Andrew Miller

Miller entered this spring as the top-rated prospect for the 2006 draft and proceeded to live up to that lofty billing. The top unsigned player from the 2003 draft, when he was a third-round pick of the Devil Rays out of high school in Gainesville, Fla., Miller wound up at North Carolina and has improved every season, becoming more consistent and more dominant. He dominated in the wood-bat Cape Cod League each of the last two summers (2.03 ERA in 2004, 1.65 ERA in 2005 for Chatham) and was rated as the league's top prospect by Baseball America in both years. He put it all together this spring, leading the Tar Heels to the top of the national rankings by winning his first 10 decisions, including triumphs over nationally ranked opponents in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He did not allow an earned run in seven of his first 13 starts and surrendered just four extra-base hits, and he didn't lose his first game until May 12. He had 290 strikeouts in 270 career innings, setting the North Carolina career record with at least two starts remaining. At 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, Miller has an ideal frame with a clean delivery and easy arm action. His fastball registers consistently in the 93-95 mph range and can touch the upper 90s. Miller also has a major league offering with a mid-80s slider with a sharp bite. He can miss his spots at times and tends to be a bit wild in the strike zone, yet such criticism is nothing more than nitpicking. A more legitimate concern for scouts is that Miller's long, lanky body may lack the strength to allow him to be a workhorse starter or to maintain his stuff deep into starts. Similar issues affect his mechanics and could raise injury concerns as well. Still, the consensus has Miller joining a rotation at the major league level as soon as 2007.