Zachary Charles Miner (born March 12, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the

Lamigo Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly First Financial Holdings Agan (, abbreviated ), La New Bears () and then the Lamigo Monkeys (), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administer ...

Career

Atlanta Braves

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 Single-A Jamestown Jammers (2001), Class-A Macon Braves (2002), Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans (2003), and Double-A

Greenville Braves The Greenville Braves were an American minor league baseball franchise, based in Greenville, South Carolina, that served as the Class AA farm team of the Atlanta Braves between 1984 and 2004. The Braves played in Greenville Municipal Stadium for ...

(2004). 2005 found him with the Double-A Mississippi Braves, but after four games he was promoted to the Triple-A

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

. 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.

Detroit Tigers

Miner did not make the 25-man roster at the end of the 2006

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, but he was called up to the Tigers in May 2006 to replace the injured Mike Maroth. He was a reliable 5th starter but was moved to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

near the end of the season. He was on the Tigers playoff roster as a reliever. He pitched once in the

2006 World Series The 2006 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2006 season. The 102nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Leag ...

against the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2007 Zach started the season in Triple A Toledo, but was called up on May 17, and made a spot start against the Boston Red Sox in place of the sick Mike Maroth. After a brief return to Toledo, Miner was called up to help in the bullpen. He finished the season 3–4 while pitching in 34 games. Zach allowed 22 runs, 18 earned, through innings. Miner started the 2008 season with the Tigers, but was sent to Toledo July 2 after walking four batters in two

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s in a loss to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. On July 21, Miner returned to the Tigers as a starter against the Kansas City Royals. Miner pitched six shutout innings in the Tigers 19–4 victory. In April 2009, Miner came off a strong start in his first outing of the season to being roughed up in his second outing against the White Sox. In this game, he allowed back to back home runs to Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko - the 300th of each man's career. Miner underwent Tommy John surgery in June, 2010 and missed the entire 2010 season, after which he was designated for assignment.

Kansas City Royals

Miner signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on December 31, 2010.

Detroit Tigers

On April 20, 2012, Miner was traded back to the

for cash considerations.

Philadelphia Phillies

Miner signed a minor league contract with Philadelphia in December 2012. He received a call up to the big leagues on August 3, and on September 20, joined the Phillies starting rotation after Kyle Kendrick was shut down for the remainder of the season. He elected free agency on October 8. He was outrighted off the roster on October 3, 2013.

Seattle Mariners

Miner signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners on February 13, 2014. He was released on June 9, 2014.

Lamigo Monkeys

Shortly after his release from the Mariners, Miner signed with the

of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miner, Zach 1982 births American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Living people Detroit Tigers players Philadelphia Phillies players Erie SeaWolves players Greenville Braves players Jamestown Jammers players Macon Braves players Baseball players from St. Louis Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Richmond Braves players Toledo Mud Hens players Gulf Coast Tigers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Tacoma Rainiers players Lamigo Monkeys players