Welcome to June, folks! There are now under 100 games to go in the season. Today, we are taking a look at two guys with the same initials who have both been on a tear lately. As a reminder, each player I examine will be sorted into one of the following categories: “not legit,” “probably not legit,” “possibly legit,” and “legit.” I have gotten rid of the “too early to tell” category because of how far we are into the season. All stats are through the games of Monday, June 8.
Brandon Marsh, OF, PHI
Last 14 days: 40 PA, .405/.470/.703 (221 wRC+), 6 R, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB
2026: 232 PA, .333./.366/.514 (142 wRC+), 34 R, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 5 SB
Since being traded to the Phillies in 2022, Marsh has been a remarkably consistent, albeit unremarkable, strong-side platoon outfielder. In each of the last four seasons, he’s played between 133 and 135 games and hit between 11 and 16 homers. He’s on pace to fly past both of those marks in 2026 while challenging for the batting title, stepping up for a Phillies offense desperate for contributors other than Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
Marsh has always run elite BABIPs thanks to an elite line drive rate, but now he’s pairing that with a career best strikeout rate to become a real contributor in the average department. Even for a guy with a .376 career BABIP, Marsh’s .405 mark so far this season is pretty nuts. While we should expect some regression there, I’m actually more skeptical of the power surge. Marsh isn’t swinging any harder, lifting the ball more, or pulling significantly more balls in the air. In fact, he’s actually hitting the ball in the air with less authority. His fly ball exit velocity of 90.3 MPH is two ticks lower than last year and just league average.
Verdict: Probably not legit. Other than a reduced strikeout rate, which isn’t supported by an improvement in contact skills, and an inflated BABIP, nothing seems to be different about Marsh. He’s worked his way out of the platoon and has been elevated to the cleanup spot, which will help his counting stats, but he’s still striking out nine times more often than he walks against southpaws. Marsh still has value as a well-rounded fantasy OF3 with slightly more average upside than in past seasons, but I’m not seeing anything here that indicates he’s reaching a new level.
Bryce Miller, SP, SEA
2026: 27 IP (5 appearances, 4 starts), 2 W, 29 Ks, 1.33 ERA, 0.78 WHIP
The start of Miller’s season was delayed thanks to an oblique strain suffered during spring training, and the Mariners progressed him slowly during his rehab assignment. After four starts in the minors, to say he hit the ground running once rejoining the big league club would be an understatement. Miller has gone between five and six innings in each of his five appearances, not surrendering more than two earned runs in any of them. He’s been so sharp that the Mariners have abandoned their plan to piggyback Miller with Luis Castillo, at least temporarily. We’re only five starts in, but Miller’s strikeout rate (29.3%), walk rate (5.1%), and average fastball velocity (96.6 MPH) would all easily be career bests.
After a disappointing 2025 (90.1 IP, 5.68 ERA, 1.41 WHIP), Miller has made some noteworthy pitch mix changes. He’s shelved his ineffective sinker, which had a .454 xwOBA and 4.82 PLV with 17% usage last year. Now, he’s throwing it only 2% of the time, replacing it with more sliders (20% usage in 2026, 8% in 2025) and four-seamers (47% usage in 2026, 41% in 2025). The movement profile of these two pitches is also different. The slider is coming in about 2.5 MPH harder with two fewer inches of drop. This trade-off has been successful so far, as the pitch has a 20% swinging strike rate and .244 xwOBA. The PLV on the pitch has also jumped from a poor 4.77 to borderline elite 5.21. As for the fastball, Miller has maintained an elite induced vertical break mark of 18.4 inches (98th percentile) while significantly increasing the pitch’s velocity and lowering his release height a couple of inches. This has helped Miller create a really difficult angle on the pitch that hitters can’t handle; his height-adjusted vertical approach angle (HAVAA) is 1.6, which puts him in the 93rd percentile.
Verdict: Legit. We’ve seen strong stretches from Miller before, and the stuff and skills now look even better than they were in his excellent 2024 (180.1 IP, 2.94 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 17.9% K-BB%). His improved fastball is an elite offering around which to build his arsenal. Miller is always likely to deliver a solid WHIP because of his excellent control and fly ball lean, and now I have some faith in him to be an asset in ERA and strikeouts as well. Miller will get a solid test next time out against the Nationals, who have been among the league leaders in runs scored all season.
