Seattle Mariners Pitcher's Put-Away Pitch One of The Best in MLB, Per Website
The Seattle Mariners starting pitching rotation received heaps of praise during the 2024 regular season. And that hasn't changed despite the team ending the year on Sept. 29 against the Oakland Athletics.
The Mariners boasted the only rotation in the league that had four pitchers start 30 or more games. Seattle's ace, Logan Gilbert, made the All-Star Game in 2024. Gilbert's teammates and fellow starters Luis Castillo and George Kirby both made the All-Star Game in 2023.
The only two members of the rotation that haven't been named to the Midsummer Classic are Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, who both played their second major league seasons in 2024.
Both hurlers made great cases to be considered two of the best young pitchers in the MLB. Woo finished the year with a 2.89 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 121.1 innings pitched and 22 starts.
Miller had a 2.84 ERA with 171 strikeouts in 180.1 innings pitched and 31 starts.
Emphasizing the pair's rise in league ranks is that Miller already has one of the deadliest pitches in baseball.
According to popular advanced analytics website Baseball Savant, Miller had the highest-rated splitter in the entire MLB with a run value of 10. Run value is a score based on the impact a pitch has in an event. It takes factors into account like runners on base, number of outs, and pitch-counts at the plate.
The splitter is considered one of the best pitches in the league. The fact Miller has the best one just two years in as a big leaguer is an incredible feat. Especially considering Gilbert has a dangerous splitter in his own right.
Popular content creator The Couch GM talked more about Miller's splitter in a post on "X" (formerly known as Twitter).
Bryce Miller’s new Splitter was ranked as the most valuable splitter in baseball via Baseball Savant in 2024.
— The Couch GM (@The_Couch_GM) October 28, 2024
The unpredictability of the movement profile was a big factor, as it had a 19 inch variance in horizontal break.. & home plate is 17 inches wide. 😳@Bryce_miller9 pic.twitter.com/Oxpna0lz5L
The Couch GM (@The_Couch_GM on "X") mentioned that Miller's split-finger both runs, drops, and cuts. That means the pitch has three different movements depending on the release.
This detail was mentioned as far back as May 26 in an article published by MLB.com's David Adler.
Adler mentioned the exact movement measurements of Miller's splitter in the article:
"Miller's splitter has an incredibly wide range of movement. It can run as much as 16 inches. It can drop as much as 50 inches. And it can even cuts much as four inches."
In the article, Miller said he doesn't intentionally dictate which kind of movement the splitter will take.
"It just kind of does that on its own," Miller said in the article. "Sometimes it'll be really depth-y, and then sometimes it takes off. I don't know."
Bryce Miller, Wicked 86mph Splitter. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/G8ctrAhpjl
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 21, 2024
Miller could very well have an argument as being the second-best starter in the Mariners' rotation. At least based off 2024.
And there's room for him to get even better.
It'll be interesting to see how Miller and the rest of the pitching staff performs in 2025 after an elite 2024.
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