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ANALYSIS: Going into the season, very few people thought Oakland’s fourth-ranked prospect pitcher Mason Miller would make his major league debut only one month into the season. Miller started the 2023 season at Double-A. Many expected that assignment; injuries had limited him to just 20 innings of minor-league ball.
After striking out eight in under four innings in his first start at Double-A, the Athletics pushed him to Triple-A. In his first Triple-A start of 2023, he threw 11 strikeouts across five innings and was called up to The Show to try to stabilize a struggling Oakland rotation.
That ascension is a testament to his’s elite arsenal.
Mason Miller vs Patrick Wisdom.
Look at this stuff. It's totally Ridiculous. 😳
Slider in the dirt/Sword
Slider outer third/Buckle
102mph Sword/Foul
102mph with sink/run/ball
Then blows him away with elevated 102 ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/PKmx4auunw— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 19, 2023
His fastball is his star pitch. The four-seamer accounts for 62% of his pitches at the MLB level. It averages 99 mph and regularly reaches triple digits on the radar gun. In his major-league debut, he became only the tenth player in the Statcast era to touch 100 mph over 15 times. Through two starts, his four-seamer has a .249 wOBA.
His slider is also well-regarded. It averages nine inches of horizontal break and currently has an opponent batting average of .200. His brand-new cutter hasn’t fared so well. On 24 pitches and four plate appearances, the pitch has a .669 wOBA. While it may need some work, it tunnels well and could become just as dangerous as his slider and four-seamer with some development.
With how impressive he has looked at the major league, you wouldn’t think he has a 6.48 ERA. A 1.79 FIP should explain the situation. Behind Miller stands an Oakland defense that already has -23 defensive runs saved. The risk of rostering Miller is entirely unrelated to Miller himself, but it’s still a risk. He won’t have any run support, and he’ll have a historically poor defense.
Despite that, the Athletics front office will keep the rookie up at the major-league level for the entire year. The lack of run support and quality defense will be incredibly frustrating, but his ceiling is unmatched. He is worth rostering in most leagues.
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