CLEARWATER, Fla. — Aidan Miller looked like a natural as he charged down the third-base line, cleanly fielded a dribbler and fired a strike to first base from a side-arm angle in the ninth inning on Friday afternoon. Sure, he’s only played shortstop since he was drafted in the first round by the Phillies in 2023, but he started taking grounders at the hot corner this week when he found out he’d be manning third for the second half of the Spring Breakout game at BayCare Ballpark. He seemed to get used to it pretty quickly.
Miller, a 20-year-old known more for his advanced right-handed bat, impressed on defense as a collection of Phillies minor leaguers defeated a group of top Pirates prospects, 5-3, in the second annual edition of this contest put on around Major League Baseball to showcase young players.