What to know about Bobby Miller’s MLB postseason debut

Bobby Miller, a 2017 McHenry West graduate, will make his postseason debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers at 8:07 p.m. Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Following Clayton Kershaw in the opener, Miller will take the mound for Game 2 in the best-of-five National League Division Series in Los Angeles.

The game will be televised on TBS.

Here are five things to know about Miller, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-handed fireballer who was one of MLB’s best pitchers since making his debut on May 23.

1. Rookie sensation

Miller was one of the best first-year players in baseball and recorded the sixth lowest ERA (3.76) among qualified rookie starters. Only New York Mets’ Kodai Senga (2.98), Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee (2.98), Cubs’ Javier Assad (3.05), Miami’s Eury Perez (3.15) and Cleveland’s Gavin Williams (3.29) finished with a lower ERA. Miller, however, is the only one still playing in the postseason.

[ McHenry coaches, AD watch Bobby Miller’s MLB debut in person ]

2. Strong finish

Miller had his best start of the season Sept. 26 in Colorado, arguably the hardest place to pitch, striking out a career-high nine Rockies with no walks in seven innings as part of an 11-2 win. Miller ended his rookie season with a four-inning scoreless effort against San Francisco on Oct. 1. Among Dodgers’ starters, only Kershaw had more wins, a lower ERA and a higher strikeout rate than Miller.

3. Postseason breakout?

Miller will likely receive plenty of support in NL Rookie of the Year voting after finishing 11-4 in 22 starts, along with a spectacular 119:32 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 124 1/3 innings. Former Chicago Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa, now an analyst for MLB Network, predicted Miller to be the No. 1 postseason breakout this year.

4. Give him the heater, Bobby

Miller is more than just a fastball pitcher, but the 24-year old can certainly light up radar guns with the best of them. Entering his final two starts of the season, Miller touched 100 mph or higher on 158 of his fastballs. And among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched, Miller’s average fastball velocity of 99.1 mph ranked No. 1 in baseball.

5. Vote of confidence

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a two-time World Series champion (once as a player, once as a manager) said of Bobby Miller after his final regular-season start (via Bill Plunkett form the OC Register): “I think that you can have confidence, but to have real confidence that is sustainable, you have to perform and pitch well, and he’s done that. Each time out there he’s gotten better and taken something from each outing. He’ll be ready to go for the postseason.”