Mason Miller to Start Wednesday vs Chicago Cubs

A's GM David Forst confirmed this news before the game on Tuesday

Mason Miller is in Oakland, and per A's GM David Forst, he's in the rotation. "We talk a lot about young players and prospects forcing their way here. I watched every pitch Mason threw in Las Vegas the other night, and if that's not forcing your way here, then I don't know what is."

In that start, Miller went five innings, didn't allow a hit or a walk, and struck out eleven. The only baserunner came on a strikeout that got away from the catcher. 

"He is inexperienced, and he is young, and he will have ups and downs. I'm not here to say that this is going to be a straight line up for the rest of his career, but he is incredibly talented." 

The A's GM also said that it's always a balance between rewarding a player, and the necessity of needing them. "He went out and made two starts--one in Midland, one in Vegas--and absolutely dominated. He proved that if there's more development to do, it's worth it to take a shot with him doing that here." 

Miller also talked to media before Tuesday's game, and said that he was about to board the team bus to go to the airport from Vegas to Sugar Land, Texas when he got the news. "Fran [Riordan] pulled me into the office and let me know. Flew up here this morning." All of his stuff was packed and he was ready to go. He estimates that they were inside ten minutes away from leaving. 

Mason says that his personal goal was to make the big leagues by the time the A's went to Pittsburgh (he grew up a Pirates fan) at the beginning of June. "I'd like to think that I was good enough to get here sooner than anybody expected, but I think even I'm a little surprised by how fast it was. I'm going to take the opportunity and run with it." 

Miller says that he's getting better at knowing hitter's weaknesses with the scouting reports, but he prefers to pitch to his strengths.

I talked to Mason Miller towards the end of the Arizona Fall League, and he said he'd been working on his changeup, which at the time he admitted was his worst pitch. Today, he said of the change: "It's good. I think the cutter has honestly made all of my pitches play up. I've thrown it primarily to the lefties, showing them four pitches now. Even if it's not my best changeup, still just having it coming away from them has been pretty effective too." 

Miller was selected by the A's in the 2021 Draft in the third round, and has battled some injuries since being drafted, tallying just 28.2 innings. In those innings he has a 2.83 ERA, including a 2.70 ERA in 10 Triple-A innings. 

The 24-year-old righty relies on his fastball, which averaged 100 miles per hour in his start on Friday, but also throws a slider, a hard cutter, and the aforementioned changeup. 

With A's pitchers struggling with command at times, the addition of Miller--who has yet to issue a free pass this season--should help remedy that issue to a degree. 

A's manager Mark Kotsay said the reason he pulled a day/night doubleheader in spring training was to go watch Miller that night against Seattle. "It was real. The stuff was real. The velocity is real. The breaking ball is good." 

Miller doesn't have a set pitch limit for Wednesday's start, but Kotsay said that they plan to build off of the 65 he threw in his last start.

The corresponding move for Mason Miller's arrival has not been announced. 

Notes:

James Kaprielian had been Wednesday scheduled starter, but he will now be available out of the bullpen for Tuesday's game. "We'll evaluate it, if we have to use Kap, how we move forward." 

The A's also announced that Dany Jiménez is headed to the IL with a strained right shoulder, retroactive to April 17. Adam Oller has been recalled from Triple-A. Oller had been scheduled to pitch tonight in Sugar Land following Drew Rucinski's rehab outing. 

Ramón Laureano is not in the lineup for the second consecutive day with a tight right hamstring that has been lingering since the series in Tampa Bay. He will be available off the bench. "We want to make sure that this doesn't become an issue." 

Domingo Acevedo threw a bullpen, and will likely be joining Las Vegas in the next couple of days for a rehab stint that'll last a couple of outings. 

Manny Piña is set to join the Stockton Ports on Friday as the team's DH, then will catch for them on Sunday. The plan is to give him "somewhat of a typical spring training in terms of 35-40 at-bats."