What Can the Phillies Expect From Aidan Miller in 2027?

The Phillies had big expectations for top prospect Aidan Miller entering 2026. After a torrid stretch in which Miller hit .356 from August on, resulting in a brief Triple-A stint to end the year, the prevailing thought was that he could make his way to the MLB roster in 2026. Entering Spring Training, the hype around him had never been higher.

But it all came crashing down quickly. Lower back problems that had affected him in the past flared up before he could get into a game. Eventually, Spring Training turned into almost the whole year, as he and the team searched for answers. 

Miller would ultimately make a late-season return, catching on to the end of the Double-A season. He played a part in the Reading Phillies’ Eastern League Championship win, going 4-14 in four games with six walks. To make up for lost time, the Phillies had him play in the Arizona Fall League. In the development-focused league for prospects, Miller has stood out among his peers. He leads all players in walks (24) and on-base percentage (.547), ranking in the top 10 for OPS (1.027).

With the hype once again building around Miller, what can the Phillies expect in 2027 from their 2023 first-rounder?

Plate Discipline Will Be a Perfect Fit

As the AFL leader in walks and OBP, Miller brings elite plate discipline to the table. Miller has struck out just 16 times in 15 games during the fall, giving him more walks than strikeouts. In his brief eight-game stint before the AFL season began, he walked eight times and struck out just six. 

High walk rates have always been part of Miller’s profile. His lowest walk rate in any season was 12.1% in 2024, his first full season as a pro. His reduced strikeout rate has played a big part in his emergence over the last couple of seasons. 

Miller was struggling through the 2025 season, batting just .222 with an OPS under .700 at the end of July. His 14.4 BB% was still excellent, but he tended to be too patient and struck out 26.6% of the time. Pitchers had been able to beat him with the breaking ball, causing him to fall behind in counts early. But when he adjusted, everything else corrected itself. From that August on, he had a 17.9 BB% to a 16.8 K%, slugging .607 along the way.

Though he only has a small sample in 2026, even including his AFL work, the pattern has largely returned. He hasn’t fully found his power swing, but he’s still walking far more than he strikes out. For a Phillies team that finished bottom-10 in the league in OBP (.312), his elite eye will provide a huge boost.

He Still Has Tremendous Raw Power 

While Miller has paced the AFL in OBP, his .480 slugging percentage reads as good, not great. Over 15 games, he has recorded six extra-base hits, none of them home runs. For his career, he’s never finished a full season with a slugging percentage higher than .446 in 2024. So why does he still earn a 60-grade power mark from MLB Pipeline?

Miller still shows his elite power potential. His metrics from his time in the desert show proof of how he can still make a considerable impact:

• 74.0 MPH bat speed (82nd percentile)
• 91.2 average exit velocity (84th percentile)
• 46.9 HardHit% (79th percentile)

If his metrics were placed on MLB leaderboards, he would rank above Juan Soto and Ben Rice for bat speed. His average exit velocity would place him around the same rank as Pete Crow-Armstrong and Sal Stewart. His HardHit% would rank him just below a player like Jackson Chourio or Corbin Carroll.

Miller still needs to tap into his raw power during games. But he has shown before that he is more than capable of making loud contact with the ball. Even in his short stay at Lehigh Valley in 2025, he was above the 75th percentile in Barrel% and HardHit%. At his best, he has a shot at being one of the more well-rounded offensive players in the team’s lineup.

An Open Door in the Lineup

The Phillies ended 2026 with an infield logjam clearing up. After acquiring second baseman Luis Arraez from the Giants at the Trade Deadline, the Phillies had to get creative. That led to second baseman Bryson Stott moving to third base, Alec Bohm moving to first, and Bryce Harper going back to the outfield.

Now, Arraez and Bohm are free agents. Stott will shift back to second, and Harper to first, leaving third base open. And while Trea Turner is still set to begin 2027 as the shortstop, there’s no guarantee he’ll stay there. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has made it clear that Turner must improve his defense, or he will be moved off the position.

That opens the door wide for Miller and Double-A teammate Bryan Rincon, who had a huge breakout season. Rincon’s power, mixed with elite defense, makes him a strong candidate to be the team’s shortstop of the future. That leaves third base open for Aidan Miller, who has gotten work at the hot corner this fall. Though he’s primarily been a shortstop, he has the arm to man third base just fine.

That doesn’t mean the door isn’t open for him to play shortstop either. Miller has made strides in his defense and grades out as at least an average defender. He may not have the same ceiling as Rincon (60-grade fielding) on defense, but should be more than serviceable. 

Wherever Miller ends up playing, his call-up will be a highly anticipated day in Philadelphia. One of the most promising position player prospects the team has had in years, it’ll be all eyes on him.

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