Phillies Top Prospect Aidan Miller: A Promising but Prone-to-Hype INF Who Could Spark Controversy on Third Base.
Aidan Miller, a shortstop who has played just eight Triple-A games and holds no clear path to the 26-man roster, is generating high praise for his impressive minor league performance last year, stealing 59 bases and hitting 14 home runs while slashing .264/.392/.433 across two stints. Despite being invited to spring training this year, Miller's prospects are clouded by uncertainty. All signs still point to him spending more time in Lehigh Valley as he undergoes fine-tuning.
What's truly intriguing about Miller is the rash of bold and often bizarre projections from experts regarding his future role. Eric Karabell, an ESPN analyst, has predicted that Miller will secure the third-base job by Memorial Day and emerge as the NL Rookie of the Year. Miller has been praised for his athleticism, defensive prowess, and impressive power at the plate, characteristics reminiscent of Alex Bregman but with added speed.
However, many have expressed skepticism regarding these projections, pointing out the improbable nature of the forecast given Miller's lack of experience at third base. Moreover, trading away Alec Bohm in May seems highly unlikely unless he's severely underperforming and the team is not competing for a title. As Karabell himself noted, this prediction appears "out there," with significant risks of Miller not being ready to contribute significantly on third base immediately.
There are valid concerns that Miller would need extensive time at his new position before taking over in place of Bohm, given Edmundo Sosa's experience playing all positions. This might delay Miller's call-up until 2027, as the Phillies will have a better understanding of where he stands with regard to their infield depth.
For now, it remains to be seen if Miller will fulfill his immense hype and become a core member of the Phillies lineup.
Aidan Miller, a shortstop who has played just eight Triple-A games and holds no clear path to the 26-man roster, is generating high praise for his impressive minor league performance last year, stealing 59 bases and hitting 14 home runs while slashing .264/.392/.433 across two stints. Despite being invited to spring training this year, Miller's prospects are clouded by uncertainty. All signs still point to him spending more time in Lehigh Valley as he undergoes fine-tuning.
What's truly intriguing about Miller is the rash of bold and often bizarre projections from experts regarding his future role. Eric Karabell, an ESPN analyst, has predicted that Miller will secure the third-base job by Memorial Day and emerge as the NL Rookie of the Year. Miller has been praised for his athleticism, defensive prowess, and impressive power at the plate, characteristics reminiscent of Alex Bregman but with added speed.
However, many have expressed skepticism regarding these projections, pointing out the improbable nature of the forecast given Miller's lack of experience at third base. Moreover, trading away Alec Bohm in May seems highly unlikely unless he's severely underperforming and the team is not competing for a title. As Karabell himself noted, this prediction appears "out there," with significant risks of Miller not being ready to contribute significantly on third base immediately.
There are valid concerns that Miller would need extensive time at his new position before taking over in place of Bohm, given Edmundo Sosa's experience playing all positions. This might delay Miller's call-up until 2027, as the Phillies will have a better understanding of where he stands with regard to their infield depth.
For now, it remains to be seen if Miller will fulfill his immense hype and become a core member of the Phillies lineup.
. He's got skills, I'll give him that, but 59 stolen bases in just eight games is crazy talk! 
And I get why people are saying he's the next Alex Bregman, but can we wait a bit to see how it all plays out? 
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. Can't wait to see what happens with him, though! 
like securing third base by memorial day? that sounds way too soon for me 
i mean, he has 8 triple-a games under his belt and that's it? plus, what if he sucks on defense? 
he needs more time to work out his kinks at third base and even then, there's still the question of whether he can handle the pressure of being in the majors. and trading alec bohm in may just doesn't feel right unless bohmm is having a complete meltdown 
overall, i'm gonna need to see some more substance from miller before i start believing all this hype 
to visualize Aidan Miller's situation...
He's got skills for sure, but third base? Come on... 
if you know what I'm sayin'. Plus, Alec Bohm is still the man at that spot and it's hard to see them trading him away for someone who hasn't even shown they can handle it yet 
. I mean, 59 stolen bases in one year? That's wild! But at the same time, he's only played like 8 Triple-A games and they think he's gonna take over on third base by Memorial Day? That's just too quick for me 
. And what about Alec Bohm, they're basically trading him away already? I don't buy it. This whole thing feels like a setup to the media to get us all hyped up and then crush our expectations when he inevitably flops 
" but at the same time I'm thinking... what's the rush? 
. And then it took him a while to actually pan out. I'm not saying Miller won't make it, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here 
. I'm gonna keep an eye on him, but I'm also gonna enjoy watching Alec Bohm play 
That just feels like too much pressure for a guy who's still developing.
but his experience at 3B is non-existent 
. The thing is, Miller's gotta prove himself on that third base before he gets the call-up. It's like, we've seen this before with other guys who came in hot and didn't quite live up to expectations 