Greg Miller (minors03)

Greg David Miller

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 6", Weight 215 lb.
• High School Esperanza High School

• Born November 3, 1984 in Yorba Linda, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Greg Miller was a first-round draft pick who excelled for his first two seasons, had his career derailed by injury, then made it to AAA but not to the majors.

He was 9-4 with a 1.50 ERA as a high school senior, with 137 K to 20 BB and 56 H in 84 IP. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1st round of the 2002 amateur draft. The 31st overall selection, it was LA's second pick after James Loney; he was taken between two other hurlers who did not make the majors (Ben Fritz and Luke Hagerty) and a round before LA took Jonathan Broxton. The pick was compensation for the loss of Chan-ho Park to free agency. He was signed by scout Scott Groot for a $1.2 million bonus and made his pro debut that summer, going 3-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 1.05 WHIP for the Great Falls Dodgers, fanning 37 in 38 innings as his club won the Pioneer League title. Baseball America picked him as the league's #9 prospect, between Joe Saunders and Dustin Nippert.

In 2003, Greg was excellent for the Vero Beach Dodgers (11-4, 2.49) and Jacksonville Suns (1-1, 1.01, 40 K in 26 2/3 IP, .83 WHIP as the youngest pitcher in the Southern League). He led Dodgers farmhands in ERA (2.21) and was 10th in the affiliated minors. He was third in the Florida State League in ERA behind Chadd Blasko and Nic Ungs. He joined Ungs, Blasko and Ezequiel Astacio as the league's All-Star pitchers. Baseball America named him the #8 prospect in all of baseball, as LA's #2 prospect, as the #2 lefty starter prospect in baseball (after Scott Kazmir, ahead of Cole Hamels and Adam Loewen), as the second-best prospect in the FSL (behind Joe Mauer, ahead of Gavin Floyd as well as #10 David Wright, #15 Ryan Howard and #18 Robinson Cano) as being the best 19-year-old baseball player in the country and as having the best curveball and slider in the Dodger system. At the end of the 2003 season, though, Miller had shoulder pain. He had the bursa sac removed from his shoulder the next March, then had a second operation to remove a bone spur and missed the entire 2004 season.

Coming back in 2005, now as a reliever, Miller was still sharp, with a .202 opponent average between the GCL Dodgers (7 H, 14 K, 5 R in 12 IP), Vero Beach (1-0, 4 H, 1 R in 9 2/3 IP) and Jacksonville (2 Sv, 2.77 in 12 G, 17 K but 15 BB in 13 IP). He also pitched briefly for the Phoenix Desert Dogs (4.50 ERA), who won the Arizona Fall League title. Baseball America downgraded him that year to the Dodgers' #7 prospect, between Russell Martin and Blake DeWitt. In 2006, he pitched for Jacksonville (1-0, Sv, 0.79, 13 BB, 24 K in 22 2/3 IP) and the Las Vegas 51s (3-0, 4.38), with a .210 average allowed for the year.

The former prospect had his worst season in 2007, struggling with control with 89 walks in 76 2/3 innings while striking out 97. Despite his relatively light workload, he led the Dodger chain in walks (9 more than Javy Guerra) and tied Chris Walker for most in the minors.. He was 1-2 with a save and a 4.69 ERA for Jacksonville and 1-1 with a 7.85 ERA for Las Vegas. He spent all of 2008 in AAA but fared poorly, going 2-3 with a 7.71 ERA in 48 games for Las Vegas. He walked 63 and threw 12 wild pitches in 53 2/3 IP. He was third in the 2008 PCL in wild pitches behind two starters, Clayton Mortensen and Eulogio De La Cruz. In his final year, he was a LOOGY with the AZL Dodgers (0 R in 5 1/3 IP) and Inland Empire 66ers (12 R, 7 H, 11 BB in 11 2/3 IP, 0-1), making 30 appearances and pitching just 17 innings.

For his career, the one-time promising hurler went 24-14 with five saves and a 3.86 ERA in 213 games (53 starts) with 450 strikeouts but 298 walks in 422 innings, another first-round pitching draftee derailed by injury.

Sources include 2003-2008 Baseball Almanacs, 2009 Dodgers Media Guide