Mariners’ Bryce Miller is a student of pitching. He’s starting to teach it, too.
PEORIA, Ariz. – Wearing what is affectionately called a Texas tuxedo, which included pressed bluejeans, a pearl-snap dress shirt with a sports jacket, his best cowboy boots and a black Stetson, Bryce Miller walked to the lectern in the massive Brazos ballroom of the Waco Events Center with the same casual confidence he displays on the pitcher’s mound.
But even for the affable Miller, this was new and a little daunting.
In the audience were more than 300 of the best high school baseball coaches, past and present, in the state of Texas for the annual Hall of Fame induction banquet.
Miller, all of 26 years of age, had been asked to be the keynote speaker to a room full of baseball coaches, including ones he played for and several he played against at New Braunfels High School.
“It was supposed to be a 20-minute speech and I ended up talking for 30 minutes,” Miller said with a chuckle.
The talking points were essentially about what he’s learned from the Mariners since becoming a professional and how it helped him evolve into a solid MLB starting pitcher with the potential to be so much more. It was a more refined version of some of the talks he’s made to pitchers at his alma mater Texas A&M.
“I was telling somebody not too long ago how much of an impact this organization has made on me,” he said. “When I was at A&M, I was just throwing, like I didn’t know how to pitch. And once I got here, it didn’t take long. I took off pretty quick.
“A lot of credit goes to the Mariners with how they preach to us to dominate the zone and how the action scores on my pitches were able to give me confidence to be over the plate and to trust my stuff.”
Trent Blank, the Mariners director of pitching strategy, didn’t know that Miller had given a speech about pitching even though the two text often during the offseason. Miller is constantly looking for feedback on his throwing sessions from technology like the TrackMan radar machine.
But Blank wasn’t surprised Miller talked for 30 minutes about the Mariners’ pitching philosophy. He’s had plenty of lengthy conversations with the young right-hander about pitching.
“He self-analyzes, and he slows things down in a way where you see it on the mound, and you do see it in interviews too,” Blank said. “What he says is very thoughtful, and it’s hard to poke holes in it. I do think he’s adopted some of our stuff, but I think we’re learning from him along the way. We’re trying to take that same person, that same identity, and try to apply it in different ways across the minor league levels.”
If Blank or pitching coach Pete Woodworth were asked to deliver a speech about the Mariners’ pitching and development philosophy, Miller would be used as one of the prime examples for its success.
Seattle selected Miller in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB draft. He was a successful middle reliever as a sophomore in 2019. He had three saves in eight appearances as the Aggies closer in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He transitioned to a starter in 2021, posting a 3-2 record with a 4.45 ERA in 10 starts and three relief appearances. In 562/3 innings, he struck out 70 batters, but also walked 37.
The Mariners “pitching lab,” which also included analyst Joel Firman, now an assistant general manager, and Max Weiner, now the pitching coach at the University of Texas, at the time, analyzed Miller through video while also consulting area scouts. They saw more than just a mid-90s four-seam fastball.
“We got a lot of different looks from that,” Blank said. “So we got Joel who was taking a peek at it one way. We had our player development group that was looking at it from a different lens. There was a ton of flexibility in his arsenal. With the way it was coming out of (his) hand, we saw different options. He was a really good athlete. There are certain things that some guys can do on the mound that other guys can’t do. And he possesses those qualities.”
But those qualities are only one aspect. Miller needed to understand that so many things he thought he knew about pitching or what he was trying to do on the mound could be adjusted or improved.
“We have a good culture here,” Blank said, also mentioning Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo as mentors for Miller. “We have the right resources, and we use those resources to give guys good direction. He’s a smart guy himself and he’s also got good people around him.”
It was an enlightening experience. Miller was introduced to pitching analytics, Trackman data and the mindset of dominating the strike zone.
“My first season of pro ball I just bought into that,” he said. “They were telling me three of my pitches are better than the big-league average pitch. And I’m like, ‘Why would I not throw it over the plate and get ahead?’”
Miller learned that he could miss over the plate and not get punished, and the value of winning the 0-0 and 1-1 counts.
“Obviously, I have a lot more pitches now, but the way that I pitch is completely different than I did at A&M,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot better at getting ahead and trusting my stuff and attacking hitters. When I was at A&M, it was a lot of trying to be on the edges and trying to make the perfect pitch and trying not to walk guys, whereas now I’m just going to attack. I’m going to get ahead. I’m going to be over the middle of the plate early and then get you to chase and finish counts.”
The evolution from thrower to pitcher has come quick. Miller was forced to make his MLB debut a little earlier than expected in 2023 when Robbie Ray suffered a season-ending injury in his first outing. Roughly a year and eight months after getting drafted – a total of 33 starts over parts of three minor-league seasons – Miller was inserted into the Mariners rotation.
He posted an 8-7 record with a 4.32 ERA as a rookie in 25 starts. Last season, with the help of a splitfinger fastball added to his repertoire and changes to both of his breaking pitches, he went 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 31 starts. In 1801/3 innings pitched, he struck out 171 batters with 45 walks.
Admittedly, the pitcher that Miller has developed into wasn’t necessarily expected when he was drafted. There was some debate as to whether he’d be a starter or reliever at the MLB level.
“There wasn’t just one path for Bryce to be really good,” Blank said. “There were multiple paths. And you’re starting to see it now.”
Might Miller’s post-baseball path remain in the game as a coach? He was a finance major at A&M with plans to get his MBA before being drafted.
“He’s a coach,” Blank said. “We will put him in front of our minor-league players.”
Blank would love to have Miller interact with switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and right-hander Ryan Sloan – the Mariners’ top two picks from last season.
“He’s a really good student,” Blank said. “And I really would trust him with any one of our players to take our system and be able to really develop any of our players. He’s that special.”
So would Miller want to coach when his playing career is done many years from now?
“I don’t know,” Miller said. “It depends on how long I play and if I can buy a ranch or not.”
And if he does want to coach?
“If he wants to coach and I’m in a position where we can hire him,” Blank said. “I’d love to have him.”