Young Mariners starter’s Top 100 debut underscores rotation’s dominance

Stop us if you've heard this one before, but the Mariners have arguably the top rotation in the Majors and certainly the best in franchise history. Last season saw the starters tear through opposing lineups, finishing the 2024 campaign ranked first with a team 3.38 ERA, 185 walks, 1.03 WHIP and .222 batting average against.

Critics will argue it's going to be a tough challenge for the Mariners' rotation to replicate that level of success this coming season, just because of the odds are against them being fully healthy this time around. They were the only club to have four pitchers with 30+ starts last year, while Bryan Woo also had 22. (Emerson Hancock had the other 12 starts.)

In any event, as of right now the Mariners rotation is still highly regarded, with fans only having to look at MLB.com's first installment of counting down the top 100 players in baseball. Numbers 100-81 were released on Friday, and right there at number 87 was Bryce Miller.

Bryce Miller represents Mariners on MLB Top 100 players list

This is quite an accomplishment by Miller, with last season only representing his second year in the Majors. However, he proved he belonged with an excellent campaign, which included finishing eighth among all qualifying Major League pitchers with a 2.94 ERA, tied for fourth with a .200 opposing team batting average, and fourth with a 0.976 WHIP.

What will be interesting to discover is how many other Mariners starters will appear in MLB.com's top 100 countdown. He is currently fourth on the club's depth chart, so conventional wisdom tells us there will be another three members of the rotation to come.

However, there is the possibility of a curveball just based on how successful Miller was compared to his peers in Seattle during the 2024 season. In this respect, consider that he was first among all five main starters with a 3.4 WAR, second with his 2.94 ERA and third with his 0.976 WHIP.

We still think that Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo will all be included in the remainder of MLB.com's countdown, which will come in five more installments and conclude with players 10-1 on Feb. 13, However, if we're going to see anyone left out, you would argue it will be Castillo which, as crazy as that might sound with the three-time All-Star, is just based on his WAR, ERA, ERA+, FIP and WHIP all ranking fifth-best in the Mariners rotation last year.

Going back to Miller specifically though, he has an excellent pitching repertoire, which is highlighted by a four-seam fastball that he relied heavily upon when he was first called up to the Majors. However, his splitter and sinker have both become dangerous weapons, with him also still working on his sweeper and slider.

Miller is an unassuming character who doesn't look particularly intimidating with his slender frame, and yet he has a ferocious killer instinct on the mound, which is of course where it matters most. That he will likely end up being only ranked fourth among Mariners pitchers in MLB.com's top 100 players countdown is something which should scare opposing lineups in 2025.

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