Philadelphia Phillies star prospect Aidan Miller is in a very strange position in his career right now.

Miller, viewed as one of the top prospects not only in the Phillies system but also in all of Major League Baseball, has been dealing with a tough back injury over the past few months.

Advertisement

It’s unfortunate that everything has unfolded the way it has for Miller, who many were hopeful would not only be a good player in Philadelphia in the future, but possibly make an impact as early as this year. Regardless, it doesn’t sound like that will be the case, as the latest update was far from ideal.

Miller’s back issue continues to flare up, and there now seems to be a sense that he might miss much of this season, if not all of it.

“Phillies officials have said for months Miller is progressing after aggravating his back during spring training. But now, three months after he first reported renewed pain, little has changed with Miller in terms of baseball activity. It is disappointing for everyone involved — for the prospect, who flourished at shortstop last season, and for the club, which if Miller had been healthy and successful, may have been able to promote him earlier in the season as third baseman Alec Bohm struggled and losses mounted…

“Back issues appeared on Miller’s draft medical reports, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told The Athletic in March, but last year marked the first time they were “of any major consequence” for the 2023 first-rounder. Miller played through lower back pain for the last two months of 2025, stealing 22 bases across August and September despite his discomfort. He missed part of the final week of the Triple-A season and the Arizona Fall League to rehab,” Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic wrote.

Advertisement

While I understand that the Phillies have been cautious in his return and still feel like they can bring him back sometime this year, I don’t think there’s really any reason to push Miller.

Unless there’s a feeling that he can return and not aggravate this back injury anymore sometime over the next few months, there’s just no reason to risk a prospect who’s only going to get limited at-bats at this point in the minor leagues this season anyway.