As MLB’s 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Miller to debut:
The Dodgers are reportedly planning to select the contract of top pitching prospect Bobby Miller ahead of this evening’s game in Atlanta. A consensus top-30 prospect in the game entering the season, Miller boasts a 100 mph fastball and has routinely struck out over 30% of batters faced throughout the minors. He’s been off to a shaky start so far in 2023, with a 5.65 ERA across four starts and a strikeout rate of just 19.7% to go with a 9.8% walk rate in a tiny sample of just 14 1/3 innings of work. Shaky start notwithstanding, Miller’s raw talent provides plenty of reason for optimism that he can be an asset to the Dodgers both today and going forward. He’s not currently on the 40-man roster, meaning the club will need to make a corresponding move to free up space for the young right-hander.
2. Gore to face San Diego:
Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore will face the club that drafted him third overall in the 2017 draft this evening, as the Padres head to Nationals Park for a three-game set. Gore, a longtime top prospect who made his big league debut for the Padres last season, was sent to the Nationals mid-season as part of the blockbuster that brought Juan Soto to San Diego. Now Gore, who sports a solid 3.69 ERA and 3.67 FIP through 46 1/3 innings of work, will face down his former team and their star-studded lineup that includes Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts. This series could prove to be a pivotal one for the Padres. Despite lofty expectations in San Diego, the club enters the series with a 21-26 record that puts them eight games back of their rival Dodgers in the NL West.
3. MLBTR Chat today:
With around 30% of the 2023 campaign now in the books, there’s still a handful of surprise teams in good positions in the standings, and many expected playoff contenders struggling. If the events of the season so far have spurred any questions in your mind about your favorite team or the league as a whole, MLBTR’s Steve Adams is holding a live chat with readers at 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
