Pair of Mariners crack MLB insider's exclusive list of baseballs best new pitches

Pitching is a beautiful thing. While we can bucket each pitch into broad categories (e.g., fastball, breaking ball, offspeed) and granular subcategories (e.g, sinker, slider, splitter), no two pitches are exactly the same. Each one has a different spin rate, spin axis, movement profile, velocity, and shape. Once you start to mix in other variables like arm slot, release point, and extension, you realize that they're more like snowflakes than you probably thought.

In a league full of flamethrowers, knuckleballers, and slurve throwers (seriously, what is a slurve really?), it's hard to develop a truly dominant pitch that stands out above the rest. However, Jeff Passan recently noted the Seattle Mariners have not one but two of the most potent pitching weapons in the sport. Let's take a closer look and see exactly what he was talking about.

Pitch #1: Bryce Miller's Splitter

Before Seattle had any major signings during this past offseason, the only thing for fans to get excited about was the splitter that Bryce Miller was developing. It had a storyline of its own and it had the potential to be a great secondary pitch that complemented an already high-level four-seam fastball. It also helped that he loved strutting his stuff on Twitter.

At first glance, it was clear that Miller's raw talent and natural stuff had seemingly translated well into this new pitch. The tunneling was good and the sheer drop would hopefully create a lot of swings and misses over the top. In our first glimpse of live ABs, this was proven to be true.

Since the start of the season, his splitter has been even better than many had anticipated. It's missing bats at an astounding rate and has been remarkably productive for Bryce.

It's may have also been a big reason the numbers on his four-seam fastball have improved over last year.

Watching him throw the splitter in games is a visual masterpiece. The 40.5 inches of late drop has deceived some of the best hitters in the game already. It's exactly what he needed to go from good to great as a starting pitcher and has made him into a crucial piece of a young and gifted rotation.