Rookie Bobby Miller Taking a Leap Forward in MLB Thanks to Dodgers' Superior Game Planning
The start of Bobby Miller's big league career has been exceptional. Sure, it's only two starts, but his poise and conviction on the mound has led to a pair of dominant outings. The rookie looks like a guy that is fully bought into what the team is telling him and he's just going out there and throwing a baseball to a glove.
After his first start, he said he never shook off Will Smith once as he navigated through a tough Atlanta Braves lineup. That trust comes from seeing all the work guys like Will and Austin Barnes put in with the club's game planning staff to be ready each and every day.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes what the team has at the big leagues has been a boost for Bobby.
“I think [his success is] a little byproduct of the game planning. I think in the minor leagues, you’re still trying to compete, but I guess if something’s working and you’re throwing well, there’s no reason to introduce something else that you might not be as comfortable with. But here, you’ve got to be able to do that. And I think that I give him a lot of credit to buy into that. And I think it’s more speaking to the curveball, the slider, the change up because he’s got five pitches with the two fastballs.”
Miller has always had good stuff but has probably been a little more fastball heavy in his pitch mix down in the minor leagues. With the Dodgers' big league club, he's mixed up his arsenal nicely, using his offspeed about equally with his fastball/sinker.
- Fastball/Sinker (44.5%)
- Changeup (22.5%)
- Slider (21.4%)
- Curveball (11.5%)
It's worked well so far but this weekend the rookie will face his biggest test yet with the New York Yankees in LA in a nationally televised game. Roberts admitted the setting is probably less than ideal, but the team feels good about Bobby Miller in any spot.
“I think there’s certain ideal spots for guys. Maybe (Sunday is) not as ideal for a guy who’s making his third start, but it’s where we’re at and we feel confident that he can handle it. I just look at it as an opportunity to pitch against a great ball club, a great franchise, here at home.”
As we like to say, it's Miller time.
