Dodgers’ Bobby Miller Eyes a Comeback: “Starting from Rock Bottom”
LOS ANGELES - Bobby Miller’s journey through the big leagues has been anything but linear. Once the crown jewel of the Dodgers’ pitching prospects, Miller’s early flashes of brilliance made it easy to envision him as a future ace. But now, at 26, with just 15 big-league appearances in the last two seasons, he’s fighting to prove he’s still part of the Dodgers’ long-term plans - not just a name buried on the depth chart.
“This is my motivation right now - to get back to who I was a few years ago,” Miller said at the Dodgers’ annual fanfest. “I know it’s still in there, and there’s more than that as well.”
That version of Miller - the one who posted a 3.76 ERA over 22 starts as a rookie in 2023 - feels distant. Injuries, inconsistency, and a brutal stretch in 2024 derailed his trajectory.
His 8.52 ERA in 13 starts that season was a far cry from his debut campaign. Then came another setback in 2025, when a line drive to the head during spring training knocked him off course again.
He spent most of the year in Triple-A, making just two appearances for the Dodgers and struggling to find his footing.
By midseason, the organization shifted gears, moving Miller to the bullpen in hopes of sparking a turnaround. It was a reset - one that’s still in progress.
“The 30,000-foot view? We still feel Bobby’s a lot closer to being the 2023 version than people might think,” said David Anderson, the Dodgers’ Triple-A pitching coach.
Anderson’s not wrong to be optimistic. The raw tools are still there - the high-90s fastball, the deep pitch mix, the frame that screams frontline starter.
But the mechanics? That’s been the puzzle.
Miller’s knee and shoulder issues in 2024 created a domino effect in his delivery. His fastball, once a weapon, became more hittable - not because of velocity, but because of how it played out of his hand.
His release points were inconsistent. His secondary pitches weren’t landing for strikes.
And when one thing got fixed, another would break. It was a game of whack-a-mole - and hitters were winning.
In Oklahoma City, Anderson and the staff went back to the drawing board. The goal was to rebuild Miller’s delivery to mirror the efficiency and deception he had in 2023. That meant raising his fastball release point to better tunnel with his offspeed stuff and getting his sequencing back in sync.
“More than just pure stuff, it’s about understanding what the hitter is seeing,” Anderson said. “What are my pitches doing - and how am I presenting them visually?”
The idea is simple: get the fastball and changeup to mirror each other until it’s too late for the hitter to tell the difference. But executing that at a high level, especially when you’re coming off two injury-riddled seasons, is anything but easy.
And that’s where the finesse comes in.
For all the talk about Miller’s power arm, his success hinges on more than just gas. When he’s not locating, it unravels quickly.
His walk rate doubled in 2024 - from 2.3 walks per nine innings in 2023 to 4.8 in his limited big-league action. It climbed even higher in the minors last year, ballooning to 6.1.
That’s not just a control issue - that’s a confidence issue, too.
“When he’s in attack mode, he’s really, really good,” Anderson said. “But sometimes, guys with big fastballs think ‘attack’ means just throwing heat. For Bobby, it’s about mixing - fastball, curveball, changeup - and getting back to the core of what makes him effective.”
There were moments last season that hinted at progress. After transitioning to the bullpen, Miller put together a stretch where he posted scoreless outings in six of seven appearances.
He worked efficiently. He stayed out of trouble.
The results didn’t hold through the end of the year, but there was a glimpse - a reminder of what’s still possible.
Miller knows it, too. But the mental side has been just as much of a challenge as the physical one.
“The big thing for me is just not trying to panic,” he said. “I found myself doing that a little bit last year, just worrying so much about getting back to the big leagues.”
The Dodgers haven’t given up on him, but they’ve certainly moved on - at least for now. Their pitching depth is as stacked as ever, with names like Blake Snell, River Ryan, and Gavin Stone all in the mix.
Ryan and Stone are coming off surgeries that cost them the 2025 season, and Snell dealt with shoulder issues during the postseason. That opens the door, but it’s a crowded hallway - and Miller has ground to make up.
Still, the belief remains.
“We feel like we have all the ingredients we need to put it together and get back to 2023 Bobby,” Anderson said. “We just didn’t get the result yet.
All the pieces weren’t quite put together, but they were there by the end of the year. So we feel really good about that.”
For Miller, this spring is a fresh start - a shot at reclaiming his place in a rotation that once seemed destined to be his. The talent’s still there.
The work is ongoing. And if he can put the pieces together, the Dodgers might just rediscover the pitcher they always believed he could be.