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[ed. note: With interest in the Nationals’ farm system at a high level, Federal Baseball has begun a series featuring the top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America, in the system as of late last season. We will start with No. 30 and work our way to the top over the next few weeks, with one prospect highlighted each weekday.]
WASHINGTON – At the very least, Drew Millas provides needed catching depth to a system that saw younger players at that position struggle once they were called up to the majors the past two seasons.
Millas was acquired by the Nationals in the trade in late July that sent Yan Gomes – a veteran catcher – and Josh Harrison to Oakland. He was named to the roster of Surprise in the Arizona Fall League.
Millas, 23, is a St. Louis native who was drafted in the seventh round by Oakland in 2019 out of Missouri State.
“We are excited to have him, too – a very mature young man,” Mark Scialabba, assistant general manager, player development, told Federal Baseball.
“At the plate, he is a switch-hitter and controls the strike zone very well with good instincts,” added the farm director. “He takes what the pitcher gives to him and knows the strike zone.
“Defensively, he handles pitchers well. He has done a nice job of showing quiet leadership and learning the guys in the system and he has been a model teammate and shows leadership qualities as well.”
He hit .255 with three homers and 28 RBIs in 59 games with Lansing in Oakland’s system in 2021.
After the trade, he played in 27 games with high Single-A Wilmington in Delaware and hit .284 with no homers and 20 runs driven in.
Overall, he had an OPS of .720 in the 86 games he played in this past year.
Millas was injured in 2019 while with Oakland and didn’t play in the minors that year.