Two key players spurn pro offers, return for Clemson baseball
Clemson’s baseball program had nine players selected in last month’s Major League draft, but it was the two players who were drafted and spurned professional offers that had coach Monte Lee feeling good.
Junior catcher Chris Williams and junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Miller both informed Lee that they’d be returning to Clemson for their senior seasons, providing the Tigers' third-year coach with two key building blocks for 2018.
“Any time you can get players of that caliber back, it’s going to make your team better,” Lee said. “They will pay dividends for the 2018 team.”
Both players were drafted in the 31st round with back-to-back picks; Williams was tabbed 919th overall by the Tampa Bay Rays while Miller was chosen by the Atlanta Braves with the 920th pick.
Both players lost significant playing time last season, with Williams missing 14 games, most after injuring his shoulder late in the season and Miller being shut down on April 2 after experiencing “discomfort” in his elbow during the Georgia Tech series.
Williams was one of the best-hitting catchers in the nation at the time of his injury, wound up batting .261 with 14 home runs, 14 doubles, 51 runs batted in and 29 runs scored.
Williams recently underwent surgery to repair a shoulder ligament but is expected to be at 100 percent by next spring.
“He did not have a labrum or a rotator cuff tear, so they feel like it’s a three-month recovery,” Lee said. “He can begin throwing at three months, so they feel like at six months he could be at 100 percent.”
Miller, whose fastball reaches 95 mph, went 1-0 last season with a 3.09 ERA in 11 relief appearances. He had 11 strikeouts against two walks and held opponents to a .220 average.
“A healthy Ryan Miller is a guy that you could use in a number of different roles,” Lee said. “We used him out of the bullpen because he wasn’t in a position to throw a high number of pitches. He was 10 months post-Tommy John surgery when the season started.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 6:17 PM.