Finding a New Home for Adam Mills
I’d like to thank Layel Burton for pointing out that I jinxed Adam Mills by posting my Charlotte 49ers baseball team pitching feature story on my blog prior to his release from the Boston Red Sox yesterday. While this may be unfortunate for Mills, the move provides him with a better opportunity to play for another team.
Mills, an eighth round draft pick in 2007, came off a stellar senior season with Charlotte, leading the nation with a 1.01 ERA and posted an astounding 5.22 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Mills has always been known for his exceptional command as he continued posting low walk rates in the minor leagues.
Following an impressive debut in Low-A Short Season Lowell, in which he recorded a 2.04 ERA in 35-1/3 innings, Mills transitioned into a starting pitcher in Double-A Portland in 2008. Over the course of his minor league career, Mills’ walks per nine innings have ranged from 1.1-2.1. While his BB/9 have remained relatively low, Mills’ strikeout rates have gradually decreased. Last year, Mills fanned just 58 batters in 131-2/3 innings as he went 4-10 with a 5.47 ERA in Triple-A Pawtucket.
Without question, Mills’ pitch-to-contact tendencies were no match for the Red Sox and their hitter-friendly ballpark. To go along with the big league ballclub’s revamped bullpen, it was unlikely for Mills to get a shot as a long relief pitcher, given that there were others in front of him in line, waiting for their call-up to the major leagues.
Mills can still find opportunities with other teams and have a shot at pitching at the big leagues. One team that comes to mind is the Seattle Mariners. Obviously, I had to pick my favorite team, but while he may be a good fit with his qualities, I wouldn’t suggest him to be the right fit.
The Mariners already have a similar pitcher to Mills. Doug Fister is very much identical to Mills in the way that they’re command guys while being vulnerable pitch-to-contact guys. Fister spent 2007 and 2008 in Double-A West Tennessee, sporting a .340 and a .337 BABIP, respectively. In 2009, Fister’s BABIP peaked at .353 in 22 games in Triple-A Tacoma. But, once reaching the majors, Fister’s BABIPs have leveled off, pitching in the spacious Safeco Field. Safeco Field generally favors left-handed pitchers with flyball tendencies. Although Mills and Fister are both right-handed pitchers, the two have been able to moderately induce ground balls.
Adding Mills may be worthwhile in the sense that the Mariners are still in the process of rebuilding their pitching rotation. Expecting to select a premium pitching prospect in the upcoming draft, the Mariners continue to experiment with their group of unwanted arms. While cheap pitching has benefitted the Mariners, adding Mills would more likely have very little impact to filling out the back-end of the pitching rotation.
The Mariners acquired Blake Beavan in the Cliff Lee trade last summer, and like Mills and Fister, Beavan is just another command guy. However, Beavan is four years younger and has more potential to crack the pitching rotation or serve as the long relief pitcher than Mills. Once again, there isn’t much opportunity for Mills as this suggestion is faced with numerous drawbacks.
Wrapping up this post, I think that the San Diego Padres is a possible destination for Mills. Padres General Manager Jed Hoyer previously served as the Red Sox assistant GM. In his second season with the Padres, Hoyer is still in the phase of developing a young pitching staff. With Mat Latos and Casey Kelly as the team’s future duo, Hoyer can also find guys like Mills, who can use a pitcher-friendly ballpark like Petco Park to their advantage. For Mills, this is a grand opportunity to thrive in ballparks that are more suitable to his pitching style.
3-1 Green Light 