Brian Miller knew all about J.B. Bukauskas’ mighty fastball, and about his dancing slider, too. Yet it wasn’t necessarily those two pitches that most stuck with Miller, the North Carolina junior center fielder, when he faced Bukauskas during an intrasquad scrimmage back in the fall.
“What really got me,” Miller, an All-ACC player and one of the Tar Heels’ best hitters, said on Thursday, “is when he got a change-up this year.”
Indeed, Bukauskas, the 6-foot junior right-hander who could soon become a first-round Major League draft pick, had always been known for his fastball. His slider has long troubled opposing hitters, as well.