Phillies minors notes: Aidan Miller trusted his plan, Seth Johnson's bullpen move and more

New York Times

2 days ago

Phillies No. 2 prospect Aidan Miller tinkered with the basics when struggling at the plate last season: his leg kick, where to start his hands, his stance. Nothing major, but enough messing around to worsen his problems.
So when Miller batted .203 over 19 games in April for Double-A Reading, he did not hit the panic button again. He trusted his plan at the plate.
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'Not trying to change too much with my swing, mechanical-wise or anything, just going out there every single day and treating it like a new day — it really helped me get out of that,' Miller said.
The 20-year-old shortstop, the Phillies' top pick in the 2023 MLB amateur draft, has emerged stronger. Miller is slashing .247/.329/.356 with a .685 OPS across 20 games in May, riding a 10-game hitting streak through Saturday.
He knows slumps happen to everyone. He stayed the course. There was no big turnaround. Balls that previously went straight to the defense started to fall, Miller said, lifting a mental weight.
AIDAN MILLER🤩 pic.twitter.com/BMQvChJox1
— Reading Fightin Phils (@ReadingFightins) May 17, 2025
The Phillies took a swing on Miller, a top high school hitter who fell to No. 27 in the 2023 draft after missing much of his senior season with a hamate fracture in his left hand. Their belief paid off as Miller ascended from Low-A Clearwater to Double-A Reading last season, posting an .811 OPS and tallying 45 extra-base hits while earning a spot in the Futures Game. And, even as Miller worked through struggles in April, he walked 11 times and reached base in 16 consecutive games.
Miller went from playing four to five games a week in 2024 to six days a week now. Health is his top priority with greater playing time, so he's focused more on routine: eating healthy, hitting the weight room, treating soft tissue when needed.
Keeping this routine has gotten easier with time. So has trusting himself at the plate. Both have paid dividends.
Triple-A Lehigh Valley right-hander Seth Johnson has a nice two-pitch mix and compelling stuff — part of why the Phillies moved him to a bullpen role in April. But it's his flexibility that stands out most to Triple-A manager Anthony Contreras.
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'Once you have a starter come out to the bullpen, that type of utility in a pitching role is going to be valuable for him going forward,' Contreras said. 'Just being able to make that adjustment that quickly is probably the most impressive thing.'
Johnson, drafted 40th by Tampa Bay in 2019, has made flexibility central to his career. He pitched with the Rays organization for four years before being traded to the Orioles in August 2022. After two seasons in Baltimore's system — a significant chunk of it spent recovering from Tommy John surgery — he was sent to the Phillies as part of the Gregory Soto trade last July.
So, when Contreras called Johnson into his office when the IronPigs were in Gwinnett in April, Johnson figured he was being traded again.
'I was relieved at first,' the right-handed pitcher said. 'I didn't have to go pack up all my stuff again. I knew moving to the bullpen was a possibility this year, so it was kind of nice hearing it early in the year.'
It's a move the Phillies believe gives Johnson a better chance to make an impact in the big leagues. He hasn't appeared for the Phillies since he debuted with a spot start against the Miami Marlins in September 2024. It did not go well. He allowed nine runs and walked three batters, becoming just the second MLB pitcher to post those numbers in his debut — and the first since 1912. His big-league ERA sits at 34.71 in 2 1/3 innings.
Contreras said the club hoped that shifting Johnson to shorter outings would up his velocity.
'With the big arm, not having to pitch five, six, seven innings every fifth day, he's able to kind of blow it out — put everything he has into one, two, maybe three innings depending on how we use him,' Contreras said. 'He seems to be adjusting well.'
Before Johnson moved to the bullpen, he'd been a reliever just once: at Campbell University, playing in the Big South conference tournament in May 2019. There's not much to take away from that short-lived stint.
The biggest learning curve, he said, is being ready all the time. Johnson has been following everyone else's lead in the pen: moving in the third or fourth inning and staying loose. But he's felt more comfortable with time, finding that he doesn't need an hour to get ready to pitch. Fifteen throws will do.
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The decision to transition Johnson was made before reliever José Alvarado's 80-game PED suspension, which has elevated the importance of bullpen help for the Phillies. But control remains an issue for Johnson and would need to improve before a call-up. He's averaging 5.91 walks per nine innings — mostly a result of walking a combined 10 batters across three starts in April. The numbers have somewhat improved, as he's walked four batters and hit one across 8 2/3 innings in May.
• There was no stumble from pitcher Mick Abel as he returned to Lehigh Valley after his nine-strikeout debut for the Phillies on May 18. He loaded the bases after two walks, a single and a force-out in the first inning Saturday against the Buffalo Bisons, but escaped with one run scored. Abel went on to strike out eight, walk four and allow three hits in six innings.
Abel's breakout 2025 comes after a difficult 2024 in which he lost command en route to a 6.46 ERA. He simplified his approach to pitching over the offseason, which proved key to earning his first big league call-up.
'With time and age comes experience and maturity, and that plays into success,' Contreras said. 'I think he's reaping the benefits of making the adjustments going into this year.'
• Top 2024 Phillies draft picks have struggled to find their footing this season with Low-A Clearwater. Outfielder Griffin Burkholder, a second-round selection, has had limited at-bats due to hamstring injuries. He and first-rounder Dante Nori are both searching for power. Burkholder's average exit velocity: 85.1 mph. Nori's? 86.7 mph. The average exit velocity for tracked pitches in Low A this season is 87.3 mph.
• Reliever Tommy McCollum struck out a Double-A season-high three in two innings in Portland on May 25 and leads Reading with a 0.96 ERA. The undrafted righty has thrown more strikes this season, though his pitches sit at 93 mph. But his size and the pitches looking harder than they actually are have been enough to confound batters. The 25-year-old, who moved to Double A earlier this month, could reach Triple-A this season if he keeps it up.
• Another undrafted standout: Double-A outfielder Keaton Anthony. The 23-year-old was ensnared in a gambling scandal as a college baseball player at Iowa, though he faced no charges. The Phillies signed him in July 2023, and Anthony has excelled ever since. He's hitting .321/.384/.507 with a .891 OPS in 37 games with Reading this season.
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• Low-A closer Titan Hayes has shown flashes this season, working his way to a 2.12 ERA — and 0.00 in nine innings in April — and six saves. The 2024 11th-rounder's fastball sits at 97 mph, though he's struggled to throw consistent strikes. Should he stay the course, a High-A promotion could pose a good test in June or July.
— The Athletic's Matt Gelb contributed to this report.
(Top photo of Aidan Miller: Mitchell Leff / Philadelphia Phillies)