded a 2.2 fWAR to Alcantara’s 4.2, per Fangraphs. But both Bassitt and Hunter, who have previously been teammates of relievers who earned Cy Young votes, agree that what Diaz is doing is special.

Hunter was in the Orioles bullpen for the first half of 2016 when Zack Britton posted a single-season record 0.54 ERA (for pitchers with at least 50 innings). The lefty closer, a ground-ball specialist, placed fourth in the AL Cy Young voting that year.