Dodgers projected to take Louisville RHP Bobby Miller in latest mock draft

College pitching gets another look at the end of the first round, with Jonathan Mayo in his third mock draft for MLB.com projecting the Dodgers to select Louisville right-hander Bobby Miller with the 29th overall pick.

Mayo also mentions South Carolina right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski and Illinois high school shortstop Ed Howard as possibilities here. We profiled Howard last month.

Miller is the sixth college pitcher linked to the Dodgers in national mock drafts, with Florida State right-hander C.J. Van Eyk and Auburn righty Tanner Burns also mentioned just this week.

The 6’5 Miller had a 2.31 ERA in four starts in his shortened junior season, including 12 strikeouts on February 22 against Valparaiso. In three years at Louisville, Miller had a 3.28 ERA with 175 strikeouts and 68 walks in 170 innings, splitting time between the rotation (25 starts) and bullpen (16 relief appearances).

Miller helped Louisville to its fifth College World Series appearance as a sophomore in 2019, coming within three outs of the first no-hitter in NCAA super regional history, blanking East Carolina.

MLB.com ranks Miller the highest in this draft at 26th overall, and described his pitch mix:

Miller’s fastball is notable for both its heat — he sat at 95-96 mph throughout his dominance of East Carolina and worked at 97-99 in shorter stints in the fall — and its heavy life. He also can miss bats with a slider/cutter that usually operates at 85-87 and reached 90 during the fall. He has faith in a splitter/changeup with similar velocity and employs a more traditional change in the low 80s.

Baseball America and FanGraphs both rank Miller the 28th-best prospect in the draft, and ESPN has him 47th.

Miller was drafted out of high school in the 38th round in 2017 by the Orioles, but did not sign.

The Dodgers have only drafted one pitcher out of Louisville, picking Kyle Funkhouser in 2015, but they did not sign him. The only other first-round pick out of Louisville by the Dodgers is Will Smith (2016), now their starting catcher.

In this five-round draft, the Dodgers have six picks, and the recommended slot bonus value for the 29th overall pick is $2,424,600. MLB Network and ESPN/ESPN2 will televise the MLB Draft on June 10-11.