Aidan Miller is one of the top prospects in the Phillies organization. (Cheryl Pursell)
Scouting experts around baseball are generally high on Phillies infielder Aidan Miller. Keith Law, though, is really high on Miller.
In his latest updated ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball on The Athletic, Law had Miller at No. 6 overall. Here's a snippet of what he had to say regarding Miller:
"Miller started slowly in Double A last year and was hitting just .234/.354/.379 at the All-Star break with a 26 percent strikeout rate, as he wasn’t getting on plane nearly often enough. After the break, he decided to lower his hands at his setup and increase his leg kick, helping him square up the ball for more hard contact and in-game power. He posted a 15 percent line-drive rate before the break and a 24 percent rate from that point until his promotion to Triple A in September, with a .307/.443/.511 line across both levels in the second half. He’s at least a plus defender at shortstop now and has boosted his game speed to the point where that’s plus as well, leading to 59 steals last year in 74 attempts (80 percent). Even when he was struggling, he didn’t come out of his approach, with strong swing decisions across the board that will probably lead to a high OBP this year when he’s in Triple A, where walk rates are higher anyway due to ABS."
Law went on to write that while Miller is almost certain to open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he doesn't anticipate him needing to spend an entire campaign at the top level of the minors before making his Major League Debut. He added that "there’s a good chance that by July 1 he’ll be the best choice for shortstop at Citizens Bank Park."
That last part may be true, but the Phillies aren't moving Trea Turner off of shortstop in the middle of the season. Turner finished fifth in NL MVP voting this past season not only because he won the senior circuit's batting title, but due to a massive defensive bounce back that saw him post two defensive runs saved and 16 outs above average. Barring a major injury to Turner, Miller's MLB Debut is going to have to come at a position other than shortstop, assuming that premiere happens in 2026.
With that acknowledged, one of the most interesting things to monitor during Spring Training — which Miller has been invited to as a non-roster invitee — will be where the Phillies have him play defensively. He'll likely get some reps at shortstop, but if the Phillies know he's blocked at that spot for the time being, it would be wise to see what he looks like at both second and third base. An outside-the-box idea would be to see if Miller can be serviceable in left field, considering he has good speed and impact right-handed hitting in the outfield is hard to find these days.
Justin Crawford is likely to be the Opening Day center fielder for the Phillies. If Andrew Painter isn't in the rotation to begin the season, it likely won't be long before he's finally promoted. Miller will probably be the third of the top prospects to join the Phillies. But the 21-year-old Miller looming as a possible midseason addition will put pressure on Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott and others to get off to quick starts in 2026.
