Seattle Mariners fans amazed by rookie pitcher Bryce Miller's historically great start to MLB career: "Cartoonishly nonsensical numbers"
Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller has gotten off to a fantastic start to his MLB career. Through five games, Miller has compiled a 3-1 record with a 1.15 ERA and a 0.511 WHIP.
Miller has thrown 31.1 innings while allowing just 17 batters to reach base. Nobody in the last 100 years has gone 30-plus innings in their first five starts while keeping that many batters off base.
No one in the last 100+ years had pitched 30+ innings in their first 5 MLB starts and not allowed 26+ batters to reach base.
Bryce Miller's first 5 starts:
31.1 innings, 17 baserunners 🤯
It's totally insane. https://t.co/wIRXY6kdBK
Miller isn't doing anything fancy. He's just overpowering batters with his fastball. No other pitcher uses their fastball more than Miller does. He has a 67.7% fastball usage rate. Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox is the only other pitcher who comes close with his 63.3% fastball usage rate.
Miller's fastball average is 95 mph, but his spin rate is elite. His elite spin rate gives his fastball a rising effect that can throw off a batter. Most are used to fastballs coming down, not rising.
"Cartoonishly nonsensical numbers," one fan tweeted.
Cartoonishly nonsensical numbers twitter.com/CodifyBaseball…
"Hey Mariners fans... we've got a star," another fan tweeted.
Hey @Mariners fans... we've got a star. twitter.com/alexmayer34/st…
This guy is a problem. twitter.com/codifybaseball…
ROTY twitter.com/codifybaseball…
Seattle Mariners fans are ecstatic with the path Bryce Miller is on. They believe they have a future star in the making.
@CodifyBaseball Watched his start last night. He's the real deal, and I'm happy for the Mariners and their fans.
@CodifyBaseball Rookie of the Year
@CodifyBaseball Filth!
The next big thing twitter.com/codifybaseball…
remarkable twitter.com/codifybaseball…
Fans are expecting Miller to keep this up. They're looking for him to be a contender for the American League Rookie of the Year. That's an award he could run away with if he keeps pitching like this all season.
Bryce Miller and this Seattle Mariners rotation may not be enough to keep them afloat
The Seattle Mariners have a loaded pitching rotation with the emergence of Bryce Miller. He pairs well with Luis Castillo, Marco Gonzalez, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. However, they'll be without Robbie Ray, who underwent Tommy John surgery after his first start of the season.
They'll need their pitching to keep them in games, as the team has been inconsistent on offense this year. Seattle has a team batting average of .230, ranking them 24th in the league. Teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds have a higher team batting average than the Mariners.
Their inconsistent offense has led to their 25-24 record, which ranks them fourth in the American League West. They're six games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.
Seattle needs to figure it out and do so soon. It may be left in the dust with the way its division looks.