Harrisonburg Turks

Member of the Valley Baseball League and NACSB.

  • 1955 VBL Champions
  • 1958 VBL Champions
  • 1959 VBL Champions
  • 1962 VBL Champions
  • 1964 VBL Champions
  • 1969 VBL Champions
  • 1970 VBL Champions
  • 1971 VBL Champions
  • 1977 VBL Champions
  • 1991 VBL Champions
  • 2000 VBL Champions
  • 2012 VBL Champions
  • 2023 VBL Champions

2005 Turk Brad Mills Dominating Minor Leagues

06/13/2011 – Turks Tidbits

Written by Nathaniel Stoltz James Madison University

Left-handed pitcher Brad Mills, a member of the 2005 Turks, has led a very successful professional baseball career since being drafted in 2007. In fact, the lanky southpaw was in a major-league uniform about two years after he was drafted.

Mills, a starting pitcher, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in the June 2007 draft, and over the next year-and-a-half, he enjoyed nothing but success at every minor league level up through Double-A. Mills thus opened 2009 in Triple-A, the minor leagues’ highest level, and was called up to the big leagues to make his MLB debut with the Blue Jays on June 18, 2009, just two years and four days after he initially signed his professional contract – an impressive ascent.

Since then, Mills has spent time at both the major league and Triple-A levels. He’s thrown 30 innings in the major leagues, making five starts and four relief appearances, and has impressively struck out 27 batters in those 30 innings.

At the Triple-A level, his results have been very positive; the only reason Mills hasn’t received more extended time in the major leagues is due to the high number of good young starting pitchers in the Blue Jays organization. This has led to a number of analysts pointing to Mills as a good trade target for a team in need of a quality MLB starting pitcher.

This year, Mills leads the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in ERA (2.87), innings pitched (84 2/3), and strikeouts (78), continuing to affirm that he’s proven all he needs to in the minor leagues. It’s only a matter of time before this former Turk becomes a fixture on a big league pitching staff. The 26-year-old’s now five-year career has been very impressive, and the Turks wish him continued success in the future!