St. Louis Cardinals: Everything you need to know about Miles Mikolas
The St. Louis Cardinals have a signed a stud pitcher from Japan. And no, his name is not Shohei Ohtani.
In a move that has gone under the radar thus far, the St. Louis Cardinals recently signed pitcher Miles Mikolas, who may be the answer to replacing Lance Lynn in the starting rotation.
According to Yahoo Sports, the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a two year, $15 million deal.
Congrats @lastoneformiles! So excited. https://t.co/loCz1BgEah
— Barrett Berzon Hadican (@bbhadican) December 5, 2017
Drafted in the seventh round by the San Diego Padres in 2009, Mikolas last pitched in MLB with the Texas Rangers in 2014, where it was a rough going — 6.44 ERA in over 57 innings pitched.
Over the span of three years (2012-2014), Mikolas collectively put together mediocre, at best, results — 5.32 ERA/1.42 WHIP/ 4-6 win-loss record, mainly as a relief pitcher.
Mike Maddux, who the Cardinals added as their pitching coach in October, instucted Mikolas during that era. Hopefully, Maddux will have a bit more success this time around.
His time in Japan has been much more fruitful. Mikolas boasted a 2.18 ERA in just over 424 innings pitched. His strikeout to walk ratio was stellar — 378 to 69, showing drastic improvements in his results.
I wanted to take this time to thank the @TokyoGiants_ organization and the awesome fans in Tokyo for three amazing years.It was an honor to play for such a great team and to play in front of some of the best fans in baseball. I will always remember the great times I had in Tokyo pic.twitter.com/VySgOGayIf
— miles mikolas (@lastoneformiles) December 6, 2017
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Will Miles Mikolas be able to translate those results at the Major League level? If so, the St. Louis Cardinals might have found a cheap way to bolster their pitching staff.
It’s a low risk/high reward situation. If Mikolas doesn’t pan out, then it wasn’t much of a gamble.
He will also give Adrian Beltre a run for his money as MLB’s Mr. Personality in 2018, bringing a bit of flair to the St. Louis Cardinals as well.
Playing in the same division (NL Central) as Joey Votto, the two are likely to hit it off when their paths cross.
Ready to go pick some pumpkins with my little pumpkin !!! pic.twitter.com/fpRrE9ZhXm
— miles mikolas (@lastoneformiles) October 22, 2017
A family man as well, Mikolas seems to also embrace the inner child within himself. His carefree personality will be a nice change of pace in a seemingly tense St. Louis Cardinals dugout.
Now we know his secret! 🧐 pic.twitter.com/xO1SvdBkyi
— NPB on reddit (@NPB_Reddit) September 17, 2017
Mikolas’ fun factor seems to have no limits, where he’s seen embracing his inner nerdom. A free-spirited soul off the field often translates to a gutsy one on the diamond.
Miles Mikolas, as seen above, once ate a live lizard. With tricksters like Adam Wainwright lurking in the Arch City, there is going to be some prank wars galore going on between the two pitchers.
More importantly, the St. Louis Cardinals hope to see a more productive version of Miles Mikolas in 2017 and beyond, a piece of the puzzle which could help the team reach the postseason for the first time since 2015.
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Worst case scenario, the next two years will be a wild run, with Miles Mikolas bringing a bit of life and fun to the Arch City.