Ryan Muller has been the model of consistency on the mound for
the Acorns this year and has been a big part of Live Oak
’s success. He has caught the eye of many professional and
college scouts armed with radar guns at games this year after
signing a letter of intent to play for the University of San
Francisco on a full scholarship before the season began. He was
recruited by 112 schools.
Ryan Muller has been the model of consistency on the mound for the Acorns this year and has been a big part of Live Oak’s success. He has caught the eye of many professional and college scouts armed with radar guns at games this year after signing a letter of intent to play for the University of San Francisco on a full scholarship before the season began. He was recruited by 112 schools.
“I try not to think about it too much,” said Muller on how he stays focus during a game with all the attention. “I just try to stick to the game plan and pitch strikes.”
Muller will be participating in a pre-draft workout for the Kansas City Royals on May 19 and will be with the Colorado Rockies on May 31. The Houston Astros, which had a cross checker as well as a regional scout in attendance at the last baseball game in Gilroy, is the third team that is highly interested in Live Oak’s young right hander.
“If there is interest this late, someone is going to pick him,” said Live Oak coach Mark Cummins.
Muller finished this season by losing only his second game after giving up just one hit in a 1-0 loss to Gilroy.
“I’ve seen him throw better,” said one Rockies scout in attendance. “Consistency is so important.”
But even though he may have not had his best stuff, he still found ways to get batters out.
“He’s a good looking young pitcher,” one Northern California scout for the Astros said. “He’s becoming more and more consistent. He is going to go somewhere in the draft, but I am not sure where.”
His only other loss came against the power hitting Valley Christian team. The highlight of this year was the 20-strikeout one-hit performance in a 5-0 win over Santa Clara.
“I think I had a positive year,” Muller said. “9-2 is not bad in my opinion. I wish that my team would have gotten a few more runs at times, but I can’t complain too much, because their defense helped me out a lot.”
Many scouts expect Muller to be picked in the top ten rounds of the Major League Baseball draft held June 3-4.
“I am really excited about the chance,” Muller said. “It has been my dream, and now it is actually happening. If the money’s right I would like to go and play baseball.”
Muller’s fastball can reach into the mid 90s, but he consistently throws right about 90 or a little below. His speed is generated by his quick release of the ball. Scouts expect his velocity to increase as he bulks out a little more in his 6-foot-1 165-pound frame.
Muller is not afraid to drop in an occasional curve ball and even steal a strike by throwing it for the first pitch.
Muller has a tricky two-plane breaking ball he also mixes in. The young pitcher works the corners with pinpoint accuracy, going outside and inside with ease.
“He doesn’t walk that many guys,” Cummins said. “A lot of times you see guys in high school throw hard, but they have a little wildness to them. Ryan doesn’t have that at all. He has great location. He has probably hit as many guys as he has walked, which isn’t always a bad thing.”
“I just try to keep the ball down and hit my spots,” said Muller on his pitching philosophy. “Every once in a while it just kind of gets a way from me when I go inside.”
Another thing that has continually impressed the plethora of scouts who have aimed their radar guns at Muller’s every pitch is his composure on the mound.
It is impossible to tell whether Muller just gave up a run or struck out a batter with one his famous heaters. The soft-spoken pitcher just goes on about his business of getting outs and winning games. His eyes are fixed and his game face is intense.
“He has got a good demeanor out there,” Cummins said. “He handles the situations well. He is competitive, and things don’t bother him at all.”
While the average high school pitcher will throw in the mid 70’s and low 80’s at the most, Muller is consistently around the 90-mile per hour mark all game, not just early on.
“He is still doing that in the sixth and seventh innings,” Cummins said. “He works hard to keep up his endurance.”
While pitching in Salinas earlier this season, one of the scouts reported Muller as throwing in the mid 80s early on, and after the other scouts left, Muller was up to 91 mph in the sixth and seventh innings.
“Towards the beginning of the season I felt I was throwing a little harder towards the end of the game,” Muller said. “Last game I slowed down a little. I think it was because of the heat.”
Muller hasn’t given up many walks this year.
“He doesn’t compound the problem after giving up a base hit by walking the next guy to make it a big inning,” Cummins said. “You got to throw strikes. That is the key to pitching. And he has done that.”
Former Live Oak pitcher and current assistant coach Mike Alciati said he has tried to teach Muller some situational baseball.
“It has most been just some of the basic things,” Alciati said. “He already has the talent on his own. Mainly (I show him) just some of the strategies to get guys out. He has the talent and skills that will carry him to the next level that most pitchers five years from now don’t have.”
Muller has not only has not only been strong on the mound, but he has proved himself in the field as well this year at third base.
“The thing that goes unseen is that he is a very strong defense third baseman,” Cummins said. “The guy can play third base well and has made several big plays.”
Muller finished second in the Tri-County Athletic League this year with a .480 average (24-for-50).
Although the primary focus in college will be on pitching, University of San Francisco coaches said they would give him a shot with the bat as well.
“He will have a chance to do a little hitting at USF,” said Don pitching coach Greg Moore. “It is something to do between outings.”
Muller’s step dad Eddie George got him started playing baseball when he was six. He started pitching when he was 11 in the Minor Division of Tri-City Little League in San Jose.
“I just tried out one day, and I threw the ball pretty hard,” Muller said.
Muller moved to Morgan Hill shortly after. In the offseason, Muller has been a key member of the NorCal program. He started off on the JV team and then played for the Live Oak varsity squad his sophomore year. Muller played third base and close out a limited amount games that year. Muller continued to improve and was almost unhittable as a closer his junior year. Toward the end of the season he moved into the starting roll and earned the co-MVP award for the league.
“We wanted to try to maximize him, getting him to close both games in the week,” Cummins said. “We had a couple good starters with Richie Rodriguez and Kyle Bennett. With the injury to Bennett, we put him in the starting roll and he has blossomed from there. This year we just wanted to let him go seven strong, and hopefully we could get a run or two.”
Muller fit right into the roll as a starter and has taken his game to a higher level.
“I like starting a lot more than I do closing,” Muller said. “It gives me a lot more time to show what I have. It wasn’t hard to transfer at all.”
If Muller doesn’t sign with a MLB team, he will fit right in with the green and gold of USF.
