n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”supplierUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},”__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”### **His changeup and curveball could possibly be his greatest pitches**nnMiller’s least-utilized pitches — his changeup (13.4% utilization) and curveball (17% utilization) — are arguably his _most_ efficient.nnThe changeup is a nasty 88.9 mph providing that has a whopping 17.6 inches of horizontal break. Among the 124 starters who’ve thrown not less than 100 changeups in 2023, Miller’s changeup has the third-lowest anticipated wOBA (.180) — based mostly on the standard of contact allowed (exit velocity and launch angle), strikeouts and walks. His 38.8% whiff price is properly above the league-average mark of 30.9%.”,”sort”:”textual content”,”__typename”:”OEmbed”,”html”:”
Bobby Miller, Filthy Curveball and Changeups. 😷 pic.twitter.com/P8UG3rBuKp
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 25, 2023
nn”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”supplierUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”,”__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”His low-80s curveball would possibly simply be probably the most visually interesting pitch he throws. The pitch’s mixture of above-average velocity, vertical and horizontal break make it one of the efficient curveballs by any beginning pitcher.nnAmong the 112 starters who’ve thrown not less than 100 curveballs in 2023, Miller has the Fifteenth-lowest xwOBA (.218). His 36.3% whiff price on his curveball is properly above the league-average mark of 31.2%.nnFor a rookie with this sort of stuff, Miller instructions his arsenal rather well. Miller’s 7.7% stroll price is a lot better than the league-average 8.5% price nevertheless it’s been even higher of late. Across his final six begins, Miller has walked simply 5.5% of opposing hitters.nnPut all of it collectively and Miller has the bundle of one of the thrilling younger starters within the Majors. Once once more, the Dodgers appeared to have struck gold with a frontline-level pitcher who’s simply beginning to faucet into his potential.”,”sort”:”textual content”],”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:null,”abstract”:”Of the numerous driving forces behind the Dodgers’ success during the last decade-plus, their participant growth program is perhaps the only most spectacular energy.nPlayers corresponding to Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Will Smith, Walker Buehler and Julio Urías have been all drafted or signed by the Dodgers, who subsequently helped develop”,”tagline(“formatString”:”none”)”:null,”tags”:[“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”,”__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”brent-maguire”,”title”:”Brent Maguire”,”type”:”contributor”,”__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-119″,”title”:”Los Angeles Dodgers”,”team”:”__ref”:”Team:119″,”type”:”team”,”__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-676272″,”title”:”Bobby Miller”,”person”:”__ref”:”Person:676272″,”type”:”player”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”player-tracking”,”title”:”Statcast”,”type”:”taxonomy”],”sort”:”story”,”thumbnail”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/formatInstructions/mlb/vtk3toupsh9peywpkqvv”,”title”:”Bobby Miller’s comparisons to Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole”}},”Team:119″:”__typename”:”Team”,”id”:119,”Person:676272″:”__typename”:”Person”,”id”:676272}}
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6 minutes in the past
Of the numerous driving forces behind the Dodgers’ success during the last decade-plus, their participant growth program is perhaps the only most spectacular energy.
Players corresponding to Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Will Smith, Walker Buehler and Julio Urías have been all drafted or signed by the Dodgers, who subsequently helped develop them into the star MLB gamers they’d develop into. Their means of growing gamers from inside has allowed the Dodgers to not miss a beat on an annual foundation. That consists of this season for a Dodgers group on tempo for 100 wins.
Los Angeles’s subsequent growth success story might need arrived. Bobby Miller, the Dodgers’ No. 2 total prospect and No. 24 MLB prospect getting into the season, made his MLB debut on May 24 in Atlanta. From the get-go, Miller stepped in as a invaluable member of the rotation and has a 3.70 ERA and 1.8 WAR in 75 1/3 innings. After a tough four-game stretch that began in June, Miller has dominated with a 2.59 ERA and three.17 FIP in his final six begins.
What’s maybe most notable about Miller is his otherworldly stuff that has been abundantly clear and is backed by numbers which might be similar to the elite of elite beginning pitchers. Here’s extra on Miller’s stuff that has put him in status firm by way of pure stuff from a beginning pitcher and why the sky is perhaps the restrict for the 24-year-old.
Stuff similar to Cole, deGrom
From a swing-and-miss perspective, Miller’s numbers haven’t popped out. His 22.4% strikeout price ranks within the forty first percentile whereas his 24.2% whiff price is within the thirty fifth percentile. While these figures would possibly seem underwhelming, it would not absolutely seize that Miller has among the greatest stuff within the Majors.
On Baseball Savant, every pitcher profile contains a neat listing of comparable pitchers based mostly on stuff and motion. It’s a great way of contextualizing a pitcher’s pure stuff and gaining an understanding of how their total arsenals stand compared to different MLB pitchers.
In the case of Miller, the comparable names soar out in all the most effective methods.
