July 28, 2011 - 6:46pm
St. Louis Cardinals draft RHP Tyler Mills in ninth round of MLB Draft
BY NEAL ROTHSCHILD
One season as a pitcher was enough for Tyler Mills to catch the eyes of major league scouts.
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Mills, who just finished his redshirt sophomore season, in the ninth round of Tuesday's Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
After being redshirted his first year on campus, Mills sputtered his redshirt freshman season as an outfielder. He was 1-for-11 in 2010 with a single and a run scored.
But after that season, Mills turned his attention to the pitching mound and developed into an "electric" pitcher as Michigan coach Rich Maloney liked to say. Though the right hander showed promise this spring, his inconsistency got him pulled from the weekend rotation at the beginning of conference play. Mills pitched out of the bullpen for the remainder of the spring. He finished 2011 with a 2-4 record and a 5.02 ERA.
Being a ninth-round pick may provide enough financial incentive for Mills to forego the remainder of his Michigan career. It remains to be seen whether he will sign a contract with the Cardinals.
