Aidan Miller is finally back in Reading after nearly missing the entire year with lower back issues

Drew Smith
September 7, 2026
Phillies
0 Comments

Genuinely good news out of the system, which doesn’t happen often around here. Aidan Miller, the Phillies’ top hitting prospect, returned to a baseball field Friday for the first time in 353 days and doubled in his first at-bat for Single-A Clearwater.

It was Aidan Miller’s first game since September 18, 2025 after a back injury swallowed nearly a full calendar year.

Aidan Miller Double in First Rehab Game

Aidan Miller will bat third and play shortstop for Double-A Reading tonight.

The 22 year old hit a double in his first rehab game with Clearwater on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/ISbevW0j0b
— Milb Central (@milb_central) September 8, 2026

Last year Aidan Miller was a straight-up can’t-miss guy, swiping 59 bases in 116 games between Reading and Lehigh Valley while hitting .264 with 14 homers, a .392 OBP, and an .825 OPS. The finish is what had everyone believing. From August 1 on, he hit .356 with six bombs, 19 RBIs, 22 steals, a .457 OBP, and a 1.099 OPS.

Then the back wrecked everything. Shut down at the end of last year, kept out of the Arizona Fall League, came back for spring with all the hype, and then it flared right back up. Nobody, not Aidan Miller, not the Phillies, had an answer for why it kept recurring.

In June they announced discogenic pain and facet inflammation in the lumbar spine, he had a radiofrequency ablation to kill the nerve sending the pain signals, and he’s been grinding his way back ever since.

Rough road for the kid, no doubt about it.

It’s no secret to anyone that I hate this organization’s ability to develop prospects. It’s a running sore spot, and losing a full year of a talent like this while the answers stayed murky doesn’t help. BUT, credit where it’s due, they’ve refused to trade Aidan Miller even when they could’ve dangled him, and even with lower-back issues now on the résumé, they’re clearly sticking with him.

Give Aidan Miller a week of games at Clearwater to make sure the back holds, then ship him to the Arizona Fall League to make up for the reps he lost last year.