The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to call up top pitching prospect Bobby Miller to start Tuesday night's game, reports Russell Dorsey. It sets up a pretty juicy matchup, as Miller is set to face the Braves with Spencer Strider on the mound on Tuesday in his MLB debut.
Miller, 24, is a 6-foot-5 righty and was the Dodgers' first-round pick out of the University of Louisville in 2020. He pitched in High-A and Double-A in 2021 before Double-A and Triple-A last season.
CBS Sports prospect guru R.J. Anderson ranked Miller as baseball's 31st-best prospect heading into the spring this year, saying the following:
Another thing the Dodgers have consistently done is unearth gems late in the first round. Miller, the 29th pick in 2020 by way of Louisville, is in line to be the next one. He's all but certain to make his big-league debut sometime in 2023 after appearing 24 times across the upper minors last season, accumulating a 4.25 ERA and a 3.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 112 innings. Miller has loud stuff, including a triple-digits fastball and a promising slider and changeup, and he's taken well to a mechanical overhaul as a professional that truncated his arm stroke, among other changes. Last season helped ease concerns about his usage as a professional, too: he faced 20 or more batters in 15 games after he cleared that mark just once in 2021. The Dodgers have suffered a number of losses to their rotation this offseason, and Miller seems as likely as anyone to benefit next summer from that development.
In four starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, Miller has a 5.65 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 12 strikeouts against six walks in 14 1/3 innings. Keep in mind, this is in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The entire league has a 5.68 ERA this season, for example.
injuries have created multiple holes in the Dodgers' rotation right now. Dustin May and Julio Urías were both placed on the injured list within the last few days. Walker Buehler is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Michael Grove has a strained groin and Ryan Pepiot is still working back from an oblique injury.
That leaves Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Noah Syndergaard in the rotation. Miller will join it, at least on a temporary basis, on Tuesday. It looks like right-hander Gavin Stone -- who made his MLB debut on May 3 -- will start Monday.
