Chester's Jake Miller drafted by Detroit Tigers in 2022 MLB Draft
For a small-town guy, Chester's Jake Miller never became too big, even on what he called one of the biggest days of his life.
The southpaw pitcher was drafted by Detroit Tigers in the eighth round with the 237th pick of the 2022 MLB Draft on July 18.
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Miller was with family in New York when he heard his name called. His grandparents came up from South Carolina for the special day.
"My dad [Mike] was so pumped for me," Miller said. "He’s put in a lot of hard work since I was a little kid playing at the fields in Chester. And just having everyone here just goes to show my support system. So many people reached out to me, which was great.”
The draft process was a long one, he said. He began performing well in the field and getting his name out there.
"It’s an up-and-down road, but I would do it all over again," Miller said. "It was fun, I enjoyed it, I learned how to enjoy it and kind of take some pressure off. And it was all worth it when I heard my name called. It was one of the best days of my life and it was such a special moment.”
And he has learned and grown along the way.
“Over the past year, I feel like I’ve completely changed as a pitcher," he said. "I’ve got that competitive spirit out there; I don’t like to lose. And I want to go out there and put the team in the best possible spot to win every time I’m out there. Over this year I’ve learned how to deal with adversity. And myself and my college coach, coach Brian Schmack, we would always talk about how adversity makes you tough. So when things are going wrong, I think I’ve learned and matured on how to handle that, and it’s definitely affected my game and has taken it to another level.”
Miller attended Don Bosco Prep for high school and said it was a 'great choice.' He then went on to Valparaiso University for college, and became the highest selection in the MLB Draft for the university since 2011. Still, Miller never forgot his Chester roots. He said he has always kept track of Chester's success and followed the Hambletonians' season which ended in a state championship appearance.
“I’ve lived here my entire life," Miller said on Chester. "It’s such a great town. It’s not the biggest town, which makes it great though. In this community, everyone knows everyone. Since I was a little kid, everyone has supported me and knew I had the talent for baseball. It’s good to make this town proud. I hope I’m making them proud, at least.
"I have a good relationship with coach [Michael] Doucette, he’s also an influence in this and helping me become a better player, so I give props to him. And it’s exciting to see what those kids are accomplishing. They went really far this year. I know that’s a close-knit group with those kids. They’ve grown up together and pretty much have played every sport together. And I tip my cap to them, they’re also making this town proud.”
Doucette has known Miller as a baseball player since he was in the seventh grade. Miller played modified baseball for Chester and his father, Mike, was a coach for the modified team for a year. Doucette and those in Chester knew early on that Miller would be a good baseball player.
“Even though we didn’t see him after he attended Don Bosco, he always came back in the winter and he would come and do some winter training with us when we had our winter workouts while he was attending Don Bosco," Doucette said. "It was good for our guys to see that level of competition as well. To see such a hard-throwing lefty like him was huge for our guys. He’s always been a local guy, he always stayed connected to his roots and never became too big for us. He’s a really nice kid, humble and never forgot about Chester, which is nice.”
Miller was also in the same graduating class as Chester alum Johnny Hipsman, who just completed his senior season at The University of Richmond. Doucette was hoping to have both Miller and Hipsman on his team in high school.
"We were sad to see him go," Doucette said. "Obviously he was good enough to do it. Even if they don’t stay with us, we’re always rooting for our kids. It’s great to see them succeed.”
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: MLB Draft 2022: Chester's Jake Miller selected by Detroit Tigers
