‘Lucky to have him in my corner.’ How Blake Snell is helping Bobby Miller in Dodgers camp

PHOENIX — Wherever Bobby Miller has gone so far during Dodgers spring training, Blake Snell has usually been nearby.

Over the first week of camp at Camelback Ranch, the two have walked to and from bullpen sessions together, in constant conversation with almost every step. They’ve been next-door neighbors in the clubhouse, spending more time together at their side-by-side lockers. Even when Miller was throwing his first live batting practice session of spring on Saturday, Snell was right there behind the mound, closely watching how Miller performed alongside club pitching coaches and front-office personnel.

It might seem an unlikely pairing: a two-time Cy Young Award winner in Snell, gravitating to a once-promising prospect in Miller coming off a disastrous 2024 season.

But over the last couple of years, as he watched the Dodgers from opposing dugouts, Snell had been intrigued with Miller’s high-octane stuff and tantalizing potential.

So, after he signed with the team this offseason and arrived for his first Dodgers spring training last week, the decorated veteran made a point of seeking out his new 25-year-old teammate.

“He said, ‘We’re gonna have a long spring together,’” Miller said with a laugh this weekend. “I’m trying to learn a lot from him. … But he’s been really cool to me. I’m really lucky to have him in my corner.”

This spring always figured to loom large for Miller, the team’s former first-round draft pick and breakout rookie star.

As a rookie in 2023, Miller burst onto the scene with his upper-90s mph fastball and fiery in-game intensity, going 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA to earn a postseason rotation spot. Last year, that rapid ascent quickly stalled, with the right-hander suffering an 8.52 ERA in just 13 starts while missing much of the season with a shoulder injury.

“I’m just forgetting about last season,” Miller said. “Can’t get much worse than that.”

Better performance won’t guarantee Miller much this spring. With Snell and Roki Sasaki joining the Dodgers rotation, and Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and (eventually) Shohei Ohtani all returning after missing last season with injuries, Miller has fallen well down the organizational depth chart. When asked if he was in contention for the team’s open No. 5 slot in the opening day rotation, manager Dave Roberts stopped short of saying yes.

“I think competition is one way to look at it,” Roberts said, responding to a question about Miller and fellow young starter Landon Knack. “But also I think the best way to look at it is, they’ve got to take care of their own business. … And whatever their performance is will dictate their role on our roster.”

In Miller’s case, this is where Snell has come in this spring — serving as part mentor, part sounding board in Miller’s efforts to rekindle his big-league career.

“Huge is not even doing that justice,” Roberts said of Snell’s early impact on Miller in camp.

“Obviously we know how talented Bobby is. But to have a peer, a guy who’s won Cy Youngs, want to personally invest in him, there’s only great upside for both players and the organization as a whole.”

Snell tried to downplay his influence on Miller when approached by reporters Sunday afternoon.

“Y’all are saying I’m taking him under my wing,” Snell said with a laugh. “But we’re just friends, learning. I wouldn’t say I’m a mentor. We’re friends.”

He said the two hadn’t discussed Miller’s 2024 season, either, preferring instead to focus on the season ahead.

“He’ll learn,” Snell said. “He’s such an amazing talent. I don’t ask him what he did last year because I don’t care. I think what he’s gonna do is way more important than what happened. Learn from it. Get better.”

In some ways, it’s reminiscent of Snell’s career. As a rookie in 2016, Snell had a 3.54 ERA while striking out almost 10 batters per nine innings. In his second MLB season, he slightly regressed, posting a 4.04 ERA while watching his strikeout rate dip. Then, in year three, he won 21 games, led the American League with a 1.89 ERA and won his first of two Cy Young Awards.

“I can see it in the way that he looks at the game, views the game,” Snell said. “I see how he wants to be great.”

“I asked Blake myself, how does that [relationship] manifest,” Roberts added. “And he just said that, ‘I see Bobby in myself.’”

Intentional mentorship or not, Miller’s conversations have Snell have already yielded nuggets of wisdom.

In his live batting practice on Saturday, for example, Miller dropped an expletive after falling behind in the count against a couple of hitters — a flashback to moments over the past couple years when Miller’s fiery demeanor has gotten the better of him in games.

But this time, Miller took a moment to emotionally reset, remembering a chat he had with Snell about “understanding hitters, and not giving them the advantage.”

“It’s just realizing that’s going to give the hitter an advantage,” Miller said of his brief outburst on the mound.

The message had been received. A small change had already been made.

“I’m gonna try asking him more questions, and not make him come up to me all the time,” Miller said. “I’m gonna be the one working hard and trying to learn from him.”