Indians Top 100 Prospects: #8 Beau Mills

8. Beau Mills - First Baseman
Born: 08/15/1986 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 220 - Bats: Left - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	20	Mahoning Vy	A-	8	28	5	5	2	0	0	1	3	7	0	.179	.303	.250	.553
	20	Lake County	A	44	177	32	48	12	1	5	36	14	38	0	.271	.333	.435	.768
	20	Kinston	A+	10	40	7	11	6	0	1	5	4	8	0	.275	.375	.500	.875
2008	21	Kinston	A+	125	482	78	141	34	3	21	90	54	105	2	.293	.373	.506	.879
		Career		187	727	122	205	54	4	27	132	75	158	2	.282	.361	.479	.840

History: Mills was drafted by the Indians 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 him, so he transferred to Lewis-Clark State.  Last year, after hitting just .268 with 9 HR, 47 RBI and an .821 OPS in the first half of the season, he had an incredible second half of the season hitting .327 with 12 HR, 43 RBI, and a .962 OPS.  His strong second half led to him being named the 2008 Carolina League MVP. 

Strengths & Opportunities:  Mills is an incredible offensive talent who 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 had the highest hard hit percentage in the entire Indians farm system last year.  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.  The Indians feel Mills' makeup, presence, demeanor, and level of intensity are off the charts amazing.  He has done a very good job of easing into the professional environment, and his intensity and the way he gets along and interacts with staff members and players is remarkable.  He plays the game at a great speed with a great intensity level like Grady Sizemore, and is tough mentally and physically. 

There is no question that Mills is an excellent hitting prospect, but it is his defense which has set him back in recent years.  Drafted as a third baseman, the Indians initially moved him to first base to give him some exposure over there and to help with a shoulder issue he had.  He moves around well and shows good agility, athleticism and footwork to where he could be an average third baseman someday, but he has been hindered by a bad shoulder which is the result of an impingement in his arm that has caused inflammation in his shoulder and hurt his throwing.  He had surgery to correct the issue well over a year ago, but he still has experienced some side effects and some loss of strength as a result.  Last season, he was scheduled to split time at first and third base, but a few games into the season he continued to have some issues with the strength of his throwing shoulder so the decision was made to move him to first base full time. 

Since moving to first base full time Mills has made good strides defensively.  Several of the Indians top instructors visited advanced Single-A Kinston last year to work on his defense at first base, namely Minor League Infield Coordinator Ted Kubiak and Special Assistant Johnny Goryl.  He showed great improvement at first base from where he was at the start of the season and where he was at the end.  Almost every other day he was on the field during batting practice taking short hops and working on his picking and footwork around the base.  He has quickly become comfortable at the position, one that was foreign to him when he was drafted, and has become an adequate defender with the ability to potentially be even better because of his agility and athleticism.  His glove was below average when he came into the system, but he has worked hard to where he now grades right around average with it. Overall, the Indians are very pleased with his transition to first base. 

Even with how accomplished Mills is as a hitter he is still working on things every day in the batting cages, and in the games he is honing in on improving his at bats and trying to have a more consistent approach day in and day out and learning to repeat his swing.  The Indians worked with him some with working to hit middle away last year, which worked out well for him.  He is still receiving instruction to get his feet quieter at the plate since he tends to move his feet a little too much when he hits.  He also likes to extend his arms when he swings which makes him susceptible to being tied up with inside pitches, so he needs to shorten up some so he can better handle those inside pitches.   Defensively, he still needs more work with his footwork, both moving around the bag and in his fielding mechanics.  He also needs to get better reads and jumps on balls. 

Outlook:  Mills has done everything the Indians have expected of him, and they still believe there is more offense in his bat yet to be shown.  With Mills emergence as a first baseman, the Indians all of a sudden have a glut of first base prospects in the system.  With Ryan Garko in Cleveland, Jordan Brown and Stephen Head above him in Triple-A Columbus, and the possibility of Nick Weglarz and Matt LaPorta moving to first down the road, the Indians have a lot of options at the position in the coming years.  This is why it is so important to keep the door open at third base for him down the road, which the Indians have acknowledged is not a position that will be abandoned at this time.  He has big league power and potential, and will open the 2009 season at Double-A Akron. 

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr 

Beau Mills MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page 

Beau Mills Baseball-Reference page 

Beau Mills MinorLeagueSplits.com page 

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