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With Kyle Muller and Ken Waldichuk already in Oakland, it looks like the Athletics are set to continue the youth movement in their starting rotation with possibly the biggest name yet. Righty Mason Miller — the team’s No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, with a fastball that sits around 100 mph — is reportedly getting the call up from Triple-A Las Vegas to make his first MLB start on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs.
The A’s are planning to promote pitching prospect Mason Miller to their major-league roster, The Chronicle has learned. It sounds like Miller is scheduled to join the team today and could start tomorrow against the Cubs.
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) April 18, 2023
First of all, yes, you read that right — his fastball sits around 100 mph.
Mason Miller has struck out 5 through 2 innings in his first AAA start of 2023. Averaging 100.4 mph on his fastball pic.twitter.com/s4bIcFFbn7
— Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) April 15, 2023
As we highlighted in this week’s prospect report for fantasy baseball, Miller has been using that ridiculous arsenal to blow hitters away all year, striking out 11 over five no-hit innings in his most recent start last weekend. He also boasts a cutter and slider that scouts think could develop into plus offerings as well.
If you’re wondering how a guy who routinely lights up radar guns didn’t even many if any lists of the top 100 prospects in baseball, the answer is simple: health. When Mason is on the mound, he’s been as dominant as anyone in the Minors. The problem is that those days have been few and far between — between when the A’s took him in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Gardner-Webb and the start of the 2023 season, Miller threw exactly 20 professional innings, eight of which came in rookie ball.
Oakland understandably wanted to err on the side of caution with such a talented arm, but the downside is that we just don’t really know how Miller will hold up under a heavier workload (he’s never cracked the 100-inning mark at any level, pro or college). Still, the potential is obvious, and given the state of the A’s roster right now he should get every opportunity to establish himself as a Major League starter. He’s a recommended add in all fantasy baseball leagues.