Bryce

Miller

An unhappy Miller departed up 3-2 after retiring Ryan Jeffers to start the sixth, but the lead was blown an inning later. Miller averaged 95.7 mph with his fastball on six days’ rest tonight. It’s the fifth straight outing in which he’s been in 95.0-.95.8 mph range after never coming in below 96.0 mph in his first eight starts. He’s still a reasonable enough bet to be useful in mixed leagues going forward, but the new ceiling he seemed to be demonstrating a couple of months ago is largely gone now. He’ll face the Rays next.

It’s a welcome development for fantasy managers as Miller will be spared from having to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles. That honor goes to Bryan Woo instead. The 27-year-old righty is getting some extra rest after being tagged for five runs over 5 1/3 innings by the Rangers his last time out.

Miller didn’t strike out a batter in this one. The righty allowed only one free pass on the night, but the Rangers made the most of the six hits they tallied against Miller. Wyatt Langford blasted a solo homer off him in the first inning to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead, and Jake Burger’s two-run homer in the fourth inning would push the Rangers’ lead to 3-1. The Rangers would plate two more runs in the sixth inning and eventually forced Miller from the game. The five earned runs Miller allowed were the most he has surrendered in any game this season. He’ll look to get back on track in his next start which is scheduled for Wednesday on the road against the Dodgers.

Miller left a splitter up to Bryce Eldridge in the fifth, and Eldridge drilled it out to center for a two-run homer. The unearned run came after he exited in the sixth, an inning that featured an error by Colt Emerson before Miller departed and an error by Cole Young afterwards. Even though he was on seven days’ rest, Miller’s velocity was again down tonight; he averaged 95.1 mph, matching his season low from his final start before the break. 95.1 mph was also his career average through the end of 2025, so it doesn’t spell doom. Still, there’s less reason for excitement now than when he was averaging 96.4 mph in his first nine outings. Miller will likely make his next start Friday against the Rangers.

The Mariners will open the second half with Miller on Friday, Bryan Woo on Saturday, and Logan Gilbert on Sunday. All three of them have been gifted a good matchup against a Giants team that has struggled at the plate this year.

Miller also issued four free passes in the ballgame while striking out three. The Marlins got to him for two runs in the second inning, including a solo homer off the bat of Griffin Conine. They then added four more — including a pair of unearned runs — in the fifth inning. The 27-year-old righty got 10 whiffs on 81 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 25 percent. Despite the poor effort to finish the first half, Miller heads into the All-Star break with a brilliant 2.18 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 65/9 K/BB ratio over 57 2/3 innings through his first 10 appearances (nine starts).

The Mariners had just two hits and the one run came on Cal Raleigh’s bases loaded walk in the sixth. Fortunately, that was enough for Miller, Eduard Bazardo and Andrés Muñoz. It’s Miller’s fourth scoreless start in nine outings since he came off the IL. Of a little concern is that his velocity has been trending down. He averaged 97.5 mph with his fastball in his season debut May 13, but he’s been in the 96.0-96.5 mph range since and tonight he hit a new season low of 95.8 mph. That’s still a little better than his career average of 95.1 mph, but it looks like he’s returning to his old level. He’ll face the Marlins next.

Miller gave up just three hard-hit balls, but two of those were homers that accounted for all three runs. Since coming off the injured list, Miller has allowed seven homers but only 10 runs in 45 2/3 innings. His K/BB is an outstanding 54/5, and there just aren’t more than a handful of starters throwing better than he is right now. He’ll likely face the Angels on Tuesday.

Miller struck out seven and walked one while losing for the first time in seven outings since debuting last month. The Mariners will probably continue to toy with their rotation through the All-Star break, but even so, Miller needs to be regarded as a top-20 SP going forward. He has a 1.58 ERA and a 43/5 K/BB through 40 innings.

There’s a lot to unpack here. According to Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, it was a unanimous decision by all six starters — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo — to move to a schedule where each pitcher will rotate through and have piggyback days. Ironically, the arrangement will begin with Castillo piggybacking out of the bullpen with Miller during Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox. The decision will have a significant fantasy impact simply by reducing the overall volume for each starter over the next few weeks. The unorthodox arrangement feels like a temporary stopgap solution until the arrival of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan later this summer ultimately forces Seattle to move on from at least one of their veteran arms.