DH Of The Future?
August 17th, 2016
Brad Miller continues to shock Major League Baseball as he hammers balls at a stunning pace.
Not bad for a guy who lost his position.
It’s been a fun ride, but it’s hard to believe Miller is really a 30+ home run guy. However, in a designated hitter role, Miller belted his 23rd and 24th homers last night in less than 400 at bats this season. (Here’s all the fun from the 15-1 pasting of the Padres.)
Booted from shortstop, and certainly no defensive first baseman, Miller might just be the Rays’ DH of the future. He’s cheap, and Tampa Bay has control of him for three more seasons.
If Miller wants stability and doesn’t want to be a poor man’s Ben Zobrist, DH is probably his best shot. And that also would give the Rays another versatile body on the roster versus, say, Corey Dickerson.
The Rays are notorious for buying players low and selling them high, or at least attempting to. Miller’s stock will soar if he can finish the season strong. So it’ll be interesting to see how the Rays approach him.
If they don’t believe Miller 2016 is the real deal, then look for Miller to be gone in a hurry.
August 17th, 2016 at 2:35 pm
It’s not just the number of homers, it’s also the ruthian distances he’s hitting them. Last night’s first blast in center hit 3/4’s of the way up on the batter’s eye ! Could it be…500 feet ? Watched him in spring training at the Pirates field from 60 feet away. I didn’t like what I saw defensively (2 throws to 1st in the dirt and 1 that pulled the 1st baseman off the bag; ick!) but, boy did I notice his amazing bat speed. I blogged at the time, he reminded of Manny Ramirez when he was with the Rays that one spring training just before he got suspended by MLB.
August 17th, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Looks like the Rays picked up a Poor man’s DH! Man did he spank the wall of the Batter’s Eye last night with that 440 foot blast! Hope he gets used to the DH/occasional 1B lifestyle and just tees it up in September! Nothing would please me more than Miller drilling a HR into the night sky to burn Toronto, Boston and/or Baltimore out of a playoff spot!
August 17th, 2016 at 6:21 pm
Especially Boston, Dave. And the Yankmees, if they get close to the wild card !
August 17th, 2016 at 11:04 pm
Looks like our infield is set for next year. Keirmeyer in center. Decent starting rotation too. Need help at catcher, the pen, and the outfield corners. Don’t know if Souza, Dickerson, and Mikie Matook are the answers out there. Would like Souza and Dickerson make more contact. Like Nick Franklin over Tim Beckham. Mr. Potential Desmond Jennings is history. Time will tell.