Former Phillies Friday: Ex-pitching prospect is throwing 100 out of bullpen for Giants

Citizens Bank Park has been the home of the Phillies since 2004. (Don Otto/Phillies Nation)

One of the nastiest relievers in the San Francisco Giants bullpen was once a highly regarded Philadelphia Phillies prospect.

Erik Miller, who was drafted by the Phillies out of Stanford in the fourth round of the 2019 Draft, made the Opening Day roster for San Francisco and is off to a solid start. His 4.88 ERA is inflated by two rough outings in two of his first three games, but he’s allowed only two earned runs in 10 appearances.

Injuries and inconsistency defined Miller’s time in the Phillies system. Miller, who began his career as a starting pitcher, missed essentially a full year of development in 2020 due to the pandemic, came back in 2021 as a big league camp invitee, but was on the injured list for most of the season with a shoulder injury. He transitioned to a relief role in 2022 and posted a 3.54 ERA across Double A and Triple A.

The velocity was always there, but the command wasn’t, so the Phillies traded Miller to the Giants in January 2023 for Yunior Marte.

Miller’s best moment of the season came in Thursday’s 3-1 win against the Boston Red Sox when he struck out Rafael Devers on a 100 mph fastball.

He’s likely unavailable for Friday’s series opener after pitching in back-to-back games for the first time in his big league career, but he’ll likely be thrown into high leverage against the top left-handed batters in the Phillies lineup. Lefties are 2-for-18 against Miller this season.