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Marlins' Miller to make first NL start

Apr 2, 2008 - 1:18 PM NY Mets (1-1) at Florida (1-1) 7:10 pm EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) - The Florida Marlins were the talk of the winter meetings in December when they swapped All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for a package of six youngsters.

One of those youngsters will be on display Wednesday when Andrew Miller makes his first start for the Marlins against the visiting New York Mets.

Miller was the sixth pick in the 2006 draft and was one of two main pieces coming back to Florida in the deal - the other being center fielder Cameron Maybin, who will begin the season in the minors.

Miller, 22, spent the past two seasons bouncing between the majors and the minors, posting a 5-5 record with a 5.63 ERA in 13 starts in 2007.

A hard thrower with a sharp breaking ball for an out pitch, Miller has the potential to develop into a true ace for the Marlins. His biggest problems thus far have been in commanding his fastball and developing a reliable third pitch.

While those are things that prospects usually iron out in the minors, Florida's payroll limitations mean the young guys play, so Miller will get a chance to learn on the job.

The Mets will counter with lefthander Oliver Perez. The 26-year-old was a revelation for the club last season, finally turning in a consistent campaign with a 15-10 record and 3.56 ERA in 29 starts.

However, one of Perez's worst starts of 2007 came in the last weekend against the Marlins, when he yielded six runs in 3 2/3 innings.

New York took the first game of the series on Monday, but Florida grabbed Tuesday's contest on Robert Andino's walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning.