When Miller first climbed the hill as a top player, the fiery personality everyone was raving about came out in full. The talented right-hander made the first impression after five innings of one-run ball in the Dodgers’ 8-1 win over the Braves on Tuesday night.
“It feels good. I was really excited when I got going,” Miller said. “I mean, that’s a great lineup. You have to stay confident out there. It’s easy for a lot of people to pass. That’s how hard it is first inning was – they threw a few barrels at me – you have to stay in the moment, stay where my feet are, keep throwing, stay in the zone.”
Miller, the 19th-ranked baseball league leader and top pitching candidate in a talented Dodgers organization, had over 20 friends and family for a night he will never forget. That’s what he dreamed of when the Dodgers drafted him in the first round of the 2020 draft from Louisville.
However, Miller admitted he was “very nervous” despite trudging up the hill with confidence. Part of that had to do with the natural emotions that come with pitching in your first big league game. Other contributing factors included meeting Spencer Strider, one of the early favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award, and a strong Braves lineup.
Maybe Miller never saw it that way. Perhaps the nervousness was higher than ever. But the stage didn’t seem to bother the young right-hander one bit as he hit five in his five innings.
“He was really impressive,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I thought he showed a lot of attitude tonight. He was superb in controlling his emotions and adrenaline. He showed just enough attitude… and a little nervousness and just competed. It was a great incentive for him to survive five.”
The scouting report on Miller at this early point in his career says he will light the radar gun with a powerful four-seam fastball. That was indeed the case when Miller hit 100.1 mph on the first pitch of his career against Ronald Acuña Jr. and forced a groundout to third base. In fact, nine of Miller’s first 19 pitches were four-seaters, almost all of them reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour or more.
But the Braves offense waited for Miller’s four-seater and was able to pick up a first-round run with a single from Sean Murphy and a double from Austin Riley, both of which went against the heater. Impressively, though, Miller’s maturity and competitiveness began to emerge.
Miller turned to his other three pitches — slider, changeup, curveball — to settle in nicely. He worked his way through traffic in the third and fourth passes but was able to make pitches when needed to limit the Braves to just one run. Miller hit five of his ten swings and misses on the slider and curveball.
“The [fastball] is what stood out, but he also had a good feel for his secondary courts,” said Matt Olson, the Braves first baseman, who struck twice against Miller. “See how a guy comes up with an overwhelming fastball, you don’t know if he’s going to be just a guy up there just throwing hard. But that was not the case.”
Miller’s rise to the majors likely came a few weeks or months before anyone expected it. Even Miller admitted he was surprised to get the call. The right-hander was sidelined all spring with a right shoulder injury. He only started four times with Triple-A Oklahoma City and was hit hard in two of those.
The Dodgers have been waiting for Miller and Stone to make their debut for several seasons. Those were two key reasons the Dodgers didn’t feel they needed to make flashy offseason signings in the rotation. It’s time for them to prove they’re right. That’s exactly what they did for the last two nights in Atlanta.
“I’m grateful they called my name,” Miller said. “You could have given many other names. I am very honored that you called me.”