On Saturday night, Seattle Mariners right-handed pitcher Bryce Miller made his first rehab start of the season for Triple-A Tacoma.

Miller has been sidelined since spring training with an oblique issue, but he returned to throw 1.2 innings for the Rainiers, surrendering three earned runs on four hits. He struck out two and hit 98.7 mph with his fastball. 

The fastball velocity is the most encouraging thing, as it indicates he's feeling healthy and strong. His average velocity last season was 94.7 mph. He had two stints on the injured list last season as well, but the injury to his oblique is unrelated to those, which both centered on his right elbow.

We know what the box score said, but how did he actually look? We got the answer from Rainiers' broadcaster Rylee Pay on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast. 

"Yeah, I think right out the gate, high-90s, nearly 99. And just kind of what we saw from him last year when he was rehabbing with us. It was the velocity that stuck out right away, right out the gate when he made that start with us in Sugar Land. And I think you saw it again this time around. And I know that was an emphasis for him this spring training that he talked about, so the velocity was there, and then it got exactly probably what you were hoping to see out of him: Just shy of two innings and around the pitch count that they were looking for as well. But first time back, you knew that there's probably some things that he's still focusing on. And so first time around, in this, what is likely the 30-day window, looked really good."

The Mariners haven't given a full timeline on Miller's return, but it's expected that he'll need multiple rehab starts before returning to the starting rotation. In order to come back, he'll likely need to get to the 75-80 pitch mark in minor league games.

Now 27 years old, Miller is a three-year veteran who made his major league debut in 2023. He's gone 24-21 in total with a 4.01 ERA. The 2025 season was the most frustrating of his career, as he made only 18 regular season starts because of the injuries, pitching to a 5.68 ERA. He was better in the playoffs, earning a key win for the Mariners in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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