Three comments from CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa about Miller, MLB’s hardest thrower
Mason Miller, one of MLB’s greatest emerging relievers, had a showcase during the New York Yankees’ recent series split with the Oakland A’s.
With just 14 pitches, the 25-year-old Miller shut out the Yankees’ most formidable batters, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Anthony Volpe, to secure the opener victory and send a message to the whole league. Miller’s performance also promoted him as a possible trade asset for a team like the Yankees, as MLB insider Ken Rosenthal pointed out on “Foul Territory.” Many believe the Oakland A’s will be selling by the trade deadline.
Rosenthal continued, saying that even if a trade for Miller might seem appealing, he doesn’t think the team would be willing to sell him.
“I don’t see the Athletics trading Mason Miller, but I’m sure all those Yankees fans who watched him mow down the middle of their order in the ninth inning the other day are salivating over the idea,” Rosenthal remarked. Theoretically, they will begin to prepare for Las Vegas, so this pattern of moving their best players has to end sometime. They assert that they will begin to increase their payroll expenses. We’ll see, but if that’s really the idea, they ought to be holding onto players like Mason Miller.
If the New York Yankees were a playoff-bound team, Mason Miller may make a difference.
Miller has recorded six saves in the eight games he has played this season, striking out 23 hitters in only 11.1 innings. His ERA dropped from 3.78 to 1.59 as he started six games in the previous season.
Following Monday’s victory in New York, A’s manager Mark Kotsay remarked, “The kid has embraced this role from day one,” as reported by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. He’s beginning to show that he has what it takes to be a back-end specialist. When he takes that mound, he exudes confidence. A rookie pitcher entering Yankee Stadium for his first save and going 1-2-3 is encouraging.
With an average fastball velocity of 100.7 mph, Miller is MLB’s hardest thrower, according to CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa. As of yesterday, he has also thrown all nine of the fastest pitches in the league.
Axisa continued, “Miller uses a razor blade slider that averages 87.5 mph and has a 53.6% whiff rate in conjunction with his high-octane heater.” “That’s well above the 33.8% league average for sliders and among the top 10 slider whiff rates.”
Perhaps the Yankees could need a closer with a lot of intensity.
Because of all of this, Miller is a highly sought-after closer—the sort of player that rival clubs look for before the trade deadline to help them get over the hump and instantly improve their chances of winning the World Series. That type of shock would be welcome on any club, and the Yankees had been tracking hard-throwing reliever Josh Hader over the winter before he signed with the Houston Astros.
However, as Rosenthal pointed out, the A’s might not be ready to trade with Miller if they hope to compete soon. He has a $740,000 contract that expires in one year. After that, he will go through arbitration before becoming a free agency in 2030. It’s difficult to break up with an agreement that is that sort of cooperative.
With Clay Holmes now tied for the MLB lead in saves with nine, the Yankees are essentially set at reliever. Nevertheless, Holmes’ contract expires at the end of this season, so the Yankees may want to add a top player to their relief corps in the winter.
