St. Louis Cardinals MLB Draft Profile: RHP Bobby Miller

With this MLB Draft Profile, we will be looking at a raw yet intriguing prospect in Louisville’s fireballer Bobby Miller and his potential fit with the St. Louis Cardinals.

For the past few weeks, Redbird Rants has been ponying up on MLB Draft coverage to keep fans informed about the 2020 MLB Draft on June 10th. The team has put together a few profiles of certain draft prospects who the St. Louis Cardinals could potentially draft, and on this one we will be focusing on Louisville starter Bobby Miller.

Bobby Miller is yet another stud in a draft class that is STACKED with right-handed pitching. At, Louisville; he put together a solid 2019 campaign with a 3.83 ERA and 86 K’s over 80 innings; while making starts as well as coming out of the bullpen on occasion.

Before the 2020 season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Miller was off to a solid start on the season; putting together a 2.31 ERA while striking out 34 (13.11 K/9) through four starts. This performance shot him up draft boards and potentially into the first round.

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In the 2019 Super Regional, Miller nearly tossed a no-hitter against East Carolina but lost it early in the ninth (still throwing 95 mph). He even pitched in the College World Series in Omaha, where he went 4 innings against Auburn; allowing one run and striking out three.

Bobby Miller has a lean frame, standing at 6’5 and only weighing about 220 lbs. Miller showed struggles against higher level NCAA competition (such as SEC and better ACC teams), but the reason that he is such a highly-regarded prospect is because of his peripherals.

He throws an absolute heater for a fastball, which sits at about 96-99 mph and also has a plus slider that can hit 90 mph on occasion. His changeup is showing solid development and he’s got a curveball that needs some work. However, it’s the slider and the heater is what will get him in the first round.

Miller’s biggest weakness is his control and the risk that he may end up throwing from the bullpen (these issues are related). Though he might have some of the scariest stuff among RHP’s in this class; his control is very rough and will hurt his draft stock. In 2019, Miller had a 2:1 K/BB ratio. He showed a slight improvement in his control in 2020, with a 3.5:1 K/BB ratio; but to say his control is still a concern is very true.

The control issues come from his windup that isn’t the smoothest in the world, but it isn’t necessarily a forgone conclusion that he’ll end up in the bullpen.

If Miller can clean up his control issues, I believe he could be a great starter in the MLB. His electric stuff paired with solid control could make him deadly. He has the potential to be a very solid mid-rotation starter if he can achieve his upside, but for now; he is still considered a raw prospect.

Miller was selected for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp but sadly didn’t make the final 26-man roster.

The Cardinals have done an excellent job developing pitchers that they have drafted in the first round. Developing players such as Michael Wacha, Marco Gonzales, and obviously emerging ace Jack Flaherty. I think Miller could fit in well with what St. Louis is trying to build and be a part of the Major League rotation, even if it is a little bit of a reach to take him at 21st overall.