Just being on a listing with these names is spectacular in itself. You have a couple of of the most effective pitchers of the final decade (Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom), the reigning NL Cy Young award winner (Sandy Alcantara) and one of many recreation’s brightest younger starters (Hunter Greene). Even Luis Severino, who’s had a tricky 2023 season, possesses nice stuff and had produced large strikeout figures previously.
“Yeah, it feels nice,” Miller said when asked about being compared to these names. “Those are among the greatest arms within the recreation.”
When watching Miller for the primary time, the instant and apparent energy you discover is the high-octane fastball.
Miller’s four-seam fastball averages 99.2 mph, the quickest by any starter within the Majors.
Fastest avg. four-seamer velocity, SP, 2023
Min. 100 four-seamers
1. Bobby Miller (LAD): 99.2 mph
2. Jacob deGrom (TEX): 98.7 mph
3. Hunter Greene (CIN): 98.6 mph
4. Mason Miller (OAK): 98.3 mph
5. Sandy Alcantara (MIA): 97.9 mph
The elite velocity is simply a part of the fastball bundle. At 6-foot-5, Miller has a dimension benefit that results in sturdy extension — how shut a pitcher’s launch level is to dwelling plate. Add in an above-average spin on his four-seamer (sixty fifth percentile) and you’ve got a fastball that shortly will get on hitters.
As if one fastball with elite velocity wasn’t sufficient, Miller additionally throws a 98.8 mph sinker that he throws practically as typically (23.7%) because the four-seamer (24.2%). Like his four-seam fastball, Miller leads all starters in sinker velocity, holding a whopping 1.2 mph edge over the second-place Alcantara.
When taking a look at fastball profiles, the Alcantara comparability is an applicable one. Alcantara, Miller and Dodgers teammate Dustin May are the one starters in 2023 who’ve averaged 97-plus mph on each their four-seamer and sinker.
Part of Miller’s effectiveness with the multi-fastball strategy is because of his capability to find them properly in several quadrants of the zone. Miller predominantly goes up with the four-seamer and arm-side together with his sinker. With a further 5 inches of horizontal motion on the sinker, there’s simply sufficient of a distinction in motion between the 2 pitches.
“The two-seamer (sinker) has been a big help for me this year,” Miller said. “I feel like I can throw the two-seamer around the whole plate.”
The deGrom-esque fastball/slider combo
With Miller throwing two totally different fastballs about half of the time, the remainder of the utilization goes to a trio of nice secondary pitches in his slider, changeup and curveball.
From a outcomes standpoint, these pitches have been spectacular. In 155 plate appearances ending on Miller’s non-fastballs, opposing hitters have a .581 OPS and 32.3% strikeout price. For reference, the common beginning pitcher has allowed a .667 OPS with a 26.5% strikeout price on non-fastballs.
It’s the slider, nonetheless, that Miller depends on probably the most out of his secondary pitches and what makes the deGrom comparisons so compelling.
“deGrom has been one of the guys I look up to,” Miller mentioned. “His fastball and slider combo is kind of what I tried to make my fastball/slider combo. I’m going for the hard slider/hard fastball.”
Like deGrom, Miller throws one of many hardest sliders of any starter within the Majors. Miller’s 90.3 mph slider is bested by solely three starters (minimal 100 sliders): deGrom (91.8 mph), Hunter Brown (91.8 mph) and Zack Wheeler (90.9 mph).
Also like deGrom, Miller has an uncanny capability to constantly find the pitch low and glove-side. Paired together with his fastball, Miller’s precisely-located sliders create a tricky job for any hitter.
His changeup and curveball could possibly be his greatest pitches
Miller’s least-utilized pitches — his changeup (13.4% utilization) and curveball (17% utilization) — are arguably his most efficient.
The changeup is a nasty 88.9 mph providing that has a whopping 17.6 inches of horizontal break. Among the 124 starters who’ve thrown not less than 100 changeups in 2023, Miller’s changeup has the third-lowest anticipated wOBA (.180) — based mostly on the standard of contact allowed (exit velocity and launch angle), strikeouts and walks. His 38.8% whiff price is properly above the league-average mark of 30.9%.
His low-80s curveball would possibly simply be probably the most visually interesting pitch he throws. The pitch’s mixture of above-average velocity, vertical and horizontal break make it one of the efficient curveballs by any beginning pitcher.
Among the 112 starters who’ve thrown not less than 100 curveballs in 2023, Miller has the Fifteenth-lowest xwOBA (.218). His 36.3% whiff price on his curveball is properly above the league-average mark of 31.2%.
For a rookie with this sort of stuff, Miller instructions his arsenal rather well. Miller’s 7.7% stroll price is a lot better than the league-average 8.5% price nevertheless it’s been even higher of late. Across his final six begins, Miller has walked simply 5.5% of opposing hitters.
Put all of it collectively and Miller has the bundle of one of the thrilling younger starters within the Majors. Once once more, the Dodgers appeared to have struck gold with a frontline-level pitcher who’s simply beginning to faucet into his potential.
Content Source: www.mlb.com