Wade Miley Overhauled His Approach (and Career) Post-Baltimore

When the Baltimore Orioles take the field this afternoon in Houston, they’ll be aiming for a series win against the best team in the American League. It won’t be easy, as they’ve found out already through two games, but at least they’ll be facing a guy with whom they’re familiar. That is, of course, Wade Miley, who pitched for Baltimore in 2016 and 2017, making 43 starts.

The Wade Miley that the Orioles and their fans know, however, isn’t the same Wade Miley who will take the hill on Sunday. He’s way better these days, thanks in large part to a complete overhaul of his pitching arsenal.

With the O’s, Miley put up the worst numbers of his career. After getting traded for in the summer of 2016, the former All-Star posted a career-worst ERA (6.17) in 11 starts, going 2-5 overall. He only had one truly stellar outing — in his second-to-last start — that nearly went the distance; Miley struck out 11 in 8.2 innings against Arizona at Camden Yards.

Miley was able to carry the momentum over to 2017 for the O’s, posting a 2.82 ERA in his first 11 starts, before it all crumbled in the late spring and summer months. From June 7th, 2017 until the end of the year, in 21 starts, the lefty had a 7.36 ERA while allowing hitters to a .313 batting average. In total, he went 8-15 in 2017 with a 5.61 ERA, bringing his career record as an Oriole to 10-20 and his ERA to 5.75.

In his career, he never had a season result in a 5.00-plus ERA.

When 2018 rolled around, Miley was gone from Baltimore after getting granted free agency; he signed with Milwaukee in February and it was the start of what turned out to be his resurrection as a starting pitcher.

For the Brewers, Miley posted a career-best 2.57 ERA in 11 starts, helping Milwaukee to the postseason. Once there, his first-ever appearance in the MLB Playoffs, he was even better. In 14.2 postseason innings, Miley posted a 1.23 ERA, landing him a one-year, $4.5 million deal with Houston this past offseason. Through 13 starts this year, he’s continued producing at a stellar level. Miley is 5-3 with a 3.39 ERA for the American League’s best team.

On the surface, it’s hard to explain what happened. He was nearly out of the league, having signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee after his Baltimore disaster, but it all comes down to a change of approach for Miley.

According to FanGraphs, his arsenal of pitches completely flipped after his Orioles’ career ended. Miley is no longer relying on his four-seam fastball, as he had in his first seven seasons, opting to rely on his cut-fastball instead. Also, he’s totally bailed on his slider, using it less than three percent of the time. With the O’s, he threw his slider almost every fifth pitch.

Take a look:

You’ve gotta give him credit for noticing that his fastballs were getting hammered (-25.7 wFB in ’16-’17) and adjusting to the cutter, which is now his best pitch (+18.1 wCT in ’18-’19).

This just goes to show you that with the right coaches (or ability to swallow your pride), a career can be re-launched and saved. Miley was a disaster for the O’s but that came at a time when analytics wasn’t at the forefront of their philosophy. Maybe if Mike Elias and company were around when Miley was, this could have been remedied while he was still here. Either way, I’m happy he got back to a place where teams value what he can do.

Gametime is set for 2:10 P.M ET today in Houston.

Fangraphs wrote about Miley’s resurgence last year: read here.