Mariners’ top prospect Bryce Miller set to debut tomorrow against Oakland!
Mariners’ top prospect Bryce Miller set to debut tomorrow against Oakland!
Bryce Miller, the top pitching prospect in the Mariners system, will make his debut tomorrow against Oakland. Get your scouting report and preview on Miller here!
Mariners’ top prospect Bryce Miller is being called up to start tomorrow against the Oakland A’s, first reported by Joe Doyle.
The news is exciting and somewhat surprising, but the move makes sense for many reasons. Following Seattle’s offday on Monday, they will return home to face the lowly Athletics who have just six wins in 2023.
A start against the worst team in baseball is a perfect soft landing for Miller, the 90th ranked prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.
The former fourth rounder hasn’t exactly dominated in Double-A Arkansas so far this season to the tune of a 6.41 ERA in four starts. His last start was his best of the season, throwing five innings and allowing just one hit, a solo homer.
Miller mostly relies on an electric fastball slider combination, and has drawn comparisons to Spencer Strider. You can find my full scouting report on Miller below.
This move comes on the heels of multiple dreadful starts from Chris Flexen, and the season ending injury to Robbie Ray. I like this move for Miller, giving him a softer landing to start his big league career.
Miller, a 6-2 right-hander, threw 162 plus innings last season. This is a huge reason for the aggressiveness of Seattle’s call up with him, because he has a workload that theoretically should be able to sustain a full season’s workload if he should stick in the rotation.
Miller needs more swing and miss and the ability to throw both pitches consistently for strikes, but this first test run in the big leagues should give him a solid foundation to work off of. His fastball can compete with the best in all of minor league baseball, it will be the secondary offerings that will define him.
Another reason for excitement is that the move should push back Seattle ace Luis Castillo to the Houston series.
Two things I am concerned about are the health of Logan Gilbert and the timing of Miller’s callup.
This isn’t exactly a natural time to call up the youngster, especially with his struggles so far this season. He did perform last season and in Spring Training which gices confidence, but his start to the season hasn’t been sharp.
My hope is that Logan Gilbert is healthy and isn’t being placed on the IL as the corresponding move. Gilbert is a big part of this team, and just last week he was pushed back with a shoulder concern.
Gilbert made his next start, but the possible concern still exists. It is something to keep an eye on, but the Mariners are typically very smart with how they set up their rotation and utilize off-days.
In either case tomorrow will be very exciting, especially because Miller will be squaring off with A’s young phenom Mason Miller. The Rookie consistently touches triple digits, making tomorrow’s matchup an electric one.
Get your popcorn ready.