Mariners’ Bryce Miller faces hitters for first time since hitting IL
SEATTLE – Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller faced live hitters for the first time since early June on Saturday at T-Mobile Park, clearing a big hurdle as he works toward his eventual return from the injured list.
Miller, who threw a 25-pitch live batting practice to teammates Miles Mastrobuoni and Ben Williamson, has been on the IL since June 10 because of elbow inflammation that was due to a bone spur. He hit mid-90s with his fastball on Saturday, and also worked in his secondary breaking pitches, including his splitter, curveball and slider.
“Everything felt good. Shapes, and I think velo was really good and felt really sharp,” Miller said. “First time seeing hitters in six weeks or whatever, so need to tighten some things up. I think that’ll come over the next few weeks. But overall, it feels really good.”
Miller reported no pain in his elbow after the session, but he wants to build up his workload more before he knows for sure how his arm is responding after what he went through earlier this season. Miller spent two weeks on the IL and got a cortisone shot in his elbow in May, but continued to struggle before going on the IL again.
“I think once I get through, you know, the second, third, fourth inning, and it still feels good, then I’ll be really confident,” Miller said. “It’s tough to get 100% confident before I get there, just because of how the cortisone shot went the first round. But yeah, everything feels great so far, and no complaints.”
Miller’s top goal is to improve is the location of his secondary pitches, which should come as he faces live hitters over the next few weeks.
He also made a tweak to his slider after not seeing the results he was expecting early in the year. After throwing it to live hitters, Miller was pleased with how the pitch performed.
“For some reason this year, it’s been hard for me to throw that pitch upper-80s like I have in the past,” Miller said. “(I made) a little grip change and moving a little bit more left than it was, and so (it) feels closer to a fastball for me. So I think it should be easier to throw harder and then hopefully locate better.”
Miller’s next step is a minor-league rehab outing, which manager Dan Wilson sounded confident would happen soon, depending on how Miller responds physically in the next couple of days.
“(We’ll) kind of reassess tomorrow as he comes back, and hopefully that’s soon,” Wilson said. “Encouraged by what we saw, and steps just keep going the way we thought they were going to go.”
M’s sign 18 draftees
The Mariners announced they have signed 18 of their 21 picks from last week’s MLB draft, including catcher Luke Stevenson, the No. 35 overall pick, and second-round shortstop Nick Becker.
The only players they have yet to sign are first-round pick Kade Anderson, though he has reportedly agreed to terms on a contract with an $8.8 million signing bonus and will officially sign next week, 18th-round pick RHP Griffin Stieg and 19th-round pick LHP Cameron Appenzeller.