Aidan Miller could hear his name announced on Opening Day next season as a big leaguer.
According to a
report from Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has gone on record saying the 22-year-old infielder has "a heck of a chance” to earn a vacant starting position on the Philadelphia Phillies infield in 2027 (or whenever baseball actually resumes).
“I think he has the capabilities,” Dombrowski said. “And it’s not just me. Anybody that’s seen him, including people from other organizations, agree. You still have to earn the spot, and I’m hoping he does.”
A back injury cost Miller most of the 2026 season and a chance to join the big-league roster either out of Spring Training or at some point during the regular season.
He appeared in four games last season, batting .300 with three hits in 11 plate appearances for Reading in Double-A and helped the Fightins’ win an Eastern League Championship. Due to the limited playing time, the Phillies sent their prized infield prospect to the Arizona Fall League.
“I’ve said this before, and I mean it: Aidan Miller would have played with us last year,” Dombrowski said. “And he’d have been a good player for us last year at some point. We didn’t get there. It’s just how life goes. I can’t control that. But he goes to Arizona, and I bet if you check around, he was one of the best players in the Arizona Fall League. If not the best, he’s right there.”
In 16 games played during the regular season, he was in fact
one of the top hitters in the circuit, hitting .327 with seven RBIs while showing fantastic plate discipline with 25 walks to 16 strikeouts to help boast the league’s best on-base percentage at .557. That mark was 50 points higher than Baltimore’s outfield prospect Vance Honeycutt.
Now, he looks to help the Surprise Saguros win their fourth Fall League title in the past five seasons.
Manager Don Mattingly showcased a willingness to be flexible with his lineup after Philadelphia acquired Luis Arraez at last season’s trade deadline. With Arraez and Alec Bohm free agents and Bryce Harper returning to first base, that leaves third base open for Miller, who has strictly manned the hot corner all fall.
Even with reports that the Phillies are interested in
top Japanese talent Teruaki Sato, who could potentially be an option at third base, it appears the Phillies are committed to giving their second-ranked prospect and 59th in all of baseball a shot to make the roster next season.
