SAN FRANCISCO — Erik Miller hadn’t thrown his sinker in about seven years when he took the mound at Oracle Park for his first offseason bullpen. Given how lengthy the pitch had been dormant, he had no expectations for the way the pitch would play.
He wanted to throw only one to create shock and awe.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know if this is going to be great. We had the Trackman set up at Oracle. I threw the very first one. I looked back at the analysts. … Their jaws both dropped,” Miller stated. “Eyes wide open. Like, ‘Holy [expletive], that was legit. The movement on that was unreal for that pitch.’ As soon as I threw the first one, I was like, ‘We might be working with something here.’ ”
“There’s certain guys that when you add pitches, it takes a long time,” stated pitching coach J.P. Martinez. “Sometimes, when you put a pitch in a guy’s hand, it’s just clear from the first or second throw or in the first ‘pen that it’s a pitch they’ll be able to use. That was the case with his sinker.”
Miller, the lone lefty within the Giants’ bullpen, has introduced again an outdated pitch for his sophomore season. It’s already giving left-handed hitters a brand new problem. He’s solely thrown a pair, however with its mixture of velocity and motion, it’s already the most effective within the sport.
Martinez approached Miller about taking part in round with a sinker whereas taking part in catch in the course of the offseason. Martinez noticed Miller artificially elevating his arm slot final season to get further vertical motion on his four-seam fastball, so tossing across the sinker would assist Miller get behind his four-seamer extra and generate further vertical motion. The unintended outcome was one other solution to neutralize lefties.
“I said, ‘Hey, if you throw your four-seam from the same slot as the changeup, we could probably put a two-seam in your hand and they’ll separate,’” Martinez recalled. “The first one he ever threw had like 20 inches of (horizontal movement). He threw it down-and-away to a lefty, and it came back middle. That’s a pitch that you could steal a strike on a lefty with, or eventually, it’s going to bore in on them and it’s going to give you more room for your changeup.”
On Monday, Miller struck out Yordan Alvarez, one in every of baseball’s greatest hitters, with a sinker that clocked in at 99 mph and generated practically 20 inches of horizontal motion. Miller is at present averaging 18.0 inches of horizontal break on his sinker; for context, the Minnesota Twins’ Michael Tonkin generated probably the most horizontal break along with his sinker at 18.8 inches. The sinker generates a lot motion that Miller goals his sights on the right-handed batter’s field.
“We wanted something that could really dominate lefties, and it felt like that was the right pitch,” Martinez stated. “Anytime you get a same-side sinker that moves that much and it’s that hard, it’s going to be a good pitch.”
Added backup catcher Sam Huff: “It’s very heavy, very quick. It’s like a bowling ball coming at you that you have to hit somehow. It’s not easy to hit — but it’s easy to catch and I’m happy I get to catch it.”
The sinker allows Miller to grow to be extra of an east-west pitcher who’s able to masking either side of the plate. Miller’s sinker and changeup, one other glorious providing in its personal proper, transfer into left-handed hitters. The slider, in contrast, strikes away from lefties. The duty of hitting Miller is all of the tougher as a result of Miller’s sinker “mirrors” his slider, which means each pitches are practically indistinguishable coming in direction of the plate till they inevitably break by hook or by crook. He’s solely thrown two sliders this yr over his 4 outings, however that’s been due extra to matchups. If Miller needs to go upstairs, he can name upon the four-seamer.
“Last year, I felt it could keyhole me a lot where lefties knew I was going four-seams away, sliders away — everything was going to be away from them,” Miller stated. “Now, I have something that can get in on their hands and force them to honor the inside part of the plate.”
Miller was unafraid to say that he plans on utilizing the sinker in opposition to a sure left-handed hitter on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Final season, Miller confronted Shohei Ohtani 5 occasions. He struck him out each single time. When the Giants and Dodgers inevitably meet, Ohtani should take care of an much more difficult providing.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that there’s a guy that plays for the Dodgers that I’m probably going to be throwing it a lot to this year,” Miller laughed. “The cat’s out of the bag. They know that’s something I’m going to be throwing to lefties — specifically someone like Shohei. It’s exciting. I obviously understand my role. A lot of times, I’m here to get the best left-handed guy on their team out. To have such a big weapon now for lefties, it’s pretty fun.”
Initially Revealed: April 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM PDT
