CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Aidan Miller is working hard out there.
He’s receiving instructions from Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson and Phillies icon Larry Bowa, who both know how to deliver pointed messages to their infielders. Miller is listening to every word.
“They’re intense,” Miller said this week at BayCare Ballpark. “They can be tough sometimes, but it’s all from love. I love coaching like that.”
Dickerson isn’t surprised to hear Miller say that.
“Honestly, I’ve cautioned him on being so coachable,” Dickerson said. “He’s such a great kid. He’s been raised right. He’s going to be open to everything. In my experience, through my career, a lot of times you’ve got to earn somebody’s trust. Like Trea [Turner]. I had to earn Trea’s trust, right? But Aidan is such a good young man. Last spring, when I first started talking to him, he was almost shaking his head yes before I even said what I was going to say.
“I mean, you know, the milkman could tell him how to backhand and he may listen.”
Like Miller said, it’s all from love.
The Phillies have high hopes for Miller, who is the Phillies’ No. 2 prospect and the No. 23 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He is expected to open the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but he could push for a promotion at some point this year, if there is a need.
It’s why the Phillies placed his locker in the northwest corner of the clubhouse next to Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto.
“I was one of the first ones here because I live nearby,” Miller said. “When I saw where my locker was, I was like, ‘Oh, [shoot].’ I thought it was an accident or something.”
It was intentional, just like prospect Justin Crawford’s (Phillies No. 3) locker being near veterans Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm and Turner, and prospect Andrew Painter’s (No. 1) locker being near veterans Zack Wheeler and Taijuan Walker. The Phillies need their top prospects to contribute -- if not immediately, then in the future. They want them comfortable.
Where is Miller’s future anyway? He has played exclusively at shortstop (211 games) since the Phillies selected him with the 27th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, but Turner is not moving off shortstop anytime soon. Miller will play shortstop this spring, but he will play third base, too, as the Phillies prepare for the possibility (the likelihood?) that Alec Bohm leaves via free agency following the season.
“Third is pretty familiar to me,” Miller said.
Miller, 21, played a lot of third base growing up. In fact, he played so much third that it surprised a few people in 2023 when the Phillies selected him, then listed him as a shortstop.
Most folks projected him as a third baseman.
“It’s just the angles, the throws,” Miller said about the differences between short and third. “I think once I get more reps over there, I’ll be comfortable again. [Dickerson’s] big thing is just catching the ball. Catch the ball and throw the ball to first base. Make boring easy. For the most part, they just want me to go out there and play and leave me alone and not put too much stuff in my head.”
“He can catch a ground ball anywhere,” Dickerson said. “The same with Stott. They can play anywhere. A ground ball is a ground ball is a ground ball. Once you understand how they’re acting and what ground balls do, once you solve those riddles … the only thing that’s different is job responsibilities and your throws.”
Miller played third base his first couple years at nearby J.W. Mitchell High School, which is less than 20 miles from BayCare Ballpark.
Who bumped Miller off shortstop back then?
“Anderson Adler,” Miller said. “He could pick it. Smooth hands. He was really good at short.”
Adler and Miller remain friends. Adler watched Miller play at last year’s Spring Breakout game at BayCare Ballpark.
Afterward, he joined Miller on the field. Another Phillies prospect stopped by to say hello.
“I told him that I played shortstop over Aidan in high school,” Adler said, laughing. “Aidan was special from Day 1. I remember when we were 8 or 9 years old. Our older brothers were playing 12U, I think. They were down a player. Aidan and I ended up suiting up. I was timid at first. But even at eight years old, Aidan wanted to get in there and try to hit it over the fence against the 12-year-olds. Like I said, since Day 1 he’s been a baller.”