Mariners’ Bryce Miller introduces new pitch mix wrinkles in second rehab start

TL;DR

Bryce Miller had a successful second rehab start, throwing three scoreless innings with six strikeouts. He effectively used a mix of seven pitches, including a newly introduced cutter.

Key points

Bryce Miller had a successful second rehab start
He threw three scoreless innings with six strikeouts
Miller used a mix of seven pitches during the outing
The cutter is a new addition to his pitch arsenal
He utilized the cutter about 10% of the time

Bryce MillerMariners

Bryce Miller built on his solid first rehab start in Tacoma with an even more impressive outing in Everett this past Friday night. Slated to go three innings or 45 pitches, Miller’s start went perfectly to plan; he needed just 47 pitches to complete three full scoreless innings. He racked up six strikeouts, issuing just one walk, and addressed the media postgame about his outing.

“Everything felt good,” he said. “Felt like I located everything well. I think I got all seven pitches in and located them well, and was able to get ahead most times.”

Miller was able to throw all seven of his pitches, focusing mostly on throwing the fastball and sinker, which together consumed about half of his pitch count. As he worked the third inning, though, he switched over to throwing his secondaries almost exclusively, spending equal time with the slider, sweeper, curveball, splitter, and cutter.

The cutter is a newer addition to Miller’s arsenal; since introducing it in 2024, he’s thrown it rarely, but utilized it about 10% of the time in his outing in Everett.

“I was sitting on the couch last night watching Cam Schlitter take down the Red Sox throwing all cutters,” grinned Miller. “So I figured I’d mix some in today.”

The cutter elicited swings and foul balls, although he was able to use it to steal a first-pitch called strike against a lefty. Miller was highly aggressive in the zone in his outing, throwing nine first-pitch strikes to the eleven batters he faced. The Spokane batters, relishing their chance to face a big-league arm, were anxious to swing, helping drive that metric up for Miller, who later joked he was just trying to help Everett break a tie with the big-league club in an organization-wide contest for which pitching staff can throw the most first-pitch strikes.

“Any hitter, any lineup – here, or in Tacoma, or in Seattle – the more that we can be ahead, the better. So even when I’m working on pitches and working different sequences, the first goal is to get ahead and then go from there.”

In addition to watching Schlitter throw his cutter, Miller has been studying different slider grips during his downtime, borrowing one from Bryan Abreu in in an attempt to improve his traditional gyro slider (separate from his sweeper). The retooled grip has cost him a little velocity on the pitch, which frustrates him, but he’s encouraged by the early results on the pitch, something he’s been tinkering with for several years, trying to limit the damage on it when batters do make contact with the pitch.

Q&A

What were Bryce Miller's stats in his second rehab start?

Bryce Miller threw three scoreless innings, struck out six batters, and issued one walk while using 47 pitches.

How many pitches did Bryce Miller throw during his outing?

Bryce Miller threw a total of 47 pitches during his three-inning outing.

What new pitch did Bryce Miller introduce in his rehab start?

Bryce Miller introduced a cutter in his rehab start, utilizing it about 10% of the time.

Which pitches did Bryce Miller focus on during his rehab outing?

Miller primarily focused on his fastball and sinker, which made up about half of his pitch count.