Back in early April, the Los Angeles Dodgers placed Bobby Miller on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.
Miller made three starts for the Dodgers before his injury and the results were mixed. He was brilliant in his first start against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, but stumbled in the following two starts.
Coming into the season, the Dodgers were hoping that Miller could make a big leap in his second year in the Majors and be a sizable contributor in their new-look rotation that featured three new starters and one unproven rookie.
The Dodgers’ starters have performed well in Miller’s absence, but their ceiling as a group is a lot higher with him in the rotation. That return could be happening sooner rather than later after he recently completed his second rehab start with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Throughout his rehab process, Miller has suffered no setbacks and has stayed on schedule every step of the way. Despite this, there was a distinct dip in velocity on his fastball during his most recent start on Saturday when he allowed four runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work.
The lack of velocity was not overly concerning to Miller, who said that he felt fine physically during the start and attributed it to a possible adrenaline or mechanical issue, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times:
“I don’t know why there was a little bit of a velocity drop,” Miller said. “It could have just been an adrenaline thing. There was not much adrenaline at all. … I felt fine. I feel ready. I mean, leading up to [Saturday], everything felt really locked in and the velo was there. I don’t know why it wasn’t [Saturday]. It could have just been mechanics.”
His fastball velocity is what elevates his ceiling as a possible upper-echelon pitcher in the Majors, so that created some concern. This is not to say that he can’t be successful without an upper-90s fastball, which is its own can of worms surrounding arm health, but it certainly helps at this stage of his career as he tries to learn the ropes of being a pitcher in the Majors.
Another reason Miller isn’t putting much stock into the velocity concerns is because of what he is currently focused on executing:
“I just want execution on every one of my pitches,” Miller said. “The command of my off-speed pitches wasn’t very good [on Saturday]. I know my velocity will be there, so I’m not worried about that.”
It is hard to argue with Miller’s logic here as a lack of command of his off-speed pitches was the main difference in the quality of his first start and his last two starts. His fastball can only be used to its full potential when he has the ability to effectively throw his off-speed to complement it.
Similar concerns about Walker Buehler’s velocity during his rehab assignment have turned out to not be much of a concern as initially thought. Miller’s smooth rehab process and his age means that he will likely be fine as well.
Dodgers adapting to MLB’s scheduling
After a brief thee-game homestand, the Dodgers went back out on the road for six games against the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.
It is the result of the changes to scheduling implemented by MLB this season.
This is the second season where all teams will play each other, regardless of their league or division. It is a big departure from MLB’s past approach to scheduling, where interleague play was sparse and there was a much greater emphasis on playing divisional opponents.
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