Bobby Miller Scratched From Triple-A Start; Could He Be On His Way Back to Dodgers? (2024)

Following a four-game series in Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to St. Louis for a weekend series against the Cardinals. They’ll need a starter Friday after pushing Tyler Glasnow to Saturday and giving him an extra day of rest, rather than deploying him Friday on four days’ rest.

Meanwhile, the likelihood of Bobby Miller rejoining the Dodgers for his first start since July 9 is growing.

Miller, who was scheduled to start Thursday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, was scratched from that assignment. The Dodgers’ top farm team will throw a bullpen game against the Las Vegas Aviators instead.

According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, it’s yet to be determined whether Miller will pitch for the Dodgers this weekend. As of Thursday, the Dodgers have yet to announce their starter for Friday’s game.

Sources confirmed to Dodgers Nation that Miller is “physically fine” but has not yet departed Las Vegas. Officially, no determination has been made about Friday’s starter for Oklahoma City, either. That assignment, which previously belonged to Justin Wrobleski, is now listed as “TBA.”

Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reported Wednesday that Wrobleski could be an option to start the Dodgers’ opener in St. Louis.

The adjustment to the rotation should not come as a surprise. The Dodgers have either deployed a six-man rotation or taken advantage of off-days for most of the season, using a pitcher on four days’ rest seven times. Gavin Stone has done it three times, which is the most, and no one else has done it more than once.

Miller, 25, missed most of the season with a shoulder injury. When he returned, he went 1-2 with an 8.07 ERA in seven games before being optioned back to Triple-A.

In three starts with Oklahoma City since his demotion, he’s thrown 13 innings, allowed eight earned runs, walked 11 batters and struck out 11. Although his walk rate has been poor, Miller has kept the ball in the park (one home run) while limiting opponents to a .234 average in the three games. He missed about a week with an adductor issue before returning to the mound last Friday.

Wrobleski established himself as a strong candidate to join the starting rotation when he quickly rose through the Dodgers’ farm system. He made his big league debut in July after the Dodgers selected him in the 11th round of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

He made three more starts before Los Angeles optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He went 0-1 with a 4.05 earned run average, 1.20 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched.

Wrobleski’s strongest start was against the Boston Red Sox on July 20, it was also his shortest. He pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out five.

Glasnow is coming off a solid outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. The Dodgers won 6-5 and the ace of this year’s staff only allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked one.

The 30-year-old has started 22 games for the Dodgers this season, going 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA and 168 strikeouts, the fourth-most strikeouts in MLB.

Glasnow has already set new career highs in innings pitched and games started which could be a couple more contributing factors for him getting an extra day of rest.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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