48 CARDINALS MAGAZINE @CardsMagazine
MARKING THEIR MAN
When the Cardinals entered the free-
agent pitching market last offseason, there
were plenty of big names (with price tags to
match) available as starters. Yu Darvish. Jake
Arrieta. Yet the team’s hands-on scouting,
video and analytics all pointed in the same
direction: Miles Mikolas was a priority.
The club had a baseline of information on
Mikolas from reports filed during his prior
stint in the majors: He was an up-and-down
hurler with a good arm but lacked an “out”
pitch. During his second season in Japan,
the Cardinals began to pay close attention.
It wasn’t long before he wound up on their
overseas “hot list” of 10 to 15 players who’d
likely become available in the near future.
The timing couldn’t have been better,
since the club had, at current president
of baseball operations John Mozeliak’s
direction, already committed the resources
to expand its coverage in Asia. During the
summer of 2017 and into the fall, baseball
operations personnel zeroed in on whether
Mikolas would be a good fit. The club’s
video system provided access to all of his
starts in Japan, allowing staff members to
study his mechanics and gauge whether he
appeared at risk for future injury.
Scouts Ricky Meinhold and Jeff Ishii
flew to Japan on cross-checking trips, as did
Matt Slater – the club’s special assistant to
the general manager, player procurement –
who keeps tabs on potential free agents from
overseas.
The analytics department also played a
pivotal role. Through its study of players
who have shuttled between the two
countries, it was able to show how Mikolas’
stats line would have looked had he pitched
in the major leagues in 2017.
The more the Cardinals saw, the more
they liked. Mikolas had size and strength
(6-foot-5, 220 pounds), and he’d made
huge strides with his command. He sported
multiple breaking balls (all big-league
average or better) and threw hard when
he needed to, immune from just-heave-
fastballs stubbornness. They concluded
that not only could he be a big-league
starter, he could be a very good one.
There had been conversations with
Mikolas’ agent, since midseason – “probably
over 100 calls,” Slater estimates – and the
Cardinals were one of the few teams that
showed early interest. By October, they were
sold and ready to bite.
Instead, they had to wait. Mikolas had
an understanding with his Japanese League
team that he would become a free agent,
which allowed major league clubs to talk
with him. But an MLB edict prohibited
teams from actually signing overseas free
agents until Dec. 1.
The more time passed, the more
competition the front office had to fear
from other organizations, including division
rivals. The Cubs were interested. So were theBrewers. The Cardinals moved aggressively,
with Mozeliak and Slater working closely
to finalize a deal. Four days after Mikolas
officially became available, the signing was
announced.
“Mo was just so supportive. You’d think
someone would be like, ‘Miles Mikolas?
I never heard that name three months ago,
and now I’m being asked to spend
$15 million on him!’ ” Slater recalls.
“I think it was because of the credibility
of the information we have – scouting,
video, analytics.”
The Cardinals had their guy, even if fans
and the baseball public in general – media
included – had no clue how valuable the
deal would prove.The Cardinals began tracking Mikolas during his second season in Japan, seeing clues (huge
strides in command, multiple breaking balls) that he could thrive in a return to the majors.