Owen Miller has been one of a few nice surprises for the Guards this season.
When Cleveland traded Mike Clevinger in 2020, Owen Miller was part of the package they got back–a package that also included Gabriel Arias, Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill. It was not a bad trade.
Miller was a 3rd round pick in the 2018 draft and a decent prospect but stumbled badly when he was called up to Cleveland in 2021, hitting .204/.243/.309 (50 OPS+) with 4 HR. It was only 191 at-bats, and his minor league numbers suggested he was much better than this, but it was an inauspicious start to a career.
This season? Miller has cemented himself in the big league starting line-up and is hitting .259/.315/.414 (108 OPS+) with 4 HR. And, as a bonus, he is jumping between playing first and second…a little extra defensive versatility never hurts.
The Guards are not, probably, real contenders this season. But Miller is clearly part of the process to get there again, soon.
Miller does not have much in the way of nice autographs floating around out there, so I will be happy with this one until I can upgrade it to something that pops a little more.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | CLE | AL | 60 | 202 | 191 | 17 | 39 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 54 | .204 | .243 | .309 | .551 | 50 |
| 2022 | 25 | CLE | AL | 49 | 197 | 174 | 30 | 45 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 40 | .259 | .315 | .414 | .729 | 108 |
| 2 Yr | 2 Yr | 2 Yr | 2 Yr | 109 | 399 | 365 | 47 | 84 | 23 | 0 | 8 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 94 | .230 | .278 | .359 | .637 | 78 |
| 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 593 | 542 | 70 | 125 | 34 | 0 | 12 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 140 | .230 | .278 | .359 | .637 | 78 |