Breaking down the top prospects in the Chicago Cubs organization

Chicago Cubs: Tyson Miller, RHP – No.12

Helping to round out the bottom half of the top 15 prospects is right-handed pitcher Tyson Miller. A fourth-round selection back in 2016, Miller’s first few seasons have been an up-and-down affair.

Like Abbott, Miller is also 24 years old. He has been in professional baseball for four years now, beginning at Rookie ball in his first year and working his way up to Iowa by this season. His stint at Triple-A did not go as he and fans had hoped, yet he has for sure shown signs of dominance, and hopefully, he can continue.

Miller spent all of 2016 bouncing between Rookie-level and Eugene. After posting a 3.97 ERA for Eugene across 22 2/3 innings, the team decided to move him to the next level. Not surprisingly, Miller struggled. Every pitching category, sans walks, increased. For instance, both Miller’s FIP and xFIP both increased exponentially. He also started giving up more home runs.

Fast forward a year, Miller’s ERA is still ridiculously inflated. However, he had decreased both his FIP and xFIP by quite a lot. In 2018 at Myrtle Beach, Miller came back down to earth and rebounded nicely. The emboldened minor league vet by this point lowered his ERA back down to the mid-3’s. The FIP and xFIP continued to decrease as well.

His 2019 season was all over the place. At Tennessee, Miller was outstanding. Given the role, Miller made 15 starts over 88 innings, finishing with an impressive 2.56 ERA and simultaneously once again lowering his FIP and xFIP to 3.05 and 3.50 xFIP. It came crashing down, though, as Miller could not cut it in Iowa this year. His stats there are ones he wishes to forget.

In the 11 games at Triple-A, Miller was shelled. He finished with a disgusting 7.58 ERA. His strikeout rate dipped, and the walk rate completely fell off. Miller is one of those borderline guys who you can never tell what will happen next. At 24 years old, he better figure it out quick. Still, he is the Cubs’ number 12 prospect on this list. Hopefully, Miller will build on last season to create more success moving forward.