Garrett McMillan continues dominate success with Greensboro
Righty puts together another scoreless outing for the Grasshoppers
Expectations are generally low when a team drafts a college pitcher in the 14th round. So, when the Pirates selected Garrett McMillan out of Alabama, it would have been a safe guess to expect a depth pitcher.
Someone who could fill innings within the organization.
Pitching in the SEC, it probably wasn’t surprising that he pitched well in Single-A Bradenton.
In 29 games, one of which was a start, McMillan posted a 2.92 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 49.1 innings pitched.
Not bad, but considering his college experience, perhaps a little expected.
What wasn’t expected was the jump that he has taken since moving to High-A Greensboro.
Dating back to last year, McMillan has posted an ERA of 0.97 in 46.1 innings pitched, striking out 54 batters and walking just seven.
Among the 12 games he’s played for Greensboro, he’s held his opponents scoreless in seven. He added his latest this past week, tossing five shutout innings against the Winston-Salem Dash, striking out eight.
The last five outs that McMillan recorded were all by punchout.
Examples like McMillan are exactly why the Pirates have a strong reputation for pitching development. They look for a few things in pitchers, one of which is outlier fastball characteristics.
While McMillan doesn’t throw hard, he generates plenty of induced vertical break, which still lets him succeed up in the zone. Working the fastball elevated allows for good tunneling off his curveball and change-up (he recently started working in a cutter instead of the slider).
At 24 years old, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see McMillan pushed to Double-A at some point this season, giving him another test. The 2023 draft will always be known as the Paul Skenes draft, but if the Pirates can get any more out of the class, it will make it that much more of a win for their development team.
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BA has a mock draft up, couple days ago actually. They go through the first 50 picks. They once again pick Billy Carlson for the Pirates, which doesn't excite me a whole lot. The bizarre part is, they explain the pick by saying, "with Griffin moving to the outfield." Sez hoo? He's still mostly playing short. Pay some attention, maybe?
At #50, they have the Pirates taking another prep SS, Ryan Mitchell, whom they describe as "having helium."
I hope the pirates approach this year's draft much like the '23 draft with an exception. Go heavy on college pitching from the 4th or 5th round, target hitters with power (the exception) and or athleticism rounds 2 through 4 or 5. First pick should be best player available college or prep, hitter or pitcher.
Like the '23 draft there are several pitchers with flaws but potential from the college ranks that will be available fairly late in this year's draft.