A Failed Drug Test Turned This Pitcher into One of the League’s Best Closers

Oakland Athletics rookie Mason Miller has really broken out this season and has emerged as one of the most dominant pitchers in the MLB. The six-foot-five, 225-pound righty has 11 saves and a 2.08 ERA through his first 20 games. He has also accumulated 51 strikeouts in 26 innings, coming out to a staggering 17.7 K/9. Digging deeper, Miller has somehow been more dominant than it seems on his surface stats. His expected ERA is 1.28 and his expected batting average is .118, both ranked in the 100th percentile among MLB players this season. Similarly, his pitching run value is set at nine, which places him in the 93rd percentile. A big part of this early success for Miller has been his fastball. His average fastball comes in at 100.8 miles per hour, another stat for Miller in the 100th percentile. After putting up a promising  3.78 ERA in minimal innings last season, there was potential in him, but nothing like this.

However, this success was not always seen as a possibility. He was a DIII baseball player not even throwing 90 miles per hour just a few years ago. Miller was throwing in the upper 80s for Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania, which is about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh when he failed a drug test. After further testing, it was later found that Miller was suffering from Type One Diabetes, and after being given proper treatment, his fastball gained over 10 miles per hour. He soon transferred to Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina and was a third-round draft pick by the Athletics in the 2021 MLB Draft. 

Miller is a frontrunner for the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year with fellow pitcher Luis Gil, as both have been dominating hitters all season. Miller is one of the most exciting young pitchers in the league. Many fans are going to be vouching for their team to trade for the young flamethrower when the Athletics do their yearly fire sale, whether it’s at the trade deadline or in the offseason. Miller’s story about his failed drug test is unheard of, and his rise to success is well deserved.