With Andrew Miller holding a June 15 outclause in his deal, it’s a given that the Red Sox are about to call up the former first-round pick of the Tigers. His ERA is down to 2.54 at Triple-A Pawtucket, and in his last three starts, he’s allowed a total of four runs and posted a 16/2 K/BB ratio in 20 innings.
What isn’t yet known is how the Red Sox intend to employ Miller. Apart from an eight-appearance stint in the pen during his pro debut in A-ball in 2006, Miller hasn’t worked as a reliever. He’s limiting left-handers to a .111 average in Triple-A this year, so maybe he could be useful as a matchup reliever late in games. However, that’s far from a given. Miller has a long history of control issues, and relievers who struggle to throw strikes are hard to trust late in games.
As much progress as Miller has made recently, the right move now is to stick him in the rotation. It’s not an easy call, since it’d mean bumping elder statesman Tim Wakefield back to the pen yet again. But Miller still has an incredibly high ceiling, and it’s worth seeing if he’s finally ready to pitch up to his potential. He’s earned the opportunity while allowing just one homer in 60 1/3 innings for Pawtucket. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if he’s the choice to start when the Red Sox face the Brewers on Sunday.
