Miller Time - Andrew Miller, DET

22-year young pitching stud, Andrew Miller of the Tigers made his Major League debut last year immediately after being drafted 6th overall out of UNC (he pitched 3 short games on DET's high-A team after being drafted). Many discussion about his quick call-up to the Majors were made last year. DET had a very good rotation and sensational bullpen last year. They wanted to see what Miller was made of after being a stud at UNC. This year, due to Kenny Rogers' injury, Miller is in the strong Tigers rotation.

After seeing him pitching today at the almost mid-season point, some good and bad things can be said of this Tar Heel alum:

-Very good, live fastballs, can hit 97mph & consistent ~92-94mph
-3 types of fastballs: 4-seam, 2-seam & cutter
-Average slider, which he throws when ahead, it's decent enough to throw hitters off & made them miss
-Below-average curveball, which he throws sometimes to mix in with his 90+ fastballs
-Needs a change-up and a steady slower pitch (e.g. splitter or change-up), to get the most out of his heat
-Smooth, quick 3-quarter, left-handed delivery comes right at the hitters from his lean 6'6 frame that is deceptive
-Needs to control his pitches better and lower his BB's

Miller can definitely become an ace of any rotation with a better off-speed pitch and more Major League experience. The question really is should be be developed at the Majors level or in the minor league. He looks confident at this point and as long as he doesn't blow up at some point while pitching in the Majors, any strong competitive experience can only help his career.

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org	Level		W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SH	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WP	BK	H9	HR9	BB9	K9	WHIP
2004	North Car.	NCAA	19		NCAA		6	3	2.93	18	15	1	0		0	89.0	64	40	29	5	48	88	8		6.47	0.51	4.85	8.90	1.26
2005	North Car.	NCAA	20		NCAA		8	4	2.98	16	16	2	0		0	96.2	78	45	32	4	52	104	8	0	7.26	0.37	4.84	9.68	1.34
2006	North Car.	NCAA	21		NCAA		13	2	2.48	20	18	0	0		1	123.1	100	50	34	4	40	133	9	0	7.30	0.29	2.92	9.71	1.14
	Lakeland	FSL	21	Det	A+		0	0	0.00	3	0				0	5.0	2	0	0	0	1	9	1	0	3.60	0.00	1.80	16.20	0.60
	Detroit	MLB	21	Det	MLB		0	1	6.10	8	0	0	0	3	0	10.1	8	9	7	0	10	6	1	0	6.97	0.00	8.71	5.23	1.74