Bryce Austen Miller (born August 23, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
| Bryce Miller | |
|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners – No. 50 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: August 23, 1998 Mount Pleasant, Texas, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 2, 2023, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 20–15 |
| Earned run average | 3.52 |
| Strikeouts | 290 |
| Teams | |
| |
Career
editAmateur career
editMiller attended New Braunfels High School in New Braunfels, Texas. He and Jordan Westburg were teammates on the New Braunfels Unicorns baseball team, and both graduated in 2017. They were childhood friends who grew up in the same neighborhood.[1]
Miller began his college baseball career at Blinn College where he had a 7–1 record with 5 saves in 20 relief appearances in 2018.[2] He was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 38th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft[3] but did not sign with the team. He transferred to Texas A&M University, playing for the Aggies baseball team for three seasons.[4] He was a reliever in his first two seasons with the Aggies, leading the team with 3 saves in the shortened 2020 season, before converting to a starting pitcher in 2021 and leading the team with 37 strikeouts.[2]
Miller also played collegiate summer baseball. In 2018 and 2020, he pitched for the Texas Collegiate League's Brazos Valley Bombers.[5] In 2019, he played with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6]
Seattle Mariners
editThe Seattle Mariners selected Miller in the fourth round, the 113th overall pick, of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft and signed with a $400,000 bonus.[7][8] He made his professional debut with the Single-A Modesto Nuts, pitching 9+1⁄3 innings in 5 games with a 4.82 ERA.[9] In 2022, Miller made 27 appearances (26 starts) split between Modesto, the High-A Everett AquaSox, and the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, posting a combined 7–4 record and 3.16 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 133+2⁄3 innings pitched.[10]
Miller began the 2023 season back with Arkansas, struggling to an 0–2 record and 6.41 ERA in 4 starts in April. On May 1, the Mariners announced that Miller would be promoted to the major leagues for the first time to start against the Oakland Athletics.[11] In his first start, he took a perfect game into the sixth inning before giving up a one-out single to Tony Kemp. He pitched six innings, surrendering one earned run and striking out 10, a Mariners record for most strikeouts in a debut.[12][13]
Miller had a strong start with the Mariners. In his first three starts, Miller allowed only eight baserunners, breaking the MLB record held since 1901, with a minimum 15 innings pitched.[14] He had the lowest WHIP (0.421) in first three starts in MLB history, also with the minimum threshold of 15 innings.[15] On May 24, Miller became the first pitcher since 1901 to pitch at least six innings while allowing four or fewer hits in his first five career appearances.[16][17]
Miller landed on the injured list on July 3 with a blister on his finger.[18] He returned to the mount on July 16, picking up his sixth career win. Miller tailed off at the end of his rookie season, dropping his last three decisions. He ended 2023 season with an 8–7 record with a 4.32 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 131+1⁄3 innings.[19]
Miller put up an impressive second season in 2024, with a 12–8 record with a 2.98 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 180+1⁄3 innings. He pitched 7 innings allowing 0 or 1 run in seven different starts.[20] His ERA and 1.068 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) both ranked in the top 5 in the American League.[21]
Personal life
editIn 2024, Miller adopted a hammerhead shark named Chum, which became the Mariners' team shark.[22]
Miller's favorite baseball player growing up was Lance Berkman.[23]
References
edit- ^ Rill, Jake (May 16, 2024). "They homered off each other in Little League. It's time for an MLB showdown". MLB.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "Bryce Miller - Baseball Stats - The Baseball Cube". TheBaseballCube.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "38th Round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Unicorn alum Miller signs offer from Texas A&M".
- ^ "Bryce Miller Amateur, College & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Bryce Miller". pointstreak.com. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ "Former Unicorn Miller drafted by Seattle".
- ^ "Bryce Miller - Stats - Pitching". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Mariners' Bryce Miller Has a Special Arm".
- ^ "How Bryce Miller went from college reliever to intriguing starting prospect for Mariners". seattletimes.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ "Mariners' Bryce Miller: Set to debut Tuesday". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ "Mariners PR on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "Seattle Mariners vs Oakland Athletics Box Score: May 2, 2023". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Mariners rookie Bryce Miller breaks record held since 1901 while stymying Tigers to send Seattle above .500". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ "Mariners' Bryce Miller makes MLB history after dominant start vs. Tigers". clutchpoints.com. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ "Bryce Miller keeps throwing heaters, continues impressive start as Mariners beat A's". The Seattle Times. May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ "@MLB on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ "Mariners Place Bryce Miller On Injured List". MLB Trade Rumors. July 3, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Bryce Miller 2023 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Bryce Miller 2024 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "2024 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Bryce (July 11, 2024). "Noted shark expert Bryce Miller wants you to meet Chum". Retrieved September 29, 2024 – via Facebook.
- ^ Seattle Mariners (August 7, 2023). Get to Know Mariners Rookie Bryce Miller. Retrieved September 29, 2024 – via YouTube.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)