Miles Mikolas is starting to provide what the Washington Nationals paid for
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After his first couple starts, it looked like Miles Mikolas’ career was over. The 37 year old was booed off the mound in the home opener against the Dodgers and became the face of the Nats pitching ineptitude. However, since that 11 run disaster of an outing, Mikolas is slowly turning his season around. Last night, he had his best start in a Nats uniform.
Mikolas was brought in with the reputation of being an innings eater. He had thrown at least 150 innings in each of the past four seasons. However, after that Dodgers start, the Nats realized that they had to change Mikolas’ role, at least temporarily. In his next 5 outings, Mikolas went between three and four innings, often having an opener in front of him.
In a more protected role, Mikolas slowly began to regain his form. Importantly, Mikolas’ velocity is really trending upwards. In that Dodgers start, Mikolas averaged 91.8 MPH on his 4-seam and 91.2 MPH on his sinker. Last night, Mikolas averaged 93.8 MPH on the 4-seamer and 93.5 MPH on the sinker.
While Mikolas has solid command, he does not have a ton of deception or an elite secondary pitch. That means he needs to have at least some velocity to be successful. When he is in that mid-90’s range, he can use his craft effectively to get outs. However, when he is in the low-90’s, that heater is basically batting practice.
The extra juice on the fastball led to a ton of ground balls last night. Mikolas generated 12 ground ball outs yesterday in his 5.1 inning outing. Another thing the velocity allows Mikolas to do is attack the zone. He does not have to nibble as much, which leads to fewer walks. In his last four outings, Mikolas has only walked 2 hitters.
I am not trying to say 37 year old Miles Mikolas is a perfect pitcher, he is not. He is still home run prone, he does not get whiffs, and he is not a guy you want to face a lineup for a third time. However, the Nats paid him $2.25 million and since that Dodgers outing, that is the kind of production they have gotten from him.
Since that disaster in the home opener, Mikolas has posted a 4.63 ERA. That is not amazing by any means, but it is basically what the Nats paid for. If you limit it to his last four outings, Mikolas’ ERA is 3.71. The fact he is now starting to go deeper into games is also very encouraging. He is keeping the Nats in the games he is pitching, and that is what he was brought here to do.
Despite being such a veteran, it was clear that Mikolas’ confidence was not there after his first few outings. I give a lot of credit to Blake Butera and the staff for coming up with a plan to build him back up. Those shorter outings helped Mikolas find his footing, and now he is starting to go deeper into games.
It seems like the Nats are trying to repeat the trick with Zack Littell right now. After Littell got shelled in three straight outings, the Nats decided to give him the Mikolas treatment and throw him after an opener. He looked better in that role, and hopefully the Nats can rebuild Littell the same way they did with Mikolas.
You cannot afford to have two guys who do not give you any length in the rotation, but luckily for the Nats, Mikolas showed he does not need those training wheels anymore. He had to re-find himself at 37 years old, but Miles Mikolas is trending in the right direction.
