Miles Mikolas

Miles Mikolas

36-Year-Old PitcherSP
St. Louis Cardinals
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Mikolas has been a solid big-league starter for the Cardinals since returning stateside in 2018 following a three-year run in the Korea Baseball Organization. Overall, he's registered a 3.78 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 833 innings for St. Louis while managing a stingy 1.6 BB/9. He's topped 200 innings each of the last two years and has been a two-time All-Star wearing the birds on the bat. That all sounds nice, and is nice, but Mikolas is only a borderline option in fantasy because he allows too many balls in play and doesn't generate enough swing-and-miss with his pitch-to-contact approach. He made the most starts (35) in the majors last season but also surrendered the most hits (226) and struck out only 137 of the 860 batters he faced. Mikolas can offer volume, but it's not always the kind of volume you want in a standard scoring league. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#379
ADP
$Signed a two-year, $40 million contract extension with the Cardinals in March of 2023.
Grabs 10th win
PSt. Louis Cardinals
September 27, 2024
Mikolas (10-11) allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four over five innings to earn the win over the Giants on Friday.
ANALYSIS
Mikolas had a bumpy season at best, but he ended the year allowing a modest six runs over his last 16 innings, earning two wins with a 12:1 K:BB over that three-start span. He was able to contain the damage to the second inning Friday, and the Cardinals took the lead for good in the fourth. This is the third time in his career Mikolas has reached the 10-win mark, but he did it with a 5.35 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 122:25 K:BB over just 171.2 innings in 32 starts this year.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
85
Last 10 Games
84
Last 5 Games
78
How many pitches does Miles Mikolas generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Miles Mikolas generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-5%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-2%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-2%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-15%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .257 1137 201 48 274 70 9 36
Since 2022vs Right .270 1248 211 55 316 62 2 41
2024vs Left .281 345 63 14 91 26 4 10
2024vs Right .287 375 59 11 103 25 0 16
2023vs Left .285 408 62 16 109 27 3 15
2023vs Right .279 452 75 23 117 23 2 11
2022vs Left .207 384 76 18 74 17 2 11
2022vs Right .244 421 77 21 96 14 0 14
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-8%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-25%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-27%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-42%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 4.63 1.15 274.0 11 16 0 6.7 1.5 1.2
Since 2022Away 4.24 1.26 301.1 20 21 0 6.2 1.7 1.2
2024Home 6.16 1.29 80.1 2 6 0 6.3 1.3 1.7
2024Away 4.63 1.26 91.1 8 5 0 6.5 1.3 1.1
2023Home 5.55 1.32 99.0 3 7 0 7.1 1.6 1.1
2023Away 4.05 1.31 102.1 6 6 0 5.2 1.8 1.2
2022Home 2.38 0.83 94.2 6 3 0 6.6 1.4 1.0
2022Away 4.10 1.21 107.2 6 10 0 7.0 2.0 1.2
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Miles Mikolas compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
4.88
 
