Topic: Zach Miner

Zachary Charles Miner (born March 12, 1982 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. He bats and throws right-handed.

Standing at 6 foot 3 inches and 205 pounds, Miner had no previous college experience before playing minor and major league baseball. He did, however, play high school baseball for Palm Beach Gardens Community High School. Miner was a fourth round pick by the Atlanta Braves, and in 2000, he received the second-team All-American pitcher award, and had been offered a full ride to Miami University.

Miner spent 2001–2004 in the Braves minor league system, pitching for the class-A Jamestown Jammers (2001), class-A Macon Braves (2002), class-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans (2003), and class-AA Greenville Braves (2004). 2005 found him with the class-AA Mississippi Braves, but after four games he was promoted to the class-AAA Richmond Braves. Miner started 17 games for the Braves, going 2–7 with a 4.23 ERA. On July 31, 2005, the Braves traded Miner along with relief pitcher Román Colón to the Detroit Tigers for setup man/closer Kyle Farnsworth.