After missing all of spring training with an oblique injury, Bryce Miller’s month of rehab likely wrapped up tonight in Everett. So far, Miller has made four starts on his rehab assignment:
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4/18 (AAA): 1.2 innings, 10 batters faced, three runs on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts; 33 pitches (21 strikes)
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4/24 (A+): 3 innings, 11 batters faced, no runs on a hit with a walk and six strikeouts; 47 pitches (35 strikes)
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4/30: (AAA): 4 innings, 15 batters faced, no runs on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts, 53 pitches (36 strikes)
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5/6 (A+): 5 innings, 19 batters faced, no runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts, 61 pitches (38 strikes)
Miller was maybe too efficient tonight against eager High-A hitters excited to swing against the big-leaguer, keeping him from increasing his pitch count significantly—he had to finish out his outing in the AquaSox bullpen to get in his required pitches—but all the indicators were there: he held his fastball velocity well, still hitting 96-98 into the later innings of his outing, and mixed in all his secondaries. Postgame, Miller joked about how quickly he got through his five innings in typical Bryce-style:
If you’re a little concerned about the walks on Miller’s ledger, that’s fair, but also, Miller was adamant about wanting to work in all of his pitches during his rehab starts, so take the walks with a grain of salt. The one thing to maybe be aware of is how often his fastball seemed to exhibit extreme downward movement to land for balls, which is something that felt like a consistent issue during his rehab assignments. But the bigger benchmarks were working at a consistent fastball velocity, throwing all his pitches and throwing strikes or near-strikes, and getting through his projected innings, and Miller hit all those targets with flying colors.
Miller didn’t face much adversity from the low minors hitters of the Diamondbacks system, but he did have to work around some traffic in the first after giving up a BABIP double and then walking the next hitter he saw on four pitches. He got out of the jam when the next hitter went after the first pitch he saw for a GIDP. Miller continued on like that, playing with his food a bit; he walked a hitter with two outs in the second, trying to get the feel for his splitter, only to come back for an easy 4-3 groundout. In the third, he issued a walk with two outs (boo! hiss!) but got his first strikeout of the day on the very next batter:
Miller’s second strikeout of the day, against Brady Counsell (yes son of Craig) to close up a very quick nine-pitch one-two-three third, was on a fastball that popped up on the gun at Funko Field at 98 mph.
Miller got through one more clean inning, thanks partially to a great sliding catch by Mariners prospect Jonny Farmelo, who continued to show he can hold down center field after the ACL tear that cost him significant time last season:
It was a big night for Farmelo and the AquaSox offense, who showed out in support of their big-league rehabber. That fifth inning almost-hit for Miller, saved by Farmelo, came after a long layoff where the AquaSox were busy scoring five runs, in addition to the three they’d already scored in the third, and the two in the first. Ten runs after four innings, cue the Mariners rotation/“I used to pray for times like this” meme.
The 2-3-4 trio of Jonny Farmelo – Felnin Celesten – Luke Stevenson ganged up for seven combined hits, six RBI, two doubles, a triple, and a homer, and since it’s hard to see any of the three of them spending much more time in Everett – Farmelo’s been there a while, Celesten has been on a heater lately, and Stevenson looks too advanced for the level – if you’re local, get up and see them while you can.
The Mariners have yet to announce if Miller will make another start or rejoin the club on this road trip, and have definitely not said what their plans are going forward, especially with Emerson Hancock, Miller’s de facto replacement, pitching as one of the top pitchers in Seattle’s rotation. But what seems clear from tonight’s outing is Miller has completed his rehab assignment, insofar as the assignment was “have a spring training”; he’s made five total starts now, including the one he did this spring before landing on the injured list, and he’s hit his pitch count benchmarks every time. Whatever the decision is, it’s coming soon.
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