Baltimore Orioles Sign RHP Jalen Miller To Minor League Deal

The Baltimore Orioles have added a hard-throwing righty to their minor league camp.

As spring training rolls along and the Baltimore Orioles look to fill out their minor league rosters, the team has signed free agent pitcher Jalen Miller to a minor league deal. Miller made the signing official on his Twitter page.

Miller pitched in the JUCO ranks at Mineral Area College in Missouri before finishing his collegiate career at Central Methodist Univesity, also located in Missouri. Listed at 6’1″ and 190 pounds, the right-handed pitcher reportedly has a fastball that reaches into the upper-90s, hitting 97 mph in a bullpen a few days ago, per Mineral Area College.

The 25-year-old has spent the last two seasons in the independent ball circuit, playing for the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League in 2017 and the Vallejo Admirals of the Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs in 2018.

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With the Admirals, Miller struck out 96 hitters in 79 innings of work, finishing his season with a 4.65 earned run average and 1.44 WHIP.

For fans who closely follow the minor league system, maybe this signing is something to watch, or maybe it isn’t. Trust in Mike Elias, right?

Since beginning his duties as general manager, Elias has brought in two Rule 5 draft picks in Richie Martin and Drew Jackson, both of whom appear to be early hits. We’re only halfway through spring training and the regular season is obviously a completely different animal, but both young players are checking all of the boxes, thus far.

There was also the addition of pitcher Nate Karns. Karns hasn’t seen the big leagues in a while, but Elias saw something in the veteran to believe he can be a major league contributor. After a less than stellar outing and soreness, Karns returned to the mound on Friday with a clean inning and a 93 mph fastball, a tick or two higher than what he showcased in his first outing.

Lastly, there have been the trades. Elias has turned the league’s highest amount of international bonus pool money into three players worth a flyer, including pitchers Xavier Moore, David Lebron, and outfielder Dwight Smith, Jr. With no top international talent available on the market, Elias has used the money wisely, as he said he would. This rebuild may be a long process, but it’s clearly going to be a smart process.

With that being said, welcome to Birdland, Jalen Miller. Hope to see you around the minor league fields soon.