Dodgers 2023: Prospect Hounds Hyped for Big Righty's Debut

The Dodgers appear to be going with a youth movement in 2023, at least to some extent. We don't know how the rest of the offseason will shake out, but Miguel Vargas, at the very least, is primed to get regular at-bats, with James Outman and Michael Busch both knocking on the door, too.

On the pitching side, L.A. has a few more veterans, with five legitimate starters in Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and Noah Syndergaard. All five starters have potential to be very good, but they also have the potential to need some time off, so it's good that L.A. has five other options waiting in the wings. Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove, and Andre Jackson all got big-league time last year and could make spot starts if necessary. Gavin Stone has rocketed up L.A.'s prospect lists and looks poised to make an impact after posting a 1.48 ERA across three levels of the minors in 2022.

But over at MLB.com, prospect experts Jonathan Mayo, Sam Dykstra, and Jim Callis listed one prospect whose debut they're looking forward to this year, and it's that other guy they're talking about: Dodgers top pitching prospect Bobby Miller.

The Dodgers can replace some of the innings they lost with departed free agents Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney by turning to Miller, who recorded a 4.25 ERA, .222 opponent average and a 145/37 K/BB ratio in 112 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. A 2020 first-rounder from Louisville, he can overwhelm hitters with a riding upper-90s fastball, a power slider and a fading, sinking changeup.

Miller's fastball gets the headlines, but Baseball Prospectus recently said it might only be his fourth-best pitch. The big righty has all the tools to be a top-of-the-rotation starter in the big leagues, and we'll probably see him sooner than later. His command is the only knock against him right now, but his 3.38 ERA and 1.078 WHIP at Triple-A last year sound like he's just about ready.

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