Mariners' Bryce Miller is channeling MLB's nastiest pitcher during rehab stint

However the Mariners handle their pitching surplus when Bryce Miller comes off the injured list, it already seems as if they should prepare for a different version of him. Because when a guy starts name-dropping Cam Schlittler as a source of inspiration, one hopes he's serious.

After missing most of spring training with oblique discomfort, the 27-year-old is currently on a 30-day rehab assignment down in the minors. Miller's most recent outing was for High-A Everett last Friday, and Kate Preusser of Lookout Landing reported on the new look in his pitch mix as he racked up three scoreless innings with six strikeouts.

“I was sitting on the couch last night watching Cam Schlitter take down the Red Sox throwing all cutters,” Miller said. “So I figured I’d mix some in today.”

Oh? Cam Schlittler? The same Cam Schlittler who leads the majors with 2.0 fWAR. Who has 49 strikeouts against only 25 hits and six walks allowed? That Cam Schlittler?

Our surprise comes from how this is an unexpected pitcher for Miller to take after. Schlittler is throwing about 25 percent cutters this year, whereas Miller's usage of the pitch peaked at 4.3 percent in 2024. Yet he was for real about throwing more on Friday, with Preusser noting a usage of about 10 percent.

How emulating Cam Schlittler could stabilize Bryce Miller as a force in the Mariners rotation

It probably isn't a good idea to expect Miller to go full Schlittler when he returns to the Mariners. As much as he likes his fastball, he's not an extreme fastball pitcher like Schlittler is. Few are, as the young righty is throwing about 90 percent fastballs for the Yankees this season.

However, that is indeed the plural of fastball. It's Schlittler's mid-to-high 90s velocity that makes headlines, but it's as much how he tunnels his four-seamer, sinker and cutter that makes him so hard to hit. Naturally, there is a Pitching Ninja visualization:

Those are three different pitches with similar velocity, but extremely different movement profiles once they reach the hitting zone. Even if a hitter guesses right on basically 1-out-of-3 odds, he still has to be on time and on target.

For his part, Miller is better equipped than most to try to take after Schlittler. He has a four-seamer and a sinker that he likes using, and his max speed during rehab has been 99 mph. If he can add a workable cutter to that mix, he could have something — particularly against lefties, whose OPS against him is nearly 200 points higher than the one righties have.

The mere hint that this is a possibility is not something to get carried away with. It's easy to fool around with a cutter when there's nothing at stake in a minor league game. It's harder to do it in a major league game, and there may be a tell in how Miller has historically shied away from the pitch.

Even so, anything that could get Miller back on track is nothing if not interesting. Because even if he doesn't have a ceiling above the one he showed in 2024, that one was still high enough to make him the Mariners' best pitcher that year.

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