Today's Baseball Prospect of the Day

The son of Red Sox coach Brad Mills, Beau Mills is a rising infield prospect with the Cleveland Indians. Drafted out of Lewis-Clark State College as a 20 year old in 2006, Mills is one of a handful of promising young bats in the Cleveland system today, and ranks behind only Matt LaPorta as the biggest looming power threat.

Before signing out of Fresno State, Cleveland's #1 pick (13th overall) led Lewis and Clark college to a national championship by smashing a record 38 home runs. He hit .319 and .355 in his two seasons at Fresno State, and was rated the second best overall hitter in the 2007 draft class, behind fellow Indian Matt LaPorta.

Mills struggled in his first year of pro ball, and despite promotions to Lake County and then high-A Kinston, he did not show the plus bat or superior power he demonstrated day after day in college. He may need more time to adapt to professional play, wooden bats, breaking balls or all of the above, but he has the tools to excel sooner or later.

Mills has a strong, fast, and level swing, resulting in good line-drive power to all fields. He has a tendency to strike out a bit too much, but it's never hurt his overall production, so it's likely the Indians will happily take on a little bathwater in that department. He's a smart player with good on-base and baserunning ability, but his speed is below average. In the field, he has great footwork and a soft glove at third base, but a surgically repaired right shoulder might limit him to first base sooner or later. For now, Cleveland has him doing extra strength and conditioning work to keep the shoulder healthy. When it's together, it can be a plus arm from the corner.

Mills will return to high-A Kinston to start 2008, but could see a midseason promotion if he shows signs of progress.

Update: Playing the whole year at Kinston, Mills is hitting .284 through 100 games (397 at-bats) with 16 home runs and 28 doubles. His 84:44 strikeout to walk ratio is not great, but better than expected and consistent with his pro career to date. He should move up to AA next season. It'll be interesting to see how the Indians get both Mills and Matt LaPorta at-bats in the minors, and this should provide some clues how they'll use them in the future.

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Height: 6-3

Weight: 220

Birthdate: 8/15/1986

Bats: L

Throws: R

Team: CLE

Birthplace: Visalia, CA

College: Fresno State

ABs pre-2008: 0