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The 2023 MLB season has been filled to the brim with starting pitcher injuries, and now it seems one of the game’s brighest young arms could be next. Mason Miller, the top-100 prospect with a 100-mph fastball who’d burst onto the scene with the Oakland Athletics in recent weeks, has reportedly begun feeling tightness in his elbow.
Mason Miller felt tightness in his right elbow following his start yesterday. He is flying back to the Bay Area to be evaluated. A’s manager Mark Kotsay said it looks to be more of a flexor muscle issue than anything else: “We’re hoping for the best,” Kotsay said.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) May 8, 2023
Miller threw six innings of two-run ball on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. The team has yet to release any sort of prognosis or timetable as the righty heads back to Oakland to undergo further evaluation.
The Athletics’ no. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Miller began the season in Double-A — but after striking out 19 over his first 8.2 innings in the Minors, he’d earned himself a call to the Show. The righty immediately looked like he belonged, striking out five while allowing two runs over 4.2 innings against the Chicago Cubs in his MLB debut. He followed that up with seven no-hit innings against the Seattle Mariners last week, showcasing his overwhelming triple-digit fastball and a deadly cutter and slider.
Mason Miller's third MLB start was nothing short of electric ⚡️
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 3, 2023
7 IP
0 H
0 R
6 K
The @Athletics' third-ranked prospect averaged better than 97 mph on his heater and collected 23 called strikes + whiffs: pic.twitter.com/9luNmLJXWc
Miller’s lights-out stuff has never been in question, but unfortunately his durability has. Prior to 2023, the righty had completed just 12 innings of pro ball outside of the complex league due to a variety of injuries, including a rotator cuff strain that wiped out much of his 2022 season. He’s never cracked the 100-inning mark at any level, and it remains to be seen how an arm that generates such incredible velocity will hold up over the long haul.