The Atlanta Braves have been lucky to have employed one of baseball's best closers since 2022. Raisel Iglesias has continued to be a force as Atlanta's closer, and even near the end of his career, he's one of the most dependable in the game. Atlanta's closer has impressed again in 2026. The righty has a 1.27 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, six walks, and 31 strikeouts over 28.1 innings pitched.
Iggy's metrics have been off the charts this season, with the only areas below average being his ground ball percentage and extension. Despite his fastball only averaging 94.6 mph, opponents are only hitting .190 against it. The 36-year-old has converted all 16 of his save opportunities, and his 1.27 ERA is the fifth-best among qualified relievers. His teammate Robert Suarez tops the list with a 0.56 ERA over 32 innings.
His most recent save against the Giants gave him 113 saves as an Atlanta Brave. This surpassed Mark Wohlers for the fourth-most saves in franchise history. The three pitchers above Iglesias in saves are Gene Garber (141), John Smoltz (154), and Craig Kimbrel (186). With his impressive season, Iggy has a career ERA of 2.84 with 269 saves and 900 strikeouts. That's quite the career for any pitcher, and despite that, he has never played in an All-Star Game.
Unfortunately for Iggy, despite how well he has pitched this season, he still may not get the opportunity on July 14th in Philly.
Raisel Iglesias' bid for his first All-Star Game may hit a snag due to MLB's rule regarding each team being represented
There are just too many NL relievers pitching their tails off this season. Atlanta will likely send a couple of position players this year. Chris Sale could get a nod, and so could Suarez. However, Suarez is injured, so maybe Iglesias could replace him.
Dylan Lee has a chance to make it as well, as he's been very good this year. Even Didier Fuentes has a shot with his 1.53 ERA over 29 innings. Outside of that, there's Mason Miller, Jhoan Duran, Huascar Brazobán, Yuki Matsui, and Tanner Scott to contend with. It's possible Iggy could make it, and he absolutely deserves it. There are just limited slots, and typically teams that send their one representative are on the pitching side.
It would be really nice to see him appear in an All-Star Game at least once before he decides to call it a career. There's no telling if he will continue to pitch after this year, but if he keeps it up, there's no doubt the Braves would consider bringing him back.
He is incredibly valuable to the staff of young arms that Atlanta employs. Fuentes, being close to a pitcher like Iglesias, can only help his career flourish. And the Cuban hurler seems more than happy to do so. Iglesias stated, “They are the ones to whom I need to pass on those positive experiences so they can learn and stay on the right track for the years they have left to play here.”
That shows he is a perfect fit for this organization, and another reason why he deserves to be at the All-Star game.
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