Bryce Miller's next scheduled Mariners start should go to Kade Anderson instead

Tuesday night's massacre in Milwaukee may well have been the breaking point for a lot of fans, finally deciding to give up on the Mariners' chances of making the playoffs. While they are still close enough to contend, the franchise record 22-0 beatdown is the type of loss which can break a team's spirit. Irrespective, we've similarly reached breaking point with holding Kade Anderson back from his Major League debut, and Bryce Miller should be the sacrifical lamb to make it happen.

Anderson has continued to lay waste to Double-A batters throughout this season, producing a 1.06 ERA and 0.643 WHIP which both lead all minor league pitchers. He has racked up 135 strikeouts over his 18 starts, is on a scoreless steak of 20.2 innings and there really is nothing left for him to prove. It's at the point where the likes of MLB.com's Jim Callis are baffled that the lefty hasn't been called up yet, accusing the Mariners of "wasting his time" in Double-A Arkansas at this point.

The main reason behind the delay comes down to Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander insisting they don't want to call Anderson up and put him in the bullpen, as it could sabotage his development. It's been an agonizing waiting game as, even with Luis Castillo now gone, the Mariners still have five quality starters. In addition, it would seem they'd prefer not to return to a six-man rotation.

Bryce Miller has turned into a declining commodity that should open the door for Kade Anderson

As far as we're concerned, it's now feasible to consider giving Miller's spot in the rotation to Anderson. The reality is that Miller's capitulation on Tuesday night versus the Brewers was only the latest in a recent series of terrible outings. At one point considered arguably the best starter in the rotation, he's been on a mostly bad run of form over his past seven starts:

Miller's fastball has now become a liability and during August he has seen its Run Value go down to a season monthly low of -6. There's the question of if he's still suffering with his bone spurs, having never having surgery to rectify an issue which has been impacting him since towards the end of the 2024 season. It's at the stage where it might be time to move him to the bullpen, or place him on the Injured List and get the problem resolved once and for all.

We had already suggested Anderson needed to be ready to go, following the news that Bryan Woo had felt some shoulder discomfort ahead of his start on Sunday versus the Astros. Especially as even though Woo said he felt OK, he was limited to 75 pitches on the day. Not that anyone wants to see him out with another injury, after what happened near the end of the regular season last year.

Instead, Miller's recent form has opened up another (slightly) more appealling way for Anderson to finally make his Major League debut. As with Woo, we don't wish for Miller to have to miss any more time with injury, but one way or another, Anderson should replace him for his next scheduled start this Sunday versus the Cubs. Plus, it might finally shut Bill Simmons up.

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