September 5th, 2024 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Immediately following Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller‘s 11th start of the 2024 regular season which ended in an ugly 10-1 loss to the Angels of Anaheim at The Big A on Wednesday night, a noticeably annoyed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that the performance of the 25-year-old Elk Grove Village, IL native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2020 out of the University of Louisville needs to be “better.”
“I think where we’re at right now with certain players, that Bobby, in this particular case, performance matters. It’s just gotta be better. You just can’t come out there and give up five runs and put us behind the eight-ball,” said Roberts.
(SportsNet LA)
What’s more, Roberts’ comments came only hours after it was being (very) widely reported that 26-year-old Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was nearing activation from the 60-day injured list for “a right triceps injury” and “a rotator cuff strain.”
You don’t need a Master’s Degree to figure this one out. Then again, with MLB rosters expanded to 28 this past Sunday, Miller’s demotion is not a sure thing … yet.
In his 5.0 innings pitched on Wednesday, Miller allowed seven earned runs on five hits, including a back-breaking three-run home run by Angels center fielder Mickey Moniak in the bottom of the first inning to give the Halos a 5-0 lead before the seats were warm, this after walking Angels left fielder Taylor Ward on seven pitches and hitting Angels shortstop Zach Neto on his second pitch to him.
“I think it’s really just a pitch-selection thing on my part, not executing,” Miller said postgame. “You know, like, it’s not just the homer, it’s what happened before the home run, which is the walk, the leadoff walk, are really unacceptable.”
Miller is now 2-4 on the season with a 7.79 ERA, 48 walks, and 25 strikeouts over his 49.2 innings pitched. He has also served up 15 home runs, which is tied for second most on the team with right-hander Tyler Glasnow (134.0 IP), three behind Gavin Stone‘s 18 (140.1 IP).
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Didn’t help that the umpire screwed him on the first batter. He had Ward struck out. I think he deserves one more start.
He was definitely getting squeezed by home plate umpire Adrian Johnson, but his fastball was like hitting off of a tee for the Angels batters.
No question Bobby has big league stuff. But he needs to learn to “pitch” and not just throw. It’s got to be THE right pitch at THE right time. I don’t know if he’s shaking off signals from Smith/Barnes or what but his results aren’t enough to warrant a spot on the post season roster unless he learns to throw the right pitch at the right time, period.
When the announcers know that hitters are feasting on Miller’s fastball, why does Miller and the Dodgers continue to throw that pitch? Definition of insanity. According to statcast, the movement on Miller’s fastball is below ML average and it is obvious that he doesn’t command the fastball location. I think his pitching performance is a direct function of the Dodgers pitching game planning.
I probably said “Why doesn’t Roberts (et al.) talk to him about his fastball?” a dozen times during the broadcast.
Miller has the stuff, he just needs some quality coaching.
In some ways, Miller reminds me of the struggles Ryan Pepiot and Gavin Stone went through — failing to command their pitches so hitters could sit on the inevitable fastball down the middle of the strike zone. they learned — will Miller learn and apply, or is he too stubborn/macho to accept that he isn’t a power pitcher.