K/9
6.4
 
BB/9
1.3
 
HR/9
1.4
 
Fastball
92.9 mph
 
ERA
5.35
 
WHIP
1.28
 
BABIP
.317
 
GB/FB
1.26
 
Left On Base
61.9%
 
Exit Velocity
82.1 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.9%
 
Spin Rate
2216 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
25.3%
 
Swinging Strike
7.3%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2015
2014
2013
Now a two-time All-Star since transitioning back to Major League Baseball after a three-year run in Japan, Mikolas is not afraid to attack hitters. He fills up the strike zone -- Mikolas posted a 4.8 BB% last season -- while using his four-seamer, slider, sinker and curveball all at least 20% of the time. Hitters can't really guess against him, making him a tough plate appearance even if the stuff is modest (19.0 K% last season). The right-hander was forced to miss the shortened 2020 season due to a flexor tendon injury and missed extended time in 2021 with a calcification of that same flexor tendon. The fact that he was able to rebound for a 202.1-inning season suggests he's fine from a health standpoint, but the recent injury history should be accounted for when projecting innings. Drafting him to be much more than a streamer is ill advised.
Mikolas has a 3.54 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 29 wins in 429.1 innings with the Cardinals and is a lock for the rotation. That alone makes him a viable source of innings in deeper mixed leagues, especially given the Cardinals' division and home park. His 18.3% strikeout rate over that span is mediocre, but his 4.1 BB% is excellent. This pitch to contact style works well in St. Louis, given the quality of the defenders behind him.
Mikolas ended 2019 with a sore flexor tendon which lingered into the spring. An MRI revealed no ligament damage, so he ramped up slowly and would not have been ready for the original Opening Day. After continuing to throw bullpens over the summer and into camp, Mikolas was expected to return for the delayed start to the season. However, the injury recurred, requiring season-ending surgery. Mikolas' calling card is control as his 18.4 K% and 3.9 BB% since returning from overseas suggests. The 32-year old relies on a high groundball rate to minimize homers, though it didn't help in 2019. Mikolas could be relied upon for close to six innings, a rarity in today's game. This is all now a big question after surgery, plus such a long time since he last took the hill in an MLB game. If healthy, Mikolas should be in the Cardinals' rotation, but without a high strikeout rate, his margin for error is thin.
Not much changed with Mikolas from his first season back stateside in 2018 to 2019, except the home runs. His K% and BB% were near carbon copies of his 2018 marks and his swinging-strike rate was identical at 9.6%. It wasn't a sizable dip, but Mikolas' groundball rate dropped to 47.4%, and the balls that got up did more damage thanks in no small part to the reduced drag on the big-league baseball. His win total was cut in half and his fantasy value took a good hit as a result of these factors. Now 31, Mikolas has a pretty clear fantasy ceiling given his limited strikeout ability, and while excellent command and control have kept his floor high, that floor has been jeopardized by a sore flexor tendon in spring training. If he gets healthy and the ball is deadened some this year, Mikolas could settle into a mid-to-high 3.00s ERA with a WHIP in the teens and double-digit wins on a competitive team.
Mikolas' 2018 campaign was better than even the most optimistic league-equivalency estimators could have predicted after he made the jump from Japan. He was supposed to be pretty good, but he certainly wasn't expected to be this good, finishing with a 2.83 ERA, 18 wins (tied for most in the NL) and a sixth-place finish in the NL Cy Young race. He looks to be a legitimately good starter, with his primary skill being his impeccable control, which allows him to offset a modest 18.1% strikeout rate with an excellent 3.6% walk rate, the best among qualified starters. Mikolas was also good at limiting the long ball, with a near-50% groundball rate leading to a 0.72 HR/9. None of his peripherals suggest that major regression is coming, though the variability of wins means he's unlikely to repeat such a high number in that category, taking away some of his fantasy value. Still, Mikolas is for real and should be treated as a high-floor option this draft season.
Mikolas returns stateside in 2018, having signed a two-year deal with the Cardinals after three highly successful seasons in Japan. But will that success translate? The right-hander flopped in his first pass through the majors from 2012-14, posting a 5.32 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over 91.1 innings between San Diego and Texas. He found his way with the Yomiuri Giants, with his K/9 ticking up from 6.6 to 8.2 to 9.0. Mikolas was also much sharper with his control, issuing a total of 69 free passes in 424.2 innings. The curveball passes the eye test, but for Mikolas it's more about getting that pitch over for strikes than it is the swing and miss. Maintaining the confidence that he gained in his slider and cutter will be crucial to his success in a starting role with St. Louis, and to his chances of exceeding 7.0 K/9, a number he failed to reach in any of his first three big-league seasons.
The Rangers couldn’t have envisioned using Mikolas for 10 starts in 2014, but that is just how severely injuries ripped through their rotation. He closed in Triple-A in 2013 and that was his fourth straight year as a full-time reliever. He wasn’t as bad as his 6.44 ERA would suggest, but three shellackings of seven, nine, and 10 earned runs destroyed him. There was a measure of bad luck involved (namely an impossibly-low 58% LOB rate), but he deserves plenty of the blame for the poor performance. He allowed way too much contact with a 15 percent strikeout rate and was probably fortunate to yield just a .299 BABIP. There were some things to like here, but you are going to have a hard time finding any real fantasy value in him unless your league’s player pool includes the Yomiuri Giants. The rights to Mikolas were sold to the Japanese Central League team back in November.
Mikolas acted as Triple-A Tucson's closer in 2013 but was nothing special, posting 26 saves with a 3.25 ERA and 5.9 K/9 in 61 innings (54 outings). As he climbed the minor league ranks, his strikeout rate tailed off, likely spurring the Padres to cut ties with the 25-year-old right-hander. Following his arrival in the Texas organization, he'll provide depth to the bullpen and likely take up residence at Triple-A Tucson after spring training.
Mikolas finally made his MLB debut in 2012 as he pitched 32.1 innings out of the bullpen with results (3.62 ERA) that really don't reflect how poorly he performed (4.52 xFIP). In the minors his control became less and less sharp as he moved up in levels. His strikeout rate stayed fairly consistent throughout these stops, but has never been anything special. Overall, he's got fringe command and should not be expected to factor into late-game situations in 2013 for the Padres.
More Fantasy News
Notches ninth victory
PSt. Louis Cardinals
September 21, 2024
Mikolas (9-11) earned the win over Cleveland on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and no walks while striking out four batters over six innings.
ANALYSIS
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Yields two runs
PSt. Louis Cardinals
September 16, 2024
Mikolas allowed two runs on three hits over five innings in a no-decision Sunday. He struck out four during the loss to Toronto.
ANALYSIS
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Chased early in loss
PSt. Louis Cardinals
September 8, 2024
Mikolas (8-11) allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits over two innings Sunday, striking out three and taking a loss against Seattle.
ANALYSIS
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Labors through four innings
PSt. Louis Cardinals
September 1, 2024
Mikolas did not factor into the decision in Sunday's win against the Yankees, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits and zero walks while striking out five in four innings.
ANALYSIS
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Overcomes shaky start Tuesday
PSt. Louis Cardinals
August 28, 2024
Mikolas came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Padres, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk over 5.2 innings. He struck out three.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could be traded
PSt. Louis Cardinals
November 3, 2024
According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Cardinals may look to trade Mikolas during the offseason.
ANALYSIS
The veteran right-hander has a full no-trade clause with a $17.67 million salary for 2025, which is the final year of his contract. Mikolas had a 5.35 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 32 starts in 2024, so the Cardinals could have some difficulty finding interested suitors at that salary.
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