Alyssa Maldonado
On July 10th, the Dodgers announced that Bobby Miller would be heading to Oklahoma City to work with the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate to “get right.” With the second half of the season about to start up, there are a lot of “what ifs” regarding the starting lineup, injuries, and trade deals, and one of those “what ifs” is what if Bobby Miller is not the same?
The Dodgers have been through a lot this season dealing with many of their players going to the IL. What makes matters worse are players from all positions, ranging from the outfield to the starting pitcher. Everyone knows baseball is not an individual sport; winning takes a team effort.
Unfortunately, one of those injured players is starting pitcher Bobby Miller. Miller debuted last year with the Dodgers and was considered one of the future players to help this organization win not just one but multiple World Series. He ended the 2023 season with a 3.76 ERA and an 11-4 record and was even on the 2023 All-Rookie team for the National League.
Everything was being written out perfectly for Miller; however, at the beginning of the season, he found himself on the IL for right shoulder inflammation. The young 25-year-old would then face a little adversity trying to find his way back to the main stage. However, since being back, it is clear this is not the same player the Dodgers saw last season.
So far, Miller has an 8.07 ERA, the highest in his career, and is 1-2 in 7 games. Unfortunately, Miller’s speed on all his pitches has also gone down.
His fastball velocity averaged 98.9 mph last year and has dropped to 97.4 mph this year. Speed and movement have clearly contributed to the number of hits he has given up. His barrel percentage last year was 6.0 compared to this year, which is 11.4.
It is easy to nitpick everything that has gone wrong for the 25-year-old. However, when you look at the numbers, it is obvious that he is not throwing his best stuff. Miller has also declined in his walks-given-up percentage.
I get it: hits can be given up, and no pitcher is perfect. In Miller’s case, I do not think it is something that cannot be fixed. However, if he wants to return to this starting rotation, he has to find a way to make hitters swing and miss and limit the walks.
When walks are given up, it is much more likely that the next batter will get a hit and score the runner or, much worse, a home run. It is impossible to defend walks, and allowing a ball in play results in an out. It’s easier said than done, but better outcomes are likely if Miller allows the defense to work for him and not just rely on swings and misses.
I like to think of this game as a game of failure; we view batting averages above .300 as a good thing. In reality, batters hit the ball more than 30 percent of the time. On a grading scale that is far below an F, but in the game of baseball, that is at the All-Star level. I only make this point because last year, batters averaged .226 against the right-hander, and this year, they are batting .304, indicating that, at one point, Miller could control batters and produce productive outs for the team.
In a recent Bleed Los Podcast, Cody Snavely commented on the idea of Miller being traded. However, I do not see this happening. It is too soon to get rid of a player with the talent to return from a rough slump like this. Along with the Dodgers’ injuries, I think they have no choice but to keep Miller, who has experience in the big leagues compared to some of their prospects.
I do not think this is the end of Miller as a Dodger. He just found himself in an unfortunate situation, especially with the Dodgers having to deal with so many injuries. Players are known to struggle in their second year; however, it is about how they react to these hard situations.
Miller is facing the same teams that he did last year; the difference is with modern-day technology, teams have film and experience now. They understand what to look for and how to adjust. Miller has to do the same. Like I said earlier, it is easier said than done.
Even though this is not the year Miller or Dodger fans had in mind, his being in OKC right now will benefit him to use resources that the Dodgers Organization has, and only time will tell for the second-year pitcher.
I think Miller can be a piece of the complex puzzle that the Dodgers rotation is trying to figure out before the postseason. In the meantime, keep up with Miller’s latest progress on the DodgerBeat website and listen to the latest episode of the Bleed Los Podcast.
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