Aidan Miller is one of the top prospects in the Phillies system. (Reading Fightin Phils)
CLEARWATER — Will Aidan Miller play a role for the Phillies in 2025? Probably not, but there's optimism in the organization that he's not significantly far off from reaching the Show.
During his meeting with the media Wednesday at the outset of Spring Training, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was asked why Miller, just 20 years old, was invited to Major League camp by the Phillies.
"Good question," Dombrowski responded. "The reason that we have him in camp is because we think he’s a good player, might come very quickly ... [so we're] having him get exposure to the big league camp."
Dombrowski went on to talk about how the Phillies have had to be patient in recent years since they've taken so many high school players with their top selections. But the organization feels that some of those prep picks are approaching the point where they are on the MLB radar.
"Sometimes, you have to have patience with those players and that’s hard at times. But now we’re getting to the point where they’re getting closer," Dombrowski acknowledged. "It starts with [Andrew] Painter. Aidan Miller just as quick. Justin Crawford. [Mick] Abel threw yesterday. He was outstanding. It’s time that we start bringing some of those guys in and being part of our camp and being exposed to it. It’s going to not be long until they start getting meshed into playing at the big league level as they continue, so they’re extremely important for us. So that’s why he’s in camp."
After being selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Miller raked in his first full professional season. Across three levels of the minors, Miller hit .261 with 11 home runs, 28 doubles, 60 RBIs and an .811 OPS, finishing the season by getting a cup of coffee with Double-A Reading. MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the No. 27 prospect in baseball currently.
Given how quickly he's ascended through the minors thus far, is it possible that Miller could reach the majors in 2025?
"I mean, I guess that would surprise me a little bit," Dombrowski said.
"But I mean, it’s, I’m not putting this on him. But I remember I used to sit next to for a dozen years every game by a guy by the name of Al Kaline, who used to tell me, Dave, he led the league in hitting when he was 19, you know. And he said, ‘The good ones come fast. Let me just tell you. That they come fast.’ And I’ve never hesitated to be able to push guys, but saying that, I’m not putting that on him. But when you’re around those really good guys, and I’ve had plenty of them, they come fast. And Al used to tell me that all the time, ‘Hey, they can do it. Believe me. He can handle it.’ So yeah, again, I don’t think he’ll do it but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s playing in the big leagues in the near future."
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When the Phillies selected Miller, the belief from most scouts was that he would wind up at third base. Perhaps he will in the future, but to this point, nothing has happened to force the Phillies to move him off of his natural position of shortstop. So for the time being, they're not going to.
"Our plans are in Spring Training is [for him] to play shortstop. That’s where he’s going to play," Dombrowski said. "I’m not saying he won’t ever get a ground ball at third base at times, but really, we had talked about it in our meeting the other day, and we’re gonna keep him at shortstop. Our guys feel that he can play shortstop. We’ve had a lot of people that I’ve asked that have looked at him and they think that he can play shortstop. So we’ll see what happens."
The Phillies, of course, have a shortstop in Trea Turner who has nine seasons remaining on an 11-year/$300 million contract. He's not going anywhere from a lineup perspective, and despite having 40 errors and -26 defensive runs saved over his first two years with the Phillies, the club has said Turner will continue to play shortstop in 2025.
Could that change in 2026? Well, if Miller continues to show he can handle shortstop and his bat pushes him to the majors, perhaps Turner could move to second base or left field. That's obviously getting way ahead of things, but is an interesting angle to consider.
One of the big takeaways from Day 1 of Spring Training is while the Phillies might not be nipping on the heels of teams like the Seattle Mariners for the best farm system in baseball, they do have some prospects to be excited about, with Miller at the forefront. They hope that means that when this current core ages out, there isn't a 2012-2021 type falloff organizationally.
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