Aeros’ Miller mowing down opposing batters
By Craig Marks
DOWNTOWN AKRON — What’s the coolest thing about being a professional ballplayer?
“You’re doing something you love,” said Akron Aeros pitcher Adam Miller. “That’s the main thing.”
And what Miller does, he does very well. At the age of 21, he has lived up to the expectations that come with being a first-round draft pick and the organization’s No. 1 prospect. For the Aeros this season, the right-hander has a 4-1 record and an earned run average of 2.76.
Miller was the 31st overall pick of the June 2003 draft. The Indians received the selection as compensation for losing Jim Thome to free agency.
Miller knew at an early age that baseball was the sport for him.
“Since I was about 5,” he said. “I do like basketball, but I didn’t get blessed with good-enough basketball skills. “
What Miller was blessed with was the ability to throw a baseball through a wall. The Texas product came to the organization with a blazing fastball, and buzz began about his pitches hitting around 100 mph on the radar gun.
A bump in the road came last year in the form of a preseason injury to his throwing arm.
“I sprained a ligament and that set me back about three months,” he said. “It’s healed up perfectly, and I’m 100 percent healthy now and just ready to start.”
Miller made those comments before the season began, and it didn’t take him long to show his fitness. He threw six scoreless innings in the Aeros’ second game of the season. But Miller was just getting warmed up. He was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 23 when he went 2-0 with seven strikeouts. His earned run average for the week was a spotless 0.00.
Miller pitched through the fifth inning in both of his last two outings, a win against Binghamton May 3 and a no-decision against Erie May 8. Miller left the Erie game with his team down 4-1, but he escaped his second loss of the season when the Aeros came back to win 5-4.
With the victory, the Aeros’ record climbed to 20-12, keeping them neck-and-neck with Altoona for the top spot in the Southern Division.
Akron begins a weeklong home stand May 11, with the defending champs taking on Harrisburg and Erie. The last time the Aeros saw Canal Park, no opposing pitcher was safe. In their 7-5 victory over Binghamton May 4, the Aeros amassed a season-high 20 hits.
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