The Seattle Mariners head into Thursday trying to keep their season from taking another hit in Miami, and Bryce Miller gives them their best shot to do it.
Seattle has dropped the first two games of the series against the Marlins after riding a 5-1 homestand, leaving the club at 47-46 and still just 0.5 games ahead in the American League West. The margin is slim, and it has been that way for much of the year.
Miller is on the mound for the finale, and he arrives with the kind of numbers that put him in rare company. In his 10th appearance of the season, he owns a 0.66 WHIP and a 1.71 ERA. According to OptaSTATS, the only player since 1913 to post lower marks in both categories after nine season appearances was Jacob deGrom in 2021, when he was at 0.57 WHIP and a 0.62 ERA, with a minimum of 50 innings.
That kind of start has made Miller one of the American League’s best arms since he returned from the injured list in mid-May. There was real momentum behind an All-Star push despite the limited workload, though he has not been selected as of this posting.
He comes into Thursday at 4-2 with 62 strikeouts in 52.2 innings, and he has done it while missing very few bats and very few zones. Miller has only five walks, and his fastball has played at a much higher level this season, sitting routinely in the 96 to 98 mph range.
His last outing was exactly the sort of performance Seattle needs right now: seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angeles in a 1-0 win.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. PT, and after this game the Mariners head to Tampa for a three-game series against the Rays. That will be their final stop before the All-Star break.
The club also has the MLB Draft coming up Saturday in Philadelphia. Seattle holds the No. 24 pick after selecting No. 3 overall a year ago, when it took Kade Anderson of LSU. Anderson has since become one of the top prospects in baseball, ranked No. 7 by Baseball America, and is expected to make his debut later this season.
In Other News...
Mariners May Finally Break Their Draft Habit For A Bigger Need
The Mariners are heading toward the 2026 MLB Draft with the No. 24 pick and, as usual, the expectation is that theyll lean pitching. Seattle has built a strong pipeline on the mound, and the general sense around the draft board is that a college arm still fits the clubs recent habits and its organizational strength. But theres also a little more wiggle room than people might expect, with the front office said to have a wide range of players in play as it sorts through a class that could shape the next wave of the roster.
What makes this one worth watching is the possibility that Seattle could finally use a first-round pick on a bat instead of defaulting to another pitcher. Recent mock drafts have linked the Mariners to college hitters Ace Reese and Ryder Helfrick, which would be a notable shift for a team that has spent years building from the mound outward. With the offense still carrying more long-term uncertainty than the pitching staff, the idea of adding another impact hitter to the system has at least become part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Face A Bigger 2026 Draft Test Than Fans Realize
Baseball America still has Seattle sitting fifth in its latest farm system rankings, a reminder that the organization has built real pitching depth and enough talent to stay in the upper tier of the sports prospect landscape. The Mariners have also done a good job of turning that system into major league help, which is part of the reason the pipeline now looks a little thinner than it did not long ago.
Scott Hunter and the front office are staring at a draft that will ask them to keep replenishing the stock even without the kind of draft position or bonus flexibility that makes the job easier. With more prospects on the verge of forcing their way to Seattle, the challenge is no longer just finding talent, but finding enough of it to keep the system from getting stretched too thin. [Read more 🡒]
Randy Arozarena's Controversial Play Leaves Mariners Fans Torn
Randy Arozarenas decision not to chase a foul pop-up in a recent game stirred up plenty of reaction from Mariners fans, but the explanation has been more medical than emotional. Manager Dan Wilson pointed to Arozarenas hamstring as a limiting factor, and Arozarena said plainly that he did not get to the ball, a small moment that quickly turned into a bigger conversation about effort, health and what Seattle can reasonably expect from one of its most dynamic players.
The broader issue for the Mariners is that Arozarena is not dealing with this alone. Dominic Canzone is also working through a sore hamstring, which has complicated Seattles lineup flexibility and kept the club from using Arozarena in a different role to ease the strain. With both players compromised, the Mariners are trying to balance short-term competitiveness with the reality that these injuries can affect more than one play at a time. [Read more 🡒]