Game Report: Miller Is Lights Out For Millersville

Millersville (Pa.) righthander Brandon Miller—who J.J. Cooper ranked as one of the Top 10 Division II draft prospects—opened his season with an outstanding performance on Friday, guiding Millersville to a 3-0 victory over fellow Division II foe Winston-Salem State.

The junior Miller, eligible for the draft in June, struck out nine batters, walked one, and allowed one hit over 6 2/3 scoreless innings.

Miller has some very encouraging raw materials. He starts his delivery from the middle of the rubber, than takes a step back to the first base side. Miller uses an overhead hand pump to get his arms moving, and his lower half starts with a knee lift and a powerful hip drive. He has a nearly full arm circle and has some length to the back of his arm action, but has a clean finish as he fires through a slightly high three-quarters arm slot. Miller typically lands online, though his landing varied at times.

The righthander showed potential for an average fastball, sitting at 89-92 mph in the first inning before working mostly at 88-90 as the game wore on. Miller’s heater showed impressive sink when he spotted it to his arm side.

His favorite secondary pitch was his slider, which worked at 77-80. Miller’s front side sometimes flew open when he tried to hammer his slider down and to his glove side, and he has a tendency of lowering his arm slot slightly when he throws it. Miller was able to slam the pitch through the front door against righties, use it as a chase pitch down and away from righties, and compete for strikes in the lower part of the strike zone. The slider didn’t show the same depth and bite when he threw it to his arm side, but he was consistently on top of the pitch. It’ll need refinement at the next level, but the pitch has potential and it’s an encouraging sign to a pitcher with control of his breaking ball.

Miller threw a few curveballs and sprinkled in a pair of changeups. His low 70s curveball showed 11-to-5 shape, and he buried it low in the zone. Miller spotted his first changeup down and to his arm side against a righthanded hitter, then buried one low and down the middle against a lefthanded hitter during the third time through the batting order.

While Miller’s control was mostly on point, he did elevate his fastball and slider at times. His fastball did generate some swings and misses when he threw it above hitters’ hands, but he’ll have to continue to refine his feel for the upper half of the strike zone.

Miller is listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. He has wide shoulders and a high waist, giving him the look of a sturdy starting pitching prospect. To prove himself to professional evaluators as a starter, Miller will have to show stamina this spring, and it wouldn’t hurt him to show more of his changeup.