Brian Miller

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Miami Marlins #27 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Miller hit .332 throughout his three years with North Carolina while posting a .872 OPS. Miller signed with the Marlins for $1.88 million as the 36th overall pick in 2017. He has continued to post high averages with low Class A Greensboro and high Class A Jupiter, hitting .324 over 534 plate appearances, but his numbers have dipped since reaching the upper levels.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: A lefthanded hitter with a smooth swing, Miller's ordinary numbers were the first struggles he'd experienced as a pro. Miller has continued to show above-average contact skills and low swing-and-miss rates, but scouts have noticed an effort to add lift to swing and pull the ball more, which has had a negative impact on quality contact. Always a good fastball hitter who has been able to handle velocity, Miller did not do so as effectively over the past years. Even with the changes in his swing path, power still has been minimal. He has plus speed but has a below-average stolen base percentage. Despite his speed, Miller has played most of his games in left, where he is an average defender with an average arm.
  
  THE FUTURE: A potential .300 hitter with solid on-base skills and potential baserunning threat, Miller has the potential to be a useful top-of-the-order hitter and has a ceiling as an extra outfielder.
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  Ranked Miami Marlins #14 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Originally recruited as a preferred walk-on at North Carolina, Miller excelled in three years with the Tar Heels before the Marlins drafted him with the 36th overall pick in 2017. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound outfielder split his first full season of pro ball between high Class A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville, and then he ended the year with a stint in the Arizona Fall League.
  
  Scouting Report: Considered by many to be a 70-grade runner, Miller led all Marlins minor leaguers with 40 stolen bases in 2018. His speed is also an asset in the outfield, where he has the potential to be an average center fielder with an average arm. Miller has hit just one home run in 185 minor league games, and he'll likely never have much more than fringe-average power. His line-drive swing, advanced contact skills and speed give him a chance to be a plus hitter, however, and he's a career .304 hitter with a strikeout rate below 13 percent in the minors.
  
  The Future: After excelling in Class A, Miller struggled in his first taste of Double-A (.632 OPS) and didn't fare much better in the AFL (.641 OPS). He will likely head back to Double-A to begin 2019. Miller's lack of power limits his ceiling as an everyday regular, but his speed, hit tool and ability to fill in at all three outfield positions give him the safe landing spot of a fourth outfielder.
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  Ranked Miami Marlins #12 prospect in 2018
  Miller started at North Carolina as a DH known for his plus speed but without any natural position. He moved to center field by his junior year and had a strong wood-bat track record, hitting .327 in the 2016 Cape Cod League, which led to him being the first hitter selected by the Marlins in 2017. Miller spent his entire pro debut season with low Class A Greensboro. It was there that he showed off his natural feel for hitting by using his plus speed and strong contact ability, ending his 2017 season with the third-best average (.322) in the South Atlantic League from July 1 to season's end. With a slight 6-foot-1 frame, Miller projects to have fringe-average power at best. Defensively, he has shown improved range and instincts as he gets more time in center and projects as an above-average defender there, even if his arm strength may never be more than average. After a successful pro debut, Miller should start 2018 at high Class A Jupiter, with a chance to move quickly. His makeup suggests he has a great chance to maximize his potential as a high-average, low-power, everyday center fielder.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #44 prospect in 2017 draft
  Coming out of Millbrook High in Raleigh, N.C., Miller was lightly recruited and committed as a recruited walk-on to UNC Asheville. When North Carolina's recruiting class was decimated in the 2014 draft (six of the first 64 players picked were preps committed to UNC, all six signed), the Tar Heels had spots to fill and found Miller at a summer camp. His brother Rick ran track and cross country at North Carolina, making Miller an easy signee, and his legs got him onto the field as a freshman, when he played DH. He played first base and right field as a sophomore before taking over in center as a junior and has the plus speed (some scouts consider him a true 70 runner) and improved reads, range and instincts to be an asset defensively in center. Miller has had a streaky spring season with the bat, rolling over too many balls while trying to incorporate his lower half more and show more pull power. He's had more success spraying line drives from left-center to the right-field line, using his speed and setting the table, but his below-average power limits his ceiling and could keep him from being a big league regular. He has a strong wood-bat track record, hitting .327 in the Cape Cod League in 2016 and .389 in 2015 in the Coastal Plain League. His athleticism, speed and contact bat could land him as high as the second round.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked South Atlantic League #20 prospect in 2017
  A supplemental first-round in June out of North Carolina, Miller moved just an hour west from Chapel Hill to Greensboro and kept on hitting like he was still in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He had the third-best batting average (.322) in the league from July 1 until the season ended. A plus runner who looked very comfortable in center field, Miller has an easy swing with a lot of fluidity and good bat control. It's a very opposite-field heavy approach right now, which prevented him from showing the power that's expected of most everyone in 2017. Miller's defense, speed and contact ability give him a pretty high floor as a backup outfielder, but he'll have to start pulling the ball and using his lower half more to hit for more power to be a regular.

• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Miller hit .332 throughout his three years with North Carolina while posting a .872 OPS. Miller signed with the Marlins for $1.88 million as the 36th overall pick in 2017. He has continued to post high averages with low Class A Greensboro and high Class A Jupiter, hitting .324 over 534 plate appearances, but his numbers have dipped since reaching the upper levels.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: A lefthanded hitter with a smooth swing, Miller's ordinary numbers were the first struggles he'd experienced as a pro. Miller has continued to show above-average contact skills and low swing-and-miss rates, but scouts have noticed an effort to add lift to swing and pull the ball more, which has had a negative impact on quality contact. Always a good fastball hitter who has been able to handle velocity, Miller did not do so as effectively over the past years. Even with the changes in his swing path, power still has been minimal. He has plus speed but has a below-average stolen base percentage. Despite his speed, Miller has played most of his games in left, where he is an average defender with an average arm.
  
  THE FUTURE: A potential .300 hitter with solid on-base skills and potential baserunning threat, Miller has the potential to be a useful top-of-the-order hitter and has a ceiling as an extra outfielder.
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Drafted out of North Carolina 36th overall in 2017, Miller is a slight, 6-foot-1 outfielder who has continuously showed a plus hit tool as a professional. A career .321 hitter, he advanced to Double-A in mid-June. At least a plus runner, Miller steals bases efficiently and covers ground in the outfield, where he has rotated between all three positions. His below-average power makes it hard to profile him as an everyday corner outfielder, so center field is his best bet.