Raisel Iglesias is back for the LA Angels, but he never really left

About a week and a half ago, I wrote a piece about LA Angels' struggling closer Raisel Iglesias, and how he wasn't...actually struggling. I mentioned how while his 4.05 ERA and 95 ERA+ were obviously very disappointing, the numbers weren't completely reflective on how he'd truly been pitching this year for the Halos.

It was only 15 appearances--Iglesias is likely going to be throwing in close to 70 this year. I also mentioned how he had only given up runs in three out of those 15 contests. There really wasn't enough concrete evidence of regression to the point where Angel fans should worry. Sure enough, Iglesias has proven that to be the case since then.

Since those 15 games, Iglesias has looked much better. He's come into four games and allowed just one earned run. That run was in the first game after those aforementioned 15, so he's even hotter as of this moment than it may appear. And since that loss, he's picked up three straight saves.

Raisel Iglesias is having a fine season with the LA Angels again.

While it's true that Raisel Iglesias so far has not been everything he was last year with the LA Angels, he's still been very good. His 3.94 ERA could be worse, his 0.875 WHIP is electric, his 3.62 FIP is encouraging, and his .175 BAA is elite.

Not to mention, the man has 11(!) saves on the year. That's top five in baseball. Iglesias is getting the job done. He's now on pace for 39 or 40 saves at this rate. That's five to six more than what he had last year; a year where he established himself as one of the top closers in this league and earned himself a bag.

Iglesias still deserves to be talked about as an elite closer. He's only played 19 games this year; it's incredibly early to decide Iglesias isn't the pitcher he was last year. Even then, his numbers are still solid, and he's racking up saves too. Iglesias is getting the job done, and Anaheim is lucky to have him this year and a few more after this too.