MSU baseball head coach Ted Mahan isn’t the only one who thinks highly of Brian Miller and Dylan Putnam.
Miller, an MSU recruit, and current Spartan pitcher Putnam, were both drafted by Major League Baseball teams this week.
Miller was drafted in the 20th round Tuesday night by the Chicago White Sox, with the 613th overall pick. He is a recent graduate of Charlotte High and has already signed a National Letter of Intent to attend MSU.
Miller was highly ranked among high school seniors, and was predicted to be a fourth- or fifth-round choice entering the draft. The apparent reason for Miller’s slide wasn’t for any physical reason, but rather financial disagreements between himself and some professional teams.
When a high-round pick signs a professional contract, the team includes a signing bonus. According to Mahan, if the player and the organization can’t come to an agreement on the bonus, it isn’t unusual for the team to draft a player who is more likely to sign a contract with it. The White Sox made an offer to Miller in an earlier round, but because they couldn’t agree on a bonus, they waited until the 20th round to pick him up.
Miller was heavily recruited by MSU before finally committing, and Mahan has spoken with him since the draft. He understands the choices before Miller, but still believes Miller will make the right decision for himself.
“He’s a tremendous kid, a talented student-athlete and he’s from a great family,” Mahan said.
If he follows through with his enrollment at MSU, he will join the baseball team this fall and Mahan would love to see that happen.
“We will definitely have a place for him on the team as a freshman, pitching and maybe hitting,” he said.
Putnam, a senior, was drafted in the 24th round by the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday afternoon, with the 731st pick in the draft.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-hander finished the 2001 season with a record of 2-7, and a 6.79 ERA. He was tied for the team lead in strikeouts and was second for the Spartans in number of innings pitched.
Putnam still has one year of eligibility left at MSU, after transferring from Tulane after his freshman year and redshirting his sophomore year. MSU pitching coach Greg Gunderson would like Putnam to return for his senior season.
“We’d love to have him back; he’s a big part of our program and hopefully he will be returning,” Gunderson said.
Gunderson pointed out that college experience has helped most players in the big leagues today, noting 18 of the 30 first-round choices were collegiate players.
Neither Miller nor Putnam has signed a professional contract yet and they will have until the end of the summer to decide between college ball and the professional ranks.
