Injured Mariners Starting Pitcher Shows Improvement

Miller admits that he worked on improving his slider at this time. Of course, any adjustment to his pitches will be done under the wise counsel of Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth. Seattle really wants to make sure that Miller can be effective in a rehab stint as well as getting back fully ready for the Mariners' run at a possible postseason spot.

“I made a little tweak to the slider, and I'm hoping that it helps it out a little bit,” Miller said. “It'd been kind of all over the place earlier in the year, so hopefully I’ll get used to that and go from there. But yeah, the curveball and the splitter felt really good, so I'm happy with where those were for day one.”

These changes to his pitching arsenal were not done due to his injury. Miller wants to show Wilson and Woodworth that he's willing to go to any lengths, in a healthy way, and keep working to get better.

Miller has a 5.73 ERA this season while making 10 starts for Seattle. It's significantly up from his 2.94 ERA in the 2024 season.

“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, “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."

Mariners fans will be watching Miller's progress closely. They know that any help in the team's pitching rotation is welcome, especially as the MLB Trade Deadline draw near. Don't expect Miller to be traded, though. He's going to focus on making sure he is in good shape for Seattle.