It's always fascinated me that there's still a lot of cases of players that are clearly good and consistent, but end up on a different team every year because they're more likely to be signed to a one year deal. Some of these guys, like Hunter Renfroe or Jesse Winker, are just flipped to different teams every year with the promise of solid power numbers. I loved this back in the day where it'd be almost like a game to see who someone like Kenny Lofton, Cameron Maybin or Nori Aoki got to suit up for.
It's still kinda like that for Wade Miley. Since entering the league with the Diamondbacks in 2011, the longest he's ever played for one team was the four years he had with Arizona; he's never had more than 2 seasons with a club since. And it's not that he's unreliable, either--Miley, pre-injuries, was routinely able to make all 30 starts with a team, and was a solid innings eater for both uncompetitive teams like the Mariners and Orioles as well as competitive teams like the 2018 Brewers and the 2019 Astros. Miley went from being a struggling late option for the Reds to leading their rotation post-Bauer and giving them a no-hitter without throwing especially hard.
I feel bad that he's been so snakebitten in the past few years, because Miley, like Rich Hill, is a durable, reliable guy to have starting games for you. He's not flashy, he's not overpowering, there isn't much fear that he's gonna blow out his arm or anything [though, again, post-2021 his arm's been a bit more bothersome]. He just shows up, gets his innings in, doesn't give up a ton of runs, and leaves. With all the strikeout artists and throw-as-hard-as-you-can guys that have seemed to dominate the league, it's refreshing that somebody like Miley can still be a useful piece for a competitor like the Brewers.
Miley's 2023 stuff is still pretty good, he's 5-2 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.025 WHIP. Numbers ironically on par with the last time he was a Brewer, back in 2018. Like 2018, he's missed a few games, but unlike 2018 he's been healthy and trustworthy when several great Brewers arms have been hurt, and that counts for a lot for this team. Having unlikely innings eaters like Miley, Julio Teheran and Colin Rea keep the momentum going in the absence of actual rotation icons like Peralta and Woodruff is an unexpected pro for this team. Plus, now that Peralta's back and Adrian Houser seems to be getting better, the depth can settle and form a wild-but-reliable rotation to last this team through the rest of the year.
The Brewers aren't as top-heavy as they used to be, it's currently just down to the stars, Yelich, Adames and Burnes. A lot of the other guys aren't really showing up to that extent. This is a good RBI team but not a great contact team, which is a contrast from earlier incarnations. With the division being so out of whack, the Brewers may still triumph at the end of the day, being the team that's honestly been the least disappointing of all of them, but you never know how long this Reds rebellion will last.
Coming Tonight: The Phillies got tired of waiting. Apparently if they'd hung on just a little bit longer, some of this could have been theirs.
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