Beau Mills

Beau Mills - Third Baseman
Age: 21 Height: 6'3" Weight: 220 Bats: Left Throws: Right

	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007 MV/Lake/Kin	.261	62	245	44	64	20	1	6	42	21	53	0	.337	.424	.761
Career	.261	62	245	44	64	20	1	6	42	21	53	0	.337	.424	.761

History: The Indians drafted Mills in the 1st round of the 2007 Draft out of Lewis-Clark State (ID). As a freshman at Fresno State, Mills hit 22 HR which was a school record for a freshman, and he also ranked 8th in the nation that year in home runs. He played two years at Fresno State, but due to academic reasons the team suspended Mills, so Mills transferred to Lewis-Clark State. In his debut at Lake County last year, Mills hit a grand slam home run.

Strengths & Opportunities: While the results may seem to indicate otherwise, the Indians were very pleased with Mills professional debut last summer, saying he was "outstanding". The Indians feel his makeup, presence, demeanor, and level of intensity are off the charts amazing. He did a very good job of easing into the professional environment at Mahoning Valley, Lake County, and Kinston, and his intensity and the way he got along and interacted with staff members and players who may have three years of professional baseball under their belts was remarkable. The Indians wanted to get his feet wet, and did more than that at three different levels last year. He was a late season callup to Kinston as they were in a playoff push, and the Indians like to expose their top prospects to playoff environments since you get to see them react to different playoff situations where every out, every at bat, and every pitch counts.

Mills has an electric bat with excellent power and strength. He has very good hitting skills, and hits the ball hard and has a nice line drive stroke where he gets good loft to hit balls a long way and punish mistakes. He covers the plate well, and hits the ball well to all fields, and is good at making adjustments at the plate. When he is able to get good extension, he crushes balls. He has a good major league body and size for a corner infield position. He is not a fast runner, but he is smart on the basepaths and makes good decisions.

There is no question that Mills is an excellent hitting prospect, but it is his defense which has set him back in recent years. He moves around well and shows good agility and footwork to where he could be an average third baseman someday, but he has been hindered by a bad shoulder which has hurt his throwing. The injury is an impingement in his arm which resulted from inflammation in his shoulder, which he had surgery on over a year ago to correct. The Indians initially had a plan after they drafted him to move him over to first base right away because of the arm issue, but as the season played out they decided to leave him at third base. The Indians feel he has the agility and athleticism to play third base, and they have a lot of confidence in the program their medical staff put him on to strengthen his bothersome shoulder. By the end of the season, the Indians were excited with the improvement Mills showed with the strength in his shoulder and his throwing. Mills had no problems with his shoulder in the Fall Development Program and looked good at third base, which is where he will now stay.

Some of his offensive struggles, especially early at Mahoning Valley, may have had more to do with him making the transition to first base. Mills was learning to play on a new side of the field as he had only ever played third base and it made things a little more difficult trying to learn a whole new position right at the beginning of his pro career. At the end of the season, he was really a lot more comfortable than when he started two months earlier in Mahoning Valley, and a lot of it was attributed to him moving back to third base late in the year. Also, from a hitting perspective, the Indians are working with Mills to get his feet quiet at the plate as he tends to move his feet a little too much when he hits. He also likes to extend his arms, so he can get tied up inside. The key going forward will be to get him to shorten up some so he can better handle those inside pitches.

Outlook: With Mills looking good at third base and responding well to the rehab program the Indians medical staff has laid out for him, the organization wants to see him play third base more before abandoning it and moving him to first base full time. Reportedly, Mills' shoulder is 100% and he is ready to go for spring training. Mills should open the season as the starting third baseman in Kinston.

Video: Mills at Lake County and at Kinston.

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