Fansided

MLB Power Rankings: Top 25 players in the game today

By Joshua Sadlock

ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts to his solo homerun for a 1-1 tie with the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts to his solo homerun for a 1-1 tie with the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 23: Andrew Miller #24 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 23, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Indians won 2-1. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 23: Andrew Miller #24 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 23, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Indians won 2-1. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

21. Andrew Miller

Of all the dominant relievers dotting MLB bullpens today, the one pitcher I would choose to build a bullpen around if starting from scratch would still be Cleveland Indians left-hander Andrew Miller. Since 2013, he has been the most consistently unhittable reliever in the big leagues and has the postseason track record to back it up.

Since flaming out as a starter for good in 2012, Miller has struck out 14.1 per nine with a sub-2.00 ERA spanning nearly 350 innings. Craig Kimbrel has nearly equaled Miller in terms of overall dominance, but has had his hiccups along the way. The Indians big lefty has been nothing but nasty. Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman also come to mind as dominant relievers who could crack this list, but both have had very prominent meltdowns in the postseason and have injury concerns.

Miller’s best pitch is his wipeout slider, and at no point have MLB hitters really come close to figuring it out. Since effectively becoming a two-pitch pitcher in 2012, opponents have hit just .126 against his slider and swing and miss at the pitch at a near-50-percent clip. Just unhittable.

The best part about Miller is that he is still on a very affordable contract for one more year. He has never complained about flipping back-and-forth between the eighth and ninth inning and will pitch whenever called upon. When he hits free agency after the season, we could see Miller top the record set by Wade Davis for highest annual salary for a reliever in MLB history.

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