First-round pick Aidan Miller ready to get to work with the Phillies: ‘It’s really a perfect scenario’

Miller is expected to sign quickly and then will begin his professional career in Clearwater, a 25-minute drive from his parents’ house.

Aidan Miller, picked 27th overall by the Phillies, may have been a top-10 selection if not for a broken hamate bone in his left hand.Read moreUSA Baseball

by Scott Lauber

Published July 12, 2023, 8:27 a.m. ET

Aidan Miller knew the Phillies liked him. He just didn’t think they’d draft him. So, upon getting the news Sunday from his agent at a draft party with family and friends — shortly before commissioner Rob Manfred told the rest of the world on live television — Miller had to share it with the biggest Phillies fan that he knows.

It isn’t only that Miller’s pal, Blake Wright, went to high school in Clearwater, Fla., down the road from the Phillies’ spring training facility before becoming a standout infielder at Clemson. Wright’s family is from the Philadelphia area. The Phillies are their team. And they don’t hide it.

“I went up to him and his dad and I’m like, ‘Hey, it’s the Phillies,’ and they just start going crazy,” Miller said by phone Tuesday as late-round picks trickled in on the third and final day of the draft. “It was a lot of ‘Let’s gos’ and ‘Oh yeahs’ and ‘Can’t wait to watch you.’ They were the first people I told, and seeing their reaction, how happy they were for me, was really cool.

“Already I have all these fans that are his family in Philly.”

That’s a nice place to start. But if Miller becomes the hitter the Phillies think he will be, well, let’s just say Wright’s relatives won’t have the only red-pinstriped jerseys with his name on the back.

And if the Phillies’ interest took Miller by surprise, it was probably because they didn’t think the slugging 19-year-old infielder would still be on the board when they made the 27th overall pick. He may have been a top-10 selection if not for a broken hamate bone in his left hand, near the wrist, that required surgery. He missed his senior season at J.W. Mitchell High School in Trinity, Fla., and despite working out for teams at the University of Tampa before the draft, his stock slipped.

But that hardly matters now. Miller is expected to sign quickly, according to multiple sources. The slot value for the No. 27 pick is $2.97 million. Once he passes a physical and finalizes a deal, Miller will begin his professional career in Clearwater, a 25-minute drive from his parents’ house.

“It’s really a perfect scenario,” Miller said. “It’s right in my backyard.”

Indeed, Miller grew up going to Phillies spring training games and watching the single-A Clearwater Threshers at BayCare Ballpark. He heard from Mick Abel, Andrew Painter, and Justin Crawford — the Phillies’ last three first-round picks — on draft night, and has already talked to minor league director of hitting Luke Murton.

And if all that didn’t put Miller at ease amid the anticipation of the ups and downs that await in pro ball, there are the lessons learned from his brother, Jackson, a second-round pick of the Reds in 2020 who has been challenged by shoulder and core injuries in his brief career.

Miller’s father, Jason, also got drafted, by the Rangers in 1994, and now owns and operates Courthouse Performance Center, a 20,000-square-foot training facility in Oldsmar, Fla., that counts Mets slugger Pete Alonso, Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman, Nationals first baseman Dominic Smith, and other major leaguers among its offseason clientele.

Last winter, Miller worked out in the same hitting group as Cincinnati Reds catcher Luke Maile and University of Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford, who got drafted fourth overall by the Texas Rangers. Miller has grown up in that environment.

“It’s my second home, pretty much,” Miller said. “I’m there for about two, three hours every day working out, hitting. It’s really cool to see all the big leaguers who come through on a daily basis. Every day I think I learned something new from those guys.”

This year, Miller learned to overcome the disappointment of a crushing injury. He began feeling pain on the top of his hand late last summer. X-rays were negative. Doctors diagnosed a bruise, maybe tendinitis. It subsided only to return when he began to train for the 2023 season.

The breaking point came in batting practice before the first game of the high school season.

“I felt a snap, a crack, and kind of knew instantly that it was the hamate and that I needed surgery, which really [stunk],” Miller said. “It was a big blow. Those are my teammates, my best friends, and that was kind of a last ride at a state championship.

“And then you’re thinking all those [individual] thoughts — ‘What am I going to do with the draft? Am I going to go to college now?’ People were asking me. It wasn’t good for my mental health. I realized it wasn’t healthy thinking about all that and just focused on getting back healthy and swinging again.”

When Miller is healthy — and the Phillies are confident that the bone healed properly, according to amateur scouting director Brian Barber — there’s no denying his right-handed power.

Miller batted .385 with 15 doubles, seven triples, eight homers, 36 steals, and a 1.176 on-base plus slugging in 187 at-bats over three high school seasons. He won a high school home run derby at Dodger Stadium as part of last year’s MLB All-Star week, and went 11-for-23 (.478) with three triples, two homers, and eight RBIs in nine games to help lift Team USA over Chinese Taipei in the Under-18 Baseball World Cup last September.

“He’s definitely stronger than the other kids,” Barber said. “He might have some of the strongest legs you will ever see from a high school player.”

Miller’s longest home run on record: a 420-footer for Team USA at Lecom Park in Bradenton, Fla.

“I’ve had some that are longer than that,” Miller said. “But that’s the one that’s been actually measured.”

From now on, they’ll all be measured. And Phillies fans, beyond just Blake Wright’s family, will be watching.

“It feels like forever since I last played because of the injury,” Miller said. “I can’t wait to get started and get my feet wet in pro ball and see how I can develop.”