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Jeff Shelby Biography & Facts

Shelby Charles Miller (born October 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Drafted by the Cardinals out of Brownwood High School in the first round of the 2009 MLB draft, Miller was one of the sport's highest-rated prospects. He is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Cardinals' minor league pitcher of the year in 2010, Baseball America's number one Cardinals prospect from 2009 to 2011, and selection to the All-Star Futures Game in 2010 and 2011. A fourth award, MLB.com's Pitching Performance of the Month, was the result of his first MLB complete game shutout in May 2013, a one-hitter against the Colorado Rockies. After the 2014 season, the Cardinals traded Miller to the Braves. In 2015, Miller was named to the MLB All-Star Game. That offseason, the Braves traded Miller to the Diamondbacks. Early life Miller was born in Round Rock, Texas, and attended Brownwood High School in Brownwood, Texas. He played for the school's baseball team as a pitcher. In his sophomore year, he threw a no-hitter and helped lead his team to the regional semifinals. As a junior in 2008, Miller threw three no-hitters in consecutive games, including one perfect game. In Miller's senior year, he pitched to a 10–2 win–loss record with a 1.90 earned run average (ERA), and recorded 153 strikeouts in 77+2⁄3 innings pitched, with his fastball recorded as fast as 97 miles per hour (156 km/h). He drew comparisons to fellow Texas power pitchers Nolan Ryan and Josh Beckett. In addition to baseball, he played tight end and defensive end for the school's football team. He played quarterback until the seventh grade, when he suffered a staph infection, allowing Casey Pachall to win the role. Miller committed to attend Texas A&M University on a scholarship to play college baseball for the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team. Professional career Draft and minor leagues The St. Louis Cardinals selected Miller in the first round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. Rather than attend Texas A&M, Miller signed with the Cardinals, receiving a $2.875 million signing bonus on the August 17 deadline. The Cardinals assigned him to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League, where he made two appearances. He returned to Quad Cities for the 2010 season, where he compiled a 7–5 win–loss record, a 3.62 ERA, 140 strikeouts and 33 walks in 104+1⁄3 innings pitched. During the season, he appeared in the All-Star Futures Game. He was named the Cardinals' minor league pitcher of the year after the season. Miller began the 2011 season with the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League (FSL). He was named the Cardinal Nation pitcher of the month for May 2011 after posting a 2.32 ERA for the month, and was promoted to the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League at the beginning of June. At the time of his promotion, he led the FSL with 81 strikeouts, and was considered the best pitching prospect in baseball by Keith Law of ESPN.com. Along with Carlos Martínez, Miller represented the Cardinals at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game. He made Baseball America's top prospect list in the 2011 midseason. The Cardinals named Miller their minor league pitcher of the month for June 2011. He pitched to a 9–3 win–loss record with a 2.70 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 86+2⁄3 innings pitched with Springfield. Miller totaled 25 starts with Palm Beach and Springfield, completing 139+1⁄2 innings and allowing a 2.70 ERA, 112 hits, 53 walks, and striking out 170 batters for an average of 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9). After the season, Baseball America rated his fastball as the best in the Cardinals system, and named him a starting pitcher on their 2011 Minor League All-Star team. He was again named the Cardinals' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Miller entered the 2012 season ranked as the fifth best prospect in baseball by MLB.com. After competing for a spot on the Cardinals roster, he began the 2012 season with the Memphis Redbirds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL). Though he struggled in the beginning of the 2012 season, pitching to an ERA above 6.00 through the beginning of July, Miller pitched to an ERA below 3.00 for the remainder of the minor league season, and recorded 160 strikeouts for the Redbirds in 137 innings pitched. St. Louis Cardinals (2012–2014) 2012 season Miller made his MLB debut on September 5, 2012, against the New York Mets, as a relief pitcher. He threw two shutout innings, giving up one hit, walking none, and striking out four. Amidst the Cardinals' competition for a playoff spot, Miller recorded his first major league win as a reliever in an extra inning game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 16. Miller started his first major league game on October 3, against the Cincinnati Reds. Miller pitched six shutout innings, allowing only one hit, and striking out seven. He appeared twice in relief for the Cardinals during the 2012 National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the San Francisco Giants, allowing four hits and two runs in 3+1⁄3 innings. For the season, Miller completed 153+2⁄3 innings combined in the major league regular season, postseason and minor leagues. 2013 regular season Miller made the Cardinals' Opening Day starting rotation for the 2013 season, following a spring training competition with Joe Kelly for the final spot in the rotation. He threw his first career shutout in a 3–0 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 10, 2013. After allowing a bloop single to Eric Young, Jr. to begin the game, Miller pitched the equivalent of a perfect game by retiring the next 27 batters in a row. He threw 113 pitches, 84 for strikes. He walked none, striking out a career-high 13, which tied the Cardinals' rookie record, also held by Dick Hughes and Scipio Spinks. It was the closest a Cardinals' rookie came to throwing a no-hitter since Bud Smith performed the feat in 2001. His Game Score of 98 was the highest ever for a nine inning game thrown by a Cardinals pitcher. Miller's season performance vaunted him as an early Rookie of the Year award favorite. He won the Pitching Performance of the Month award for May because of his one-hit game on May 10. He had a 2–1 win–loss record, walking only six and striking out 32 for the month, while leading the NL with a 1.82 ERA. The shortest start of Miller's career occurred in an August 7 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On the second pitch of the game, a line drive off Carl Crawford's bat glanced struck Miller's right elbow. He was removed from the game at that point. Follow-up x-rays were negative and the injury was characterized as an elbow contusion. His ERA to that point in the sea.... Discover the Jeff Shelby popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jeff Shelby books.