Andrew Miller vs David Price

Here's an MLB scouting report on Andrew Miller.

"Tall and lean. Smaller version of Randy Johnson. 3/4 delivery. Makes it look easy. Has a fastball in the 91-93 range. Will cross your eyes with breaking pitch. Thrives on attention. Special kid. Type that you'd build a franchise around."

That's about the best scouting report I've ever read. I'm sure Price is awesome but my money would be on Miller.

As a Tigers fan it sort of pains me to say this, but Price I feel is a better prospect than Miller at this point. Their stuff, after stepping back, is rather comparable.

FB: Miller almost exclusively uses his 2-seamer in the 91-93 range with natural sink to induce groundballs. He is NOT a strikout pitcher. His 4-seamer hit 97 once or twice last year in the Majors, but he only rears back when he is in a jam. Price's FB is in the 92-95 range (I think this is his 2 seamer).

Slider: Miller gets the edge here, as his SL is rather nasty. His problem is he is hit or miss when it comes to his control. As dominant as Miller's SL can be, Price's is not that far off, and it is certainly a plus pitch in the majors.

Changeup: This is the first factor that separates the two in my opinion. Miller has been working on a changeup in the minors, but has yet to consistently use it as a true #3 pitch. Price hasn't seemed to use his CH that much in college, but the scouting reports I have read suggest it is an average pitch in the majors. Miller's CH is basically non-existent at this point.

Control: Miller's control has been spotty at times, which makes me give the edge to Price at this point in time.

Note, if Miller tightens up his control and refines his CH, then the argument becomes closer given that their stuff is rather comparable. But until that happens, Price is my pick at present.

I believe it was John who said before the season that we'll probably see Price on next year's lists at about the same slot as Miller was this year. That probably does nothing to answer your question, just reinforces the obvious that they're very, very similar in talent level.

I had this debate on another board recently.

Miller has the higher ceiling IMO due to having the better fastball and better slider.

Price has slightly better command and a better changeup which should lead to more immediate success.

When it comes to the future though, Miller has a chance to be one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. A guy who combines extreme groundball tendencies with a knockout slider is going to be successful in the majors. Comparing K rates between Miller and Price is useless since Miller doesn't need strikeouts to succeed while Price does. That's the difference IMO because Miller can still induce groundouts when he doesn't have his best stuff going. When Miller has everything going, I don't know how anyone is going to do much damage to low 90's sinker/2-sm followed by that absurd slider.

Also, Andrew Miller is only 3 months older than Price despite being drafted a full year earlier. If Miller had an additional year of college, he would be the undisputed top talent in this draft IMO.

I'll take Miller over Price due to upside, but Price is more complete coming out of college than Miller.