After being somewhat decent for a while, the Oakland Athletics have lost eight of their last 10 and have been ceding ground in the AL West.
Still, there is no denying they are far better and more entertaining than last year.
One of the reasons why Oakland makes for good TV is because of Mason Miller.
The flame-throwing reliever is one of the best closers in baseball, perhaps even the best at this point.
The eye test and the stats rarely lie, and Miller excels at both.
Just take a look at his stuff from the hitter’s perspective.
“Mason Miller’s stuff looks unhittable from any angle,” MLB tweeted.
Mason Miller’s stuff looks unhittable from any angle. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/7qlApcwWSZ
You can watch the video of Miller blowing hitters away with his 100+ fastball and his filthy breaking ball.
You can see how hard it is for batters to time his fastball: it’s almost impossible, and it feels like one has to start swinging even before the ball leaves Miller’s hand.
He can reach 103 and even 104 mph on occasion, making life very difficult for hitters.
In 20.1 innings, he has conceded just seven hits and two runs for a 0.89 ERA.
His WHIP is a ridiculous 0.59, and his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is an unfathomable -0.15.
Miller has only given away five free passes, and has struck out a whopping 41 hitters.
That’s unbelievable.
Naturally, many teams would love to have a reliever like Miller and, as a result, he might be one of the most coveted pieces ahead of the trade deadline.
If Oakland ever wants to be competitive, however, they should keep him and probably extend him for the long haul.
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