Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical. - Yogi Berra
There was a time when Justin Miller would have laughed at Berra’s famous observation of the game.
After three years in the minors, the former Scott Community High School standout knows what the ex-Yankee great was talking about.
“The mental side of the game has been a lot harder to adjust to than the physical part,” says Miller, who was called up on June 19 to join the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts in the Southern League.
The move would seem to be a show of confidence by the organization that Miller is gradually emerging as one of their pitching prospects. The Scott City native feels he may have turned the corner after being acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2007 draft.
His first two seasons with the Great Lakes Loons, a lower Single-A ball team, were somewhat erratic and mostly forgettable.
Miller was 4-11 in his first season though he nearly made team history on Aug. 8, 2008, when he came within two outs of throwing the franchise’s first no-hitter.
However, he’s struggled in the starter’s role since. In 2009, he posted a 5-7 record with Great Lakes before finishing the year 0-7 with an 8.13 ERA at Ogden.
Not the kind of start to his major league career that Miller was looking for. And that’s where the mental aspect can beat down a player.
“When you’re playing 140 games in 150 days it’s a heck of a grind,” he says. “Even though you’re playing practically every day, there’s so much down time as a pitcher. There are so many opportunities for this game to get inside your head. If you’re struggling and you’re not pitching well, the negative thinking can really affect your game if you let it.”
Finding His Role
There has been little reason for Miller to entertain negative thoughts this season. A new role with the organization seems to have helped.
Instead of being a starting pitcher, Miller was moved into the bullpen to start the year and he’s quietly put together a 6-0 record with an impressive 1.96 ERA in 57.2 innings of work.
In his most recent outing on Aug. 2, Miller pitched one inning of relief, holding West Tennessee without a hit in a 6-4 win.
It was also a nice way to celebrate his 23rd birthday.
“They told me it wasn’t a long-term deal, that I still have potential as a starter,” Miller explains. “But this has worked out well for me. The mental side of the game, coming out of the (bullpen), seems to be better than when I was a starter.”
Miller’s new role as a set-up man has him pitching one inning, maybe two, in middle relief late in a game before they bring in the closer.
It also means that every day when he shows up at the ballpark there’s a chance Miller will be called on to pitch.
“That’s what I liked as a position player coming out of college. I’m not just being called on to play once every five days,” he says. “This fits me better.”
As a reliever, it means a pitcher will likely see a batter only once in a game, so he can generally get away with two effective pitches. Miller says this has allowed him to focus on his pitching strengths.
According to the right-hander, his fast ball is “carrying me through this year.” He has a two-seam sinker that’s gained a little velocity, clocked in the low 90s to “maybe 94 or 95” miles per hour. It’s the pitch in which Miller has the most confidence, while also mixing in a slider and change-up.
As a sinker ball pitcher, Miller isn’t going to be turning heads with his strikeout ratio, though he has 38 strikeouts in 57 innings.
“I think (the coaches) would like to see me getting a few more strikeouts, but that’s not something I think about with a sinker ball. My whole focus late in the game is to keep the ball in the infield and get groundouts,” notes Miller.
Bigs are Within Reach
Miller is feeling more optimistic about his chances with the Dodgers since being called up from low Single-A to Double-A, skipping the high Single-A step along the way. While he had hopes of being in the Major Leagues at this point in his career, Miller knows that may have been unrealistic.
“There aren’t too many who can come from high school and be in the majors in three years. The average minor leaguer will play three years before making it in the bigs,” Miller says. “One guy from here got called up to the Dodgers. It’s not that unusual, at least in this organization, to get called up from Double-A.
“I feel that I’m sitting in an ideal spot. This next month will be big for me as long as I can keep playing the way I have been.”
Miller doesn’t care whether that call is for a set-up reliever or a starter. Though he’s beginning to think that short relief may be his ticket to the bigs.
“The set-up man is pretty important, especially in the National League where they don’t have a designated hitter,” he points out.
In order to take that next step, Miller says he has to become more consistent and be more effective at throwing the slider for strikes.
As for his struggles as a starter the past two seasons, Miller takes a philosophical view.
“It’s not the worst thing that can happen. Sometimes it’s good for a prospect to start bad. It takes a toll on you, but it also makes you tougher. It can make you a better player in the end,” he reasons.
Again, it’s all about mental toughness.
All Miller can do is show up at the ballpark each day, ready to play, and wait for the phone call that every minor league player hopes for.
“If you keep putting up the numbers,” he adds, “somebody’s got to notice.”
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Sometimes it’s good for a prospect to start bad. It takes a toll on you, but it also makes you tougher. It can make you a better player in the end.
Justin Miller
minor league pitcher