Bobby Miller’s Success a Surprise For Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts
When the Dodgers selected Bobby Miller with the 29th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, they obviously saw something from him they liked. His stuff in college was impressive but I don’t think anyone in the organization knew what was coming. Since being drafted, the team has been careful with him and were reluctant to bring him to the Majors because they weren’t sure that he was ready for the big show. But since he call up a few weeks ago, not only has Miller shown he is ready, he has shown that he is here to stay.
Dave Roberts talked about the surprise results from Miller to start his career and how he has taken advantage of the opportunity given.
“We are — I don’t know if Bobby is surprised,” Roberts said. “We certainly bet on the talent. But he’s performed better than he did the minor leagues. It kind of doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But I think there’s something to the honed focus, the pitch mixing and knowing that these games really matter. It’s not about development anymore. And I think that he’s embraced that.”
Via SNLA
Miller has simply been incredible through his first four starts. His ability to control the pace of a game and work out of difficult situations has left the team shocked, in a good way. He brings a certain swagger and composure whenever he steps onto the mound, which helps him get the opposing team out.
One of the more impressive parts of Miller’s game thus far has been his ability to be patient on the mound. He doesn’t force pitches and it’s worked in his favor. Miller has dominated some of the better lineups in the game and nothing has fazed him so far.
“For me, it’s when things start to speed up, how as a player you can slow it down,” Roberts said. “But as it gets hot, as it starts to get stressed a little bit, do you have the ability to slow the game down? … Harder is not always better. And I think that with young players, they want to just throw harder to kind of make the moment stop and try to overpower guys. But Bobby has shown the ability to kind of temper that a little bit.”
-Dave Roberts on Miller
According to LA Dodgers PR, Miller is only the 9th pitcher since 1901 to allow just two runs or fewer over his first four career starts. He joins some elite company in Dodgers history as the third player in franchise history to do that. Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 and Kenta Maeda in 2016 both accomplished this. But one thing is for certain, Miller joining Valenzuela in Dodgers history this early into his career, something is going well.
When the Dodgers needed him most, Miller has come through. He is here to stay as the team can’t justify sending him back down to Triple-A. In just a few starts, he has shown the “it” factor that is needed to pitch at the big league level and Los Angeles looks like they may have a future ace on their hands.
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