Mason Miller Credits Ruben Niebla for Padres' Pitching Success

The San Diego Padres have arguably the best bullpen in Major League Baseball this season, and it is anchored by superstar closer Mason Miller

Miller has been absolutely lights out to open the season, creating some franchise history in the process with a 34.2 scoreless innings streak. Overall, Miller has posted an ERA of 1.17 over 15.1 innings of work, striking out 29 batters to just three walks.

Even before he came to the Padres, Miller was dominant for the Athletics, but he has been on another level with San Diego. The right-hander recently spoke with Padres On SI, giving some credit to pitching coach Ruben Niebla for his and the organization's success.

“I think that the environment that Ruben’s been able to cultivate for pitchers — and that speaks more to the organization and everybody else involved too, because I think it extends outside the pitching staff — the results and the success of the pitching here in recent years under Ruben is undeniable for sure. I think he does a great job of empowering his guys, supporting them, pushing them, challenging them," Miller said.

Miller is far from the only pitcher on the Padres to praise Niebla, as everyone loves working with the team's pitching coach. But the star closer seems to feel very comfortable playing for the Padres, and it's showing in his performance out on the mound.

Niebla has created a nice environment for his players, and the Padres have benefited from this greatly. San Diego has been a solid place for pitchers to maximize their success, and Miller is just one of many example.

The right-hander started the season with a 34.2-inning scoreless streak, which dated back to last year. But his pure dominance on the mound has been incredible to see, and the Padres are very happy to have him.

“I think it’s also just the environment and the people that we have here," Miller said of what makes pitching in San Diego so great. "We have good people, so it’s easy to push one another. It’s easy to have harder conversations with each other, be a little critical, and know that we’re all coming from a place that we just want to succeed as a group. And succeeding as a group results in individual success too, so focusing on that team aspect and letting the individual stuff follow."

As long as Miller is coming into a game with a lead, the Padres will feel very comfortable in getting the win. There was some talk about Miller transitioning to being a starting pitcher over the offseason, but he told Padres On SI he's happy in his closer role.

"Personally, taking on that risk doesn’t make a whole lot of sense," Miller said. "But also, with how I’m gonna be able to help the team, I felt like I was best served to step into the late-inning role and continue doing what I’ve been having a lot of success with.”

San Diego has a goal of winning the World Series, and having a shutdown closer like Miller can make a massive difference. This team has already created all sorts of noise in the National League, and with this bullpen, the Padres are thinking about a championship.

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