The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Bobby Miller out of Louisville with the 29th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and since then he has been exceeding expectations.
Miller, who turns 23 at the start of next season, has only thrown 9.1 innings above High-A, but he could make his debut in L.A. next season because of his talent and advanced feel for pitching.
Coming out of college, Miller was primarily a fastball and slider pitcher while occasionally throwing a changeup. However once he got to the pro level, Miller started to work on his curveball more.
More recently, a change in his curveball grip has led him to find some success with it, he told Jim Callis of MLB.com:
“Just hitting spots, to be honest,” said Miller, who starred in college in a Louisville rotation that included fellow first-rounder Reid Detmers (Angels). “Hitting spots with each and every one of my pitches, throwing all of my pitches for strikes, generate some more chase for the hitters. I could use a little bit better game planning as well… I’m focusing a lot on my curveball right now. The curveball was a little iffy in college, not as good as a shape as it has now. I changed my grip back to generic with my fingers together rather than spiking it, and it got a lot better.”
If the right-hander is able to develop a consistently good curveball, he could develop into another frontline starter for the Dodgers. Miller already has a fastball that reaches 99 mph, a wipeout slider and changeup that flashes signs of becoming a quality pitch.
Miller was among the Dodgers prospects who reportedly were drawing significant trade interest prior to the 2021 MLB trade deadline and he earned a spot in Baseball America and MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects list.
Friedman identifies Miller as potential contributor
The Dodgers entered the offseason facing the prospect of potentially losing Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer, among others, in free agency. That factor coupled with the uncertainty surrounding Trevor Bauer’s future has L.A. facing need in starting pitchers.
“We’ve got a really good group of young starting pitchers coming,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “With Mitch White, Andre Jackson, we saw some of this year. Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot, Landon Knack will all be in the upper levels or Major League when we start the year.
“It really gives us a strong foundation and depth, so now rounding the rotation will definitely be something we’re focused on as we get into the winter.”
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