Shelby Miller inches closer to a return with D-backs
Jun 16, 2016, 4:20 PM | Updated: 4:49 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Shelby Miller delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, May 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Arizona Diamondbacks’ general manager Dave Stewart went on Off the Edge with B-Train on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday and discussed Shelby Miller and his two Single-A rehab starts since being sent down.
“His stuff looked better than it was all year long,” Stewart said. “I know he’s anxious to get back on the mound and obviously we’re anxious to have him back”
In the two games the right-hander started for Visalia Rawhide, he went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and 19 strikeouts. In 12 innings, Miller only had one earned run with 8 hits given up.
“I was really impressed with his off-speed pitch,” Stewart added. “Both his breaking ball and his cutter.”
One of the biggest things for Miller in his rehab assignment is getting tall and more upright, Stewart said.
Before landing on the 15-day DL with a right finger sprain in May, Miller was 1-6 in 10 games with a 7.09 ERA and 30 strikeouts for the D-backs. He scraped his finger against the mound back in April in consecutive starts in San Diego and San Francisco.
“In all the time I’ve been in the game, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pitcher scrape his finger against the ground while in his delivery,” Stewart said.
When Miller could return to the mound for the D-backs, Stewart remains unsure.
“We’re going to talk a little bit more internally before we make a decision on whether we’re going to take him off or try to get him one more rehab start,” he said.
