Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Two Prep Arms to Watch at Pick No. 36

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Liberty Union senior Jacob Miller pitches against Waynedale in a Division III state semifinal on Thursday, June 9, 2022 at Canal Park in Akron. The Lions lost 4-3.Waynedale 4 Liberty Union 3 /

Right-hand pitcher Jacob Miller

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo seems pretty confident that Liberty Union right-hander Jacob Miller and the Pirates make a good fit. Mayo has pinned him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in his most recent mock draft, as well as the one he published on June 1st. Miller is a very talented right-hander hailing from Ohio.

Miller brings a four-pitch mix to the table, which includes a fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up. The right-hander is already averaging out around 91-95 MPH as a high school product with his four-seamer. He also has displayed some arm-side movement with his fastball. His best pitch is probably his curveball, which has a high spin rate and comes in the upper-70s/low-80s. His slider is a third plus offering that sits in the mid-80s. His change-up has fading action and sits in the low-80s as well.

His knee-buckling curve is shown off best in this video by Thomas Wilson of the Eagle-Gazette:

Liberty Union pitcher Jacob Miller has been invited to attend the Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday in Los Angeles, which means they expect him to be a high pick. I will have pre-draft story in Friday’s Eagle-Gazette. ⁦@Jmills_9⁩ ⁦@LULions⁩ ⁦@lulionbaseball⁩ pic.twitter.com/j7E6oMIys1
— Thomas Wilson (@twil2323) July 12, 2022

Miller can fill the strike zone with his offerings. There are some questions about his mechanics, but he has the athleticism and make-up to where those issues could be fixed in due time. After all, he is a high school pitcher and will turn 19 in August. Miller stands at 6’2″, 180 pounds, so there’s plenty of frame there to fill out.

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