Aidan Miller may be the Philadelphia Phillies’ subsequent shortstop, and his well being will go an extended option to figuring out if (and when) that occurs. Drafted twenty seventh total in 2023 out of a New Port Richey, Florida highschool, the sweet-swinging 22-year-old missed most of this previous season resulting from a again damage. Recognized with discogenic ache and side irritation within the lumbar backbone, Miller underwent a radiofrequency ablation process in early June. He noticed motion in simply eight video games, half of them for Double-A Studying within the Japanese League playoffs.
He’d come into the season with a professional likelihood to debut within the majors. Ranked atop our 2026 Phillies High Prospects listing when it got here out in January, Miller was coming off of a 2025 marketing campaign that noticed him rake to the tune of a 137 wRC+ between Studying and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, with all however 37 of his 526 plate appearances coming on the decrease of the 2 ranges. Furthermore, he’d gone deep 14 instances and swiped 59 bases. With a first-round pedigree and a 55 FV grade, he was on the doorstep of breaking into Philadelphia’s lineup… till an already nagging problem morphed into one which required intervention.
Miller is presently getting again into the swing of issues within the Arizona Fall League, and as he defined to me final week, he’s doing so by dialing again what number of swings he takes. Whatever the position it could have performed in his decrease again woes, his extreme cage work possible did him no favors.
“It wasn’t enjoyable, man,” Miller stated of his layoff. “I didn’t assume it will final so long as it did, however I realized lots all through that course of. I really like swinging, however I have to know when to dial again in order that I can preserve my physique wholesome. It’s undoubtedly extra about high quality that amount. Earlier than, I might be within the cage after video games, engaged on stuff each time I didn’t have a great sport. I feel that simply got here from being a younger man desirous to have success, and looking for it any means I might. My hitting coaches have type of pulled me away from doing that.”
The aim of his overzealous postgame apply was extra psychological than mechanical in nature.
“Actually, it was extra so to clear my head,” defined Miller, whose stroke has been described by Eric Longenhagen as one of many cooler trying righty swings within the minors. “Being in there on my own, hitting off the tee, I might be swinging as a substitute of fascinated with the sport. Principally, I might be ending my day on a great word. So, it wasn’t actually about engaged on stuff. It was my remedy.”
Like most each hitter, Miller has a standard pregame routine.
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“I often begin off doing a short-bat Flamingo drill,” he instructed me. “I’ll bounce on my rear leg, attempting to sit down on my hip, and use the brief bat to assist my route. From there, I’ll go to my regular bat and do arduous and gentle flips; my coach will combine it up, arduous and gentle, so I don’t know which one is coming. That works on me holding my posture. I additionally love to do numerous machine [work]. I’ll do foam balls, angled machine, and it is dependent upon who we’re going to be dealing with that day. If it’s a lefty with a low arm slot, I’ll have the machine going from that low slot. I like to coach robust.”
We proceeded to have a humorous change. I started to ask the promising younger hitter if he likes coaching with a Trajekt — a query I’ve requested quite a few hitters lately — and inexplicably couldn’t provide you with the phrase. Miller knew what I meant, but someway encountered the identical psychological block. Even so, we continued.
“I did numerous that in rehab,” he stated in response to my compromised query. “I’ll face totally different arm slots and shapes. Some days I’ll go in and need to actually take a look at myself. I’ll put Paul Skenes up there. I’ll put Tarik Skubal up there. I’ll… man, that identify not coming is driving me loopy.”
Regardless of. What have his outcomes been in opposition to the machine variations of Skenes and Skubal?
“They’ve gotten somewhat higher,” stated Miller, who presently ranks twenty sixth on The Board. “The primary weeks of doing it undoubtedly weren’t nice. I perhaps received two or three hits. However actually, simply standing in there and seeing what they’ve is fairly cool to see. It’s the closest you may get to an actual sport.”
Miller went on to inform me that he agrees with Eric’s evaluation that he handles excessive heaters nicely, including that he hits fastballs nicely typically. He feels that he “will get within the zone fairly early” and has a “extra on-top swing.” He described his total method on the plate as line drives up the center.
A lightweight bulb second occurred as our interview got here to an finish. Miller had one ultimate phrase as we shook fingers: “Trajekt.”