When the Dodgers called up top pitching prospect Bobby Miller last year, they saw a potential ace in the making.
Miller started 22 games in the regular season and had a 3.76 ERA and 119 strikeouts. According to Baseball Savant, he also was in the 98th percentile of all pitchers, with an average fastball velocity of 98.9 mph.
His rookie campaign did end on a sour note in his only playoff start. Miller started Game 2 of the NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks but was tagged for three runs on 52 pitches and failed to make it out of the second inning.
Even with his bad postseason start, Miller looked to be a staple of the rotation heading into 2024.
Miller's first start this year came in the home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, and he put on an absolute pitching clinic. He threw six scoreless innings while setting a new career high in strikeouts with 11.
It was the best start of his young career, and fans were excited for Miller's potential breakout season. However, his season has taken a complete 180, and he has not come close to replicating his previous success.
In the six games after his first start, Miller had a 10.17 ERA and opponents had an OPS of 1.078. His performance became so bad that the Dodgers demoted him to the minors on July 10.
He rejoined the team on Aug. 8, but has not looked much better. Heading into Tuesday, he had an ERA over eight in his last five games started. Miller looked to bounce back against the Miami Marlins, but it was the same story.
Miller only pitched two innings, giving up four runs and seven hits. The Dodgers lost the game 11-9.
His ERA on the season sits at 8.52. According to FanGraphs, Miller has the worst ERA in baseball, with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.
The Dodgers must be contemplating whether Miller will be on the postseason roster. Even with his poor performance, the Dodgers might still need Miller due to all the injuries their pitching staff has faced this year.
Manager Dave Roberts could not guarantee that Miller would make another start this season.
"Performance at this point and time of the year is everything,” Roberts said, per the Orange County Register. “We’ve certainly given him opportunities to right the ship, so I think we’re going to circle up and we’ll make that decision possibly tomorrow.”
With only 11 games left in the season, the Dodgers have a lot of tough decisions to make with their pitching staff come playoff time.
