Mason Miller throws fastest-tracked pitch in playoff history

Move over, Aroldis Chapman. Mason Miller is the new No. 1 flamethrower in recorded postseason history.

That marked the fastest pitch thrown in the postseason since pitch tracking began in 2008.

Millerâ€s 104.5 mph heater passed Chapmanâ€s previous mark, which was a 104.2 mph fastball during Game 3 of the 2010 NL Division Series when he was a rookie on the Reds.

But Miller didn’t just top Chapman, he did it on a strikeout. Miller’s 104.5 mph K is the first 104-plus mph postseason strikeout of the pitch-tracking era.

Including the strikeout of Kelly, Miller whiffed the first eight batters he faced in the 2025 postseason. And if you go back to the end of the regular season? Miller struck out 11 batters in a row before hitting Michael Busch on the lower leg with two outs in the eighth, ending the streak.

Miller’s streak of eight straight postseason K’s tied Josh Hader in 2022 for the most consecutive strikeouts in the playoffs at any point, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. And it’s the longest streak to start a player’s postseason career.

The previous fastest postseason K on record was a 103.7 mph strikeout by Chapman against Jorge Polanco in the 2017 American League Wild Card Game, when he was with the Yankees.

Fastest postseason K’s
Pitch-tracking era (since 2008)

1. Mason Miller: 104.5 mph, Game 2 of 2025 NL Wild Card Series
2. Aroldis Chapman: 103.7 mph, 2017 AL Wild Card Game
3. Mason Miller: 103.3 mph, Game 2 of 2025 NL Wild Card Series
4. (tied) Aroldis Chapman: 103.2 mph, Game 1 of 2016 NLCS
4. (tied) Aroldis Chapman: 103.2 mph, Game 2 of 2016 NLDS
6. Aroldis Chapman: 103.1 mph, Game 4 of 2016 NLDS
7. Aroldis Chapman: 103.0 mph, 2017 AL Wild Card Game
8. Mason Miller: 102.9 mph, Game 1 of 2025 NL Wild Card Series

Miller then added a 103.3 mph strikeout of Dansby Swanson an inning later, giving him two of the top five fastest postseason K’s since at least 2008.

This also came a day after Miller reached 102.9 mph on a strikeout of Seiya Suzuki in Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. That was already the fastest postseason strikeout by anyone other than Chapman.

If anyone was going to break Chapman’s postseason velo record, it was going to be Miller. Miller led the Majors in average fastball velocity this season at 101.2 mph, and he’d already broken the 104 mph threshold five times in the regular season before Wednesday’s game — including a 104.1 mph strikeout of the Braves’ Sean Murphy on July 10.

But his 104.5 mph strikeout of Kelly was the fastest pitch of Miller’s MLB career.

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