Sophomore Bryce Miller thriving in versatile relief role for No. 9 Aggies

This offseason, Rob Childress knew he needed to add a couple of right-handed relief pitchers to his southpaw-heavy roster to have a more balanced pitching staff in 2019. So, he showed up at a Brazos Valley Bombers game in July to watch Bryce Miller pitch.

Miller was coming off a decent freshman season at Blinn where he went 7-1 with five saves as the team’s closer and was planning on going back to Blinn for his sophomore season. That changed when Texas A&M entered the picture late in the summer.

“He was a no-doubt guy,” Childress said. “We needed to get him based on our current roster. You could see down the second-half of the season he really came into his own, and when you looked at his strikeout numbers, they were pretty special.”

Miller caught the eye of Major League scouts when he touched 96 mph with his fastball in the second half of the JUCO season (he eventually got drafted in the 38th round by the Marlins), but felt he wasn’t ready for professional baseball yet and could use one or two more years of development.

Miller did not start pitching until his senior year of high school, and he made significant strides in the one year he spent at Blinn. That growth has expedited since getting to Texas A&M, where he has thrived under Childress’ guidance to the tune of a perfect 4-0 record to complement a sparkling 1.96 ERA.

“He’s helping me out a lot with my secondary pitches,” Miller said of Childress. “I never even threw a changeup before I got here, and it’s gotten a lot better since I’ve been here. I’ve gotten more consistent, too. Even at Blinn, I would have a good outing, then a bad outing, with a lot of ups and downs. This year I’ve been able to be pretty consistent so far.”

Miller has appeared in a team-high 16 games, registering 36 strikeouts and allowing only 16 hits in 23 innings pitched.

“Before the season I made the comment to Bryce that he needed to lead the team in appearances,” Childress says. “He’s the guy we need to be able to go to every day. He throws it over the plate, he has great finish to his fastball, and he reminds me a lot of Andrew Vinson. He’s been a mainstay for us and a go-to guy – it doesn’t matter the matchup, right or left he’s been very dependable.”

Attacking the strike zone with a low-to-mid 90s fastball, a sharp slider, and an occasional changeup, opposing hitters are hitting a paltry .186 against Miller. He also throws a curveball and continues to get more comfortable with his changeup as the season progresses.

“He makes everything look easy,” said A&M starting pitcher Asa Lacy, one of Miller's roommates. “His fastball command, his slider – he’ll drop a good curveball in there every once in a while, and he’s not afraid to come at you. It’s kind of like, ‘Good luck, here come hit it.’”

“He’s got a fastball with electric finish to it,” Childress said. “That’s a pitch where, when he’s fresh and fully rested, even great hitters have a hard time getting the bat to.”

After serving as Blinn’s closer his freshman year, Miller has a much more fluid role for the Aggies in 2019. Because of his durability, effectiveness and ability to get both right-handers and left-handers out, Miller is the arm Childress trusts in high-leverage situations to get the team out of a jam.

Tarah Cochran, TexAgs

Miller has come in to face a number of different situations out of the bullpen so far this season.

Sometimes he serves as the eighth-inning setup man to closer Kasey Kalich, another sophomore righty from Blinn. Other times, he comes in early in the game for long relief, as he did when he relieved Moo Menefee in the fourth inning against Missouri. In the series finale against Kentucky, he tossed the final three innings of the game to collect his only save of the season.

“I like the role. I’m not too picky about it,” Miller said. “As long as I can get innings and help the team, I don’t really care. Whenever [Childress] thinks I’m needed, I’m ready to go. However I feel that day, I’m happy to pitch as much as I can. I feel like I’m in good shape, so I can handle it.”

With multiple offerings in his arsenal and plenty of durability in his right arm, Miller has all the attributes of being a starter. However, because of his crucial role in the bullpen, Childress hasn’t seriously considered inserting Miller into the weekend rotation even as other starters have gone down with injuries.

“No doubt he could be a starter for us because he repeats his delivery and he throws it over the plate,” Childress said. “But to have him available two or three times a week has been invaluable to us.”

As the Aggies embark on a brutal April that features 10 games against ranked opponents and three SEC road series, Miller will likely keep racking up the innings as the Aggies try to stay hot and keep adding to their SEC win total.

Texas A&M travels to Baton Rouge this weekend to take on No. 12 LSU. The series opener is Friday at 7 p.m. and can be seen on SEC Network+.