It’ll be a prospect debut for the Chicago Cubs tonight in Game Two of the doubleheader against the Cardinals.
Tyson Miller, who is already on the 40-man roster, will come up today to start tonight. The 25-year-old righty dominated at AA last year to the tune of a 2.65 ERA (23.5% K rate, 5.3% BB rate, 0.61 HR/9) before getting a midseason promotion to AAA and struggling mightily (7.58 ERA, 18.6% K rate, 10.8% BB rate, 2.40 HR/9). Some of that was the particularly brutal ball-related conditions last year at AAA, but much of it was just the normal adjustment process at a higher level.
Miller was put on the 40-man roster after the season for a reason, as he has projected as a future big leaguer for a couple years now. The question, like with so many rising starters, is whether he could crack the big leagues in the rotation, or if he’d need to just go with a fastball/slider combo and emerge in relief. The fastball (assuming it hasn’t improved appreciably this year, which is impossible to know!) can touch the mid-90s, and the slider is a good swing-and-miss pitch. He’s got a changeup, which I’ve not seen/heard/read as being more than usable.
In a start like this, where the guy hasn’t pitched in a real game in nearly a year, and now is expected to jump straight into a BIG LEAGUE START, well, you don’t expect too much. Basically you hope Miller is able to control his emotions, pitch to the game plan, and give you 4+ innings of a few runs. Something like that. Keep you in the game. Best case scenario? Miller has evolved quite a bit this year at South Bend, and the Cardinals have had no way to prepare for it. If that’s true and Miller is on point, he could actually potentially look fantastic the first time through the order. And in a seven inning game, that does you pretty darn well.
In case you were wondering why this start didn’t go to Adbert Alzolay, who is otherwise mostly considered to be the “sixth starter” with Jose Quintana out – it’s because he took a ball off the forearm:
Alzolay's injury isn't considered serious. Day to day with a contusion. Still potentially in the mix for a start with Cubs Wednesday in 2nd doubleheader with Cards this series.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 17, 2020