Tampa Bay Rays Draft – Players to Know: Bobby Miller, RHP

The Tampa Bay Rays are preparing for the draft on June 10. The Rays have two picks in the first round.

Despite having the top farm system in the game, the Tampa Bay Rays aren’t perfect. There is room to improve in this year’s draft. Today we take a look at one area of weakness and which players they are likely to select with their first pick of the draft.

Before that, here is some basic information on the draft.

The 2020 MLB draft will be held on June 10-11. The draft will only be five-rounds this year and begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET and will be aired on both ESPN and the MLB Network. The two-night event will begin with 37 picks. This covers both the first round and Competitive Balance Round A picks.

The second day will begin at 5 p.m. ET on June 11 and will begin with pick 38. The Tampa Bay Rays’ first pick comes at the 24th spot in the draft. They will also receive the final pick of the first day.

Total Tampa Bay Rays Picks

1. Round One – Pick 24
2. Comp. Round One – Pick 37
3. Round Two – Pick 57
4. Round Three – Pick 96
5. Round Four – Pick 126
6. Round Five – Pick 156

Here are some links to prospects we’ve identified as players you need to know:

• C, Dillon Dingler
• 3B, Jordan Walker
• RHP, Bryce Jarvis
• RHP, Cole Wilcox

Tampa Bay Rays Potential Prospect – RHP Bobby Miller, Louisville

MLB.com has Bobby Miller ranked as the 26th-best prospect in the draft. Similar to Cole Wilcox in stature and power, Millers stands 6-5 and was throwing 97-99 mph with his fastball in the fall. Miller was drafted in the 38th-round of the 2017 draft by the Orioles but instead went to fine-tune his skills at Louisville.

His fastball and slider both rates above average, but his control and delivery cause some concerns for scouts. His delivery doesn’t exactly look effortless, as seen below:

These issues have some scouts wondering if he’d be better suited for the bullpen. Either way, he’s got a big arm and already has an above-average secondary offering. He almost looks like a right-handed Alex Wood. Miller also faces similar pre-draft criticisms as Wood.

Many scouts believed, despite throwing hard, that Wood’s “funky” delivery would make him a good bullpen arm. Miller is definitely an interesting arm to keep an eye on in the draft, especially if other teams downgrade him over his mechanics.