NEW YORK — Miles Mikolas has heard the monikers for years.
Throughout his eight seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Mikolas has been dubbed both a strike-thrower and an innings-eater. He wore the designations as badges of pride. After bouncing out of Major League Baseball in 2014, Mikolas reinvented himself during a three-year stint in Japan and became a durable starting pitcher for St Louis, two All-Star berths included. He’s now the longest-tenured Cardinal, but those prior labels no longer apply.
After back-to-back disappointing seasons, Mikolas remains in the Cardinals’ rotation, but his role and approach have changed. He owns a 7.64 ERA over his first four starts, though that number is inflated from a disastrous outing against the Boston Red Sox in early April, where he allowed eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Friday against the New York Mets marked another average start for Mikolas (two earned runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings with two walks and one strikeout), but more notably, it showed where manager Oli Marmol’s trust level lies with his veteran right-hander.
With the Cardinals leading 2-0, Brett Baty and Tyrone Taylor led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and an RBI triple, turning the lineup over. Francisco Lindor flew out, but Juan Soto tied the score with a single to right. All four balls were hit hard. Marmol had seen enough. Mikolas was at just 70 pitches (and the Cardinals bullpen is down a man due to the team using a six-man rotation), but neither factor mattered. The skipper went to his bullpen, and Mikolas hit the showers.
There is an element of confidence he’ll need to regain if he wants to pitch deeper into ballgames. Several candid conversations with Marmol over the last couple of weeks have made that clear.
“If there’s a diminished sense of trust in some of my abilities, I understand that,” Mikolas said.
Citi Field gave Juan Soto a standing ovation during his at-bat, and it worked! 👏
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/lU7B0T6hrb
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 19, 2025
Mikolas, 36, is in the final year of the two-year, $40 million extension he signed in March of 2023. He posted a 5.35 ERA across 32 starts last year, the second-highest mark in MLB. He also allowed the third-most hits (194), second-most earned runs (102) and second-highest opposing average (.284). His availability should be commended: He has made at least 30 starts in each of his last three seasons. But there is also something to be said about the quality of those appearances, and that has lacked more often than not.
The Cardinals would certainly like to see Mikolas pitch deeper into games (he has yet to complete six innings in a start this year), but they have been especially cautious about letting him pitch to the heart of the opposing lineup a third time. When he runs into trouble, it often escalates quickly. Marmol and Mikolas have been cognizant of that, which also factored into his early removal Friday.
“It’s tough,” Mikolas said. “It’s not the best feeling. Last year, and really the one start (versus Boston) this year, my innings that go the wrong way, they can tend to go the wrong way pretty quick.”
“He’s realistic about where he’s at and what he needs to do in order to be trusted. Because when it doesn’t go well for him, it unravels pretty quickly,” Marmol added. “It usually happens in one inning, and it’s hard for him to stop the bleeding when it’s happening. So he knows that if we’re going to the ‘pen early, it’s to avoid that. The only way for him to earn that trust is to show he can stop the bleeding from time to time.”
There is a chance that Mikolas is simply not that type of deep starter anymore. But he’s determined to give himself and the Cardinals his best shot. He’s changed his approach to try to induce more swings-and-misses. Instead of filling up the strike zone, his M.O. for years, he’s purposely missing the plate in two-strike counts and trying to limit hard contact. He’s sequencing pitches differently, working extensively with pitching coach Dusty Blake to find a method that works.
While he’s far from satisfied with his performances, he does feel he’s on the right track.
“Getting better with some of my sequencing and being able to go after strikeouts is something that’s going to help me earn that trust back,” Mikolas said. “That’s a benefit of going outside the zone — not just the swing-and-miss — but quality of contact is much softer, right? It’s not your 100 mph groundball to the shortstop. A lot more good things can happen when you’re out of the zone at the right time and the quality of contact is a lot less.
“I haven’t gone nearly as many innings as I’d like to. But is it a step in the right direction? I think so.”
“Most guys are still trying to get off their A, or A-minus type swings, even with two strikes.”
Miles Mikolas explains why he’s throwing fewer strikes in specific counts. pic.twitter.com/koqwgL28FH
— Cardinal Territory (@CardTerritory) April 16, 2025
Mikolas has committed to his new game plan, but he’ll have to show consistency and repeatability for Marmol to feel comfortable using him in later innings. It helps that Marmol and Mikolas communicate in similar fashions. Neither shy from honest assessments and prefer a direct — if not blunt — approach.
“He said he’s convicted in the approach, staying convicted in that approach is going to be key for him,” Marmol said. “He knows what he does and what’s allowed him to stay in the league. Now it’s a matter of using it in a way where he can flip the script on the opposition.
“He’s super verbal. He’s Miles. You can have that conversation with him and be very blunt as far as what you saw and what needs to be done. You have the back and forth, but him being convicted and buying in is the most important part.”
If St. Louis wasn’t so wary about its limited pitching depth in the minors, the club might be having a different conversation about Mikolas’ role. Michael McGreevy is ready for a call-up from Triple A when needed, and the team’s proclaimed youth movement is beckoning for him to appear in the majors at some point this year. But the Cardinals will continue using Mikolas in the rotation for the foreseeable future. It’s on him to make the adjustments that will allow him to stay there.
“It’s a hit to your ego as much as anything,” Mikolas said. “Like, hey, you’re not the workhorse in the middle of our staff right now. But that’s something that I’m always trying to get back to. But whatever my role is in helping us win games, that’s the important thing. If I get through five innings and I get taken out for our bullpen in a tight spot, I understand the desire to win those games and get to the bullpen.
“The goal is to be out there seven, eight innings every time. I’m working towards getting some of that confidence back,” he added. “Right now, I feel like I like my stuff. I like where it is. And I feel like it’s getting better every time.”
(Photo: Brian Fluharty / Getty Images)