The injury to Miles Mikolas put another question mark on an already strained starting rotation for the St Louis Cardinals.
The top half of the St Louis Cardinals starting rotation is set and solid with Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson. An aging Adam Wainwright is also penciled in, but now the bottom half of the rotation has two vacant spots with the news Miles Mikolas will begin the year on the injured list.
Mikolas has battled arm problems off and on and even pitched with soreness in his arm in the NLCS against the Washington Nationals last year. He’ll rest his arm for three to four weeks before even starting a throwing program.
With Mikolas on the shelf, the door is wide open for a handful of pitchers to seize the opportunity at a spot in the rotation. Carlos Martinez and Kwang-Hyun Kim are assuredly the top two candidates.
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Kim carries a lifetime record of 136-77 and an ERA of 3.27 with him, though this will be his first action in the Major Leagues after pitching in South Korea the previous twelve seasons. Martinez was a starter in the league before being dispatched to the bullpen last year after having trouble with his command. He walks 3.4 hitters per nine innings.
Both are solid options and one will definitely get the call now that two spots are open. Other internal options could be Daniel Ponce de Leon, who has just twelve career starts under his belt.
Austin Gomber has just 11 and he hasn’t pitched at the big-league level since 2018, and Ryan Helsley, who has not started a game in the Majors. These are three young arms vying for a spot.
Piece all this together and the conclusion is the Cardinals do not have a good answer for how to replace Miles Mikolas. At this point, Andrew Cashner is the best option on the free-agent market, though this could change once players start getting cut from their respective teams as the season nears.
Best case scenario Kim can translate his success abroad to success stateside and the Cardinals get a mix of innings out of de Leon and Gomber until Mikolas returns by early April. Worst case scenario Mikolas misses more time as his flexor tendon strain is worse than expected.
Martinez can’t find the strike zone and the young guns can’t eat enough innings to keep the stress off the bullpen. The domino effect leaves St Louis Cardinals fans preparing for 2021 by Memorial Day.