Dave Dombrowski on Aidan Miller: ‘He might come very quickly’

Phillies fans can look forward to seeing top position player prospect Aidan Miller compete in Grapefruit League games this spring. According to Dave Dombrowski, it might not be terribly long until we see Miller donning the red pinstripes in meaningful games.

In his opening press conference down in Clearwater, the Phillies president of baseball operations had to stop himself from getting carried away in his praise for Miller. Dombrowski recalled past conversations with his good friend, the late Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline, that have influenced his own philosophy when it comes to bringing up top prospects.

“Dave, the good ones come fast.” Kaline said.

Miller might qualify as one of the “good ones.”

“I’ve never hesitated to be able to push guys,” Dombrowski said. “Saying that, I’m not putting that on [Miller], but when you’re around those really good guys, and I’ve had plenty of them, they’ve come fast.”

Miller, who turns 21 in June, will stick at shortstop in the spring. Dombrowski doesn’t want to burden Miller with expectations, but said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Miller is playing in the big leagues in “the near future.”

What exactly is the near future? 2025 is pretty unlikely, but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

A position player debuting that young would be almost unprecedented in the history of the Phillies organization. Jimmy Rollins made his MLB debut at 21 years, 259 days old. Scott Rolen debuted at 21 years, 119 days old. Miller would be younger than both if he were to receive a mid-August call to the big leagues.

As crazy as it sounds, that’s how high the Phillies are on Miller. He ended last season in Double-A Reading after beginning the season two levels down with the Clearwater Threshers.

Across three levels of the minor leagues in 2024, Miller slashed .261/.366/.446 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs while playing a solid shortstop. MLB Pipeline has him as the 27th best prospect in the league.

It’s also no secret that the Phillies are eager to incorporate younger players into the major league roster, whose core is primarily made up of highly-paid players in their early to mid 30s. That starts in mid-summer, when Andrew Painter is expected to make his big league debut around July. Players like Miller and outfielder Justin Crawford may not be far behind.

“Over the years, we’ve drafted near the end of the first round,” Dombrowski said. “A lot of times, that’s led us to drafting high school players that take a little longer to get there. Sometimes, you have to have patience with those players, and that’s hard at times. But now we’re getting to the point where we’re getting closer. … So it’s time that we start bringing 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.”

Miller is the youngest player in major league camp this year. The Phillies are confident that he can handle the challenges associated with sharing the backfields with established big leaguers and that his experience will hopefully aid in his development as the Phillies anticipate him being a finished product sooner rather than later.

“The reason that we have him in camp is because we think he is a good player, might come very quickly,” Dombrowski said.