Toronto Blue Jays reliever Spencer Miles overcomes adversity, continues to impress
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Toronto Blue Jays righty Spencer Miles has found a home in the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen.
Toronto Blue Jays reliever Toronto Blue Jays walked one and struck out three in two scoreless innings of relief during Wednesday's 8-1 win over the Red Sox.
The rookie Rule 5 pick handled the last two innings for the Blue Jays to protect a 7-1 lead, and Miles has no trouble with the assignment, tossing 16 of 26 pitches for strikes.
SPENCER MILES IS NASTY
While the 25-year-old right-hander has predictably been limited to low-leverage spots, he has looked like he belongs in the majors, producing a 2.87 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB through his first 15.2 MLB innings.
After yesterday's game, Spencer Miles has now pitched more innings with the #BlueJays than the rest of his pro career combined (15.2 vs 14.2). He owns a 2.87 ERA, 3.84 xERA — pretty effective in that multi-inning role from the R5 pick.
In the outing, rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela helped his battery mate when he challenged the ball call on Miles' pitch to Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony.
Anthony struck out looking on the next pitch.
Miles vast pitch mix rare in a reliever, multi-inning role a good fit so far
The Blue Jays were particularly seeking a bit of length in the bullpen with Eric Lauer returning to the starting rotation, vacating his projected multi-inning reliever role, which now belongs to Miles.
What stood out about the former Giants prospect was not only his ability to cover more than three outs, but also the stuff that he possesses.
The organization loves Miles’ stuff. His ability to have three distinct fastball shapes (4-seam/sinker/cutter) allows him to manipulate the baseball in ways most typical relievers can’t.
Miles making the team out of spring training ultimately came down to his extremely vast pitch mix.
In a addition to the fastballs, Miles has three good secondary pitches in the form of a curveball, slider and changeup to mix in with them.
It’s extremely rare to find a reliever with the ability to throw 6 different pitches, as Miles has shown the ability to do.
It’s an arsenal that manager John Schneider believes could eventually offer his club another high-leverage option when the regulars, Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers and Brendon Little, among them, are unavailable.
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