Phillies' standout prospect Miller makes first All-Star Futures Game
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This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PHILADELPHIA -- Aidan Miller might be the Phillies’ best position player prospect in more than a decade.
Maybe two decades.
Maybe even longer than that.
The consensus throughout baseball is that the Phillies got a steal when they selected Miller with the 27th overall pick in the 2023 Draft. Miller, 20, is the Phils’ No. 2 prospect and the No. 27 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He missed his senior season in high school because of a broken hand, which scared away nearly everybody except the Phillies. They jumped on Miller, who almost certainly would have been selected within the first 10 picks if he was healthy.
Miller has played so well since he joined the organization that he has been selected to play in Saturday’s All-Star Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He will join BlueClaws teammate Justin Crawford, who is the organization’s No. 3 prospect and the No. 55 overall prospect.
It is Crawford’s second consecutive Futures Game.
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It is Miller’s first. He was promoted on June 11 to High-A Jersey Shore, where the average position player is 2 1/2 years older than him and the average pitcher is three years older.
“He’s really just played well overall,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the time of Miller’s promotion. “He’s played well offensively, defensively. His work ethic has been good. He’s played shortstop very well. He’s really done everything we’ve asked of him as a young player.”
Miller has struggled in his first few weeks with the BlueClaws, slashing .171/.276/.303 with two homers, eight RBIs and three stolen bases in 20 games. He has not played since July 4 because of a “minor leg injury,” according to the Phillies. But he is expected to be back by the Futures Game.
Miller slashed .275/.401/.483 with five home runs, 26 RBIs, 26 walks and 10 stolen bases in 39 games with Single-A Clearwater.
Crawford has slashed .295/.344/.427 with six homers, 35 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 69 games with the BlueClaws.