Damian Miller

Miller was great over the first two months of the 2006 season, but then faded after the All-Star break. The Brewers decided they needed to move in a new direction at catcher and traded for Johnny Estrada during the offseason. Miller may be back with the Brewers as the backup catcher, but it's more likely that they'll try to trade him during the offseason.

Miller gave the Brewers just what they expected in 2005, hitting .273 with nine home runs while playing 112 games at catcher. He'll get the same amount of playing time this year.

Miller will start behind the plate for the Brewers after a decent year with the bat in Oakland. From a fantasy perspective, little changes for Miller now that he's moved to Milwaukee, but his batting average remains a risk.

Miller's numbers fell off a good deal last season after he was traded to Chicago from Arizona's hitter friendly environment. Miller went .233/.310/.369 in 352 at-bats in 2003, but he actually hit better at home (.710 OPS) than on the road (.639 OPS), and in 2002, he actually hit better on the road than in Arizona, so the change in venue doesn't really explain the decline. Moreover, Miller's 2003 BB/K ratio was nearly identical to that of his final two seasons in Arizona, so it's hard to say what the reason for the falloff was. As a result, we'd expect him to bounce back slightly in 2004 -- nothing spectacular, but a batting average closer to .250 is a reasonable expectation.

Miller's on-base and slugging numbers have been remarkably consistent the last three seasons, but Wrigley Field plays as more of a pitcher's park than Bank One, and Miller's numbers at home over the past three years, .283/.359/.466, are considerably better than his road numbers, .249/.325/.400, over that span. Still, when the wind is blowing out, Miller will go deep occasionally.