Grafton, WI – This past weekend, former Chinook Owen Miller made his debut with the Cleveland Indians becoming the eleventh alum to make it to the MLB.
Owen Miller played college baseball at Illinois State. Miller’s first season with Lakeshore came in 2016. The Fredonia native hit 2.64 in his first year with the club ending with 67 hits, 2 HRs, and 27 RBIs. He also received the annual Robin Yount award that season.
2017 brought a shorter stint for Miller with Lakeshore but it was one of the most memorable stretches in team history. In 13 games, Owen would hit .365 collecting 19 Hits, 13 Runs, 2 HRs, and 10 RBIs. On July 3rd and 5th, Miller would make history hitting for the cycle twice in three days. He became only the 10th player in Northwoods League history to hit for the cycle and the only player to do it more than once.
Next year in 2018, Owen was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the third round, eighty-fourth overall. He would immediately start in Single A ball for two of the Padres’s farm teams where he see action in 75 games. San Diego knew they had a talented prospect when he hit .336 after his first minor league year. In 2019, he was promoted to the Amarillo Sod Poodles where the team won their league championship. He would appear in 130 games and continue to have a hot bat with a .290 batting average.
Miller did not get to see any action in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic. At the end of August, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. This past spring he was invited to the Indian’s spring training as a non-roster invitee. Starting the season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, it appeared to be only a matter of time before Miller would get called up. Having one of the hottest bats in the minors, Owen has been hitting an impressive .406.
Owen Miller was officially called up on Sunday, May 23rd for the team’s game against the Twins. In his first game, he went 0-5. He collected his first hit during Monday night’s game.
We wish Owen Miller the best as he begins his MLB career with the Cleveland Indians.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.
