The Baltimore Orioles are absolutely rolling this season and while a variety of players have played a part in their success, closer Felix Bautista is arguably one of the most important. The hard-throwing righty owns a 0.96 ERA and has served in a variety of roles for Brandon Hyde in 2023.

In Hyde's eyes, Bautista has to be in the AL Cy Young situation. Via MASN.com:

“He’s on my ballot, and the box is checked on my ballot,” said Hyde, who isn't in the BBWAA.

“What he’s doing is different than anybody else in the game right now. The multi-inning save situation, how dominating he’s been, situations I’m putting him in that aren’t easy, and the way he’s come through more times than not in dominating fashion. Just having a great year at this point.”

Reliever Danny Coulombe also doubled down on the case for Bautista to get some Cy Young votes:

“What he’s doing is honestly historical,” Coulombe said. “We were talking about it (Thursday). I don’t think I’ve ever seen an outing before where you throw two innings, 15 pitches and get three strikeouts, which is pretty much impossible. He’s just been so good for us and it’s so nice having him at the back end there.”

Felix Bautista came in on Thursday and threw a two-inning save against the Tampa Bay Rays in extra innings, striking out three and allowing no hits. While it's been 20 years since a reliever won the Cy Young, Bautista should at least be getting some looks.

His numbers are truly eye-popping. The Dominican has struck out 91 in 47 innings and produced a WHIP of 0.85 plus a 5-1 record. In the end though, what's most important is that Bautista continues to pitch well for Baltimore deep in games. The rest will take care of itself. And who knows, maybe he'll get enough votes to win the Cy Young.

You never know.