Bryce Miller

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Bryce Austen Miller

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Bryce Miller had a great debut for the Seattle Mariners on May 2, 2023. Starting against the Oakland Athletics, he was perfect through the first five innings - while his opponent, the unrelated Mason Miller - also kept the Mariners from getting a hit, through seven innings in case. Seattle eventually came out on top, 2-1, and Bryce finished with 10 strikeouts and no walks, only the third pitcher ever to do so in his debut, following Stephen Strasburg and Johnny Cueto. The 10 Ks were a Mariners record for most in a debut. Tony Kemp was the first batter to reach after 16 straight outs, with a one-out single in the 6th. A.J. Pollock was the first batter to get a hit for Seattle, with a solo homer off Richard Lovelady with one out in the 8th, and neither Miller figured in the decision.

Miller had breezed his way through the minor leagues, being drafted in the 4th round of the 2021 amateur draft out of Texas A&M University; three years earlier, the Miami Marlins had drafted him in the 38th round of the 2018 amateur draft, out of Blinn College, but he declined to sign, and he stayed one more season than initially planned at Texas A&M after the COVID-19 pandemic cut the 2020 college season short. He was pitching at AA with the Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League at the time of his call-up.

Bryce continued to pitch well after his excellent debut, earning his first career win with 6 scoreless innings against the Houston Astros on May 7th, and adding another 7 scoreless innings in another win on May 13th, this one over the Detroit Tigers. After three career games, his ERA was a minuscule 0.47 in 19 innings, and he had allowed just 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 18. He had his first loss in his next start, against the Atlanta Braves, then pitched another gem on May 24th, with 6 scoreless innings in a 6-1 win over the Athletics. He finished his rookie season at 8-7, 4.32 in 25 starts, with 119 strikeouts in 131 1/3 innings. He continued to do well in 2024, as part of an outstanding starting rotation for the Mariners that was unfortunately not receiving much run support from an underperforming offence. These hitting problems led to Seattle squandering a big early-season lead over the Houston Astros, and to the firing of long-time manager Scott Servais in August. Meanwhile, Bryce was taking his turn on the mound every fifth day and had taken over a run off his rookie season's ERA. In his penultimate start on September 23rd, with the Mariners needing to win against Houston in order to stay alive in the race for the postseason, he pitched a gem, allowing no runs on just two hits over 7 innings to gain credit for a 6-1 win, his 12th of the year.

Miller's best pitch is a splitter, which can move in three different directions: straight down, towards the batter, or away from him, making it particularly difficult to adjust to.

Further Reading[edit]

  • David Adler: "The splitters are coming ... but this one is unique", mlb.com May 26, 2024. [1]
  • Sonja Chen: "Miller's 10-K, 0-BB debut just the 3rd in AL/NL history: No. 2 prospect carries perfect game into 6th, allows 1 run", mlb.com, May 2, 2023. [2]
  • Cole Jacobson: "Three young flamethrowers named Miller share more than a last name", mlb.com, July 8, 2024. [3]
  • Daniel Kramer: "Miller's masterpiece keeps Mariners alive in AL West, within 1.5 of Wild Card", mlb.com, September 24, 2024. [4]
  • James Schapiro: "Miller continues historic start to career, lowers ERA to 0.47", mlb.com, May 13, 2023. [5]

Related Sites[edit]

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