Miles Mikolas

Miles Mikolas
Mikolas with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 39
Pitcher
Born: (1988-08-23) August 23, 1988
Jupiter, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Professional debut
MLB: May 5, 2012, for the San Diego Padres
NPB: April 8, 2015, for the Yomiuri Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Win–loss record 22–10
Earned run average 3.61
Strikeouts 208
NPB statistics
(through 2017 season)
Win–loss record 33–13
Earned run average 2.18
Strikeouts 378
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Miles Tice Mikolas (born August 23, 1988), nicknamed "Lizard King," is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, as well as the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Amateur career

Mikolas pitched for Jupiter Community High School in Palm Beach County, Florida, where he graduated in 2006.[1] He then attended Nova Southeastern University and played college baseball for the Nova Southeastern Sharks from 2007 to 2009.[2]

Professional career

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres selected Mikolas in the seventh round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.[3]

Mikolas pitching for the Yomiuri Giants

Mikolas pitched as a reliever for the Class-A Fort Wayne TinCaps in 2010 and posted a 2.20 earned run average (ERA) in 60 games. He began 2011 with the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm and, after posting a 1.13 ERA in 34 games, was promoted to the Double-A San Antonio Missions on July 4.[4] Mikolas finished out 2011 by compiling a 1.67 ERA as a reliever for the Missions over 28 games. Mikolas received a non-roster invitation to spring training in 2012. He was assigned to the minor league camp later in the spring and started the year with San Antonio.[5]

Mikolas was called up to the majors for the first time directly from Double-A San Antonio on May 5, 2012.[6] He made his debut at Petco Park against the Florida Marlins, whom he grew up rooting for.[1] The first batter he faced, Giancarlo Stanton, hit a home run.[7] Mikolas was sent down to the Triple-A Tucson Padres on June 5 after making 13 appearances and allowing 5 earned runs in 13​2⁄3 innings. He was recalled on July 5[8] and made two more appearances before being optioned back to Triple-A. He was recalled from Tucson again on August 5,[9] and stayed with the big league club through the rest of the year. For the season, Mikolas amassed a 3.62 ERA and 23 strikeouts versus 15 walks over 32​1⁄3 innings.

Mikolas was designated for assignment by the Padres on November 20, 2013.

Texas Rangers

Mikolas with the Rangers in 2014

The Padres traded Mikolas to the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with Jaff Decker, for Alex Dickerson after the 2013 season.[10][11] During that offseason, the Pirates traded him to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Chris McGuiness.[12] He began the 2014 season with the Round Rock Express.

Mikolas was called up to the Rangers' 25 man roster on July 1, 2014.[13] In ​44 2⁄3 innings pitched prior to his promotion, he had a 5–1 win-loss record with a 3.22 ERA. Mikolas started his first career game against the Baltimore Orioles,[14] giving up three hits and three runs in ​5 1⁄3 innings. He spent the remainder of the season with Texas, going 2–5 with a 6.44 ERA in ten starts. The Rangers released Mikolas after the 2014 season.[15]

Yomiuri Giants

On November 25, 2014, Mikolas signed a one-year, $700,000 (USD) deal with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2015 season.[16] In 2015, he was 13–3. After the season, the Giants resigned him to a two-year deal.[17] In three seasons for Yomiuri, he pitched to a 31–13 record with a 2.18 ERA in 62 starts.[18]

St. Louis Cardinals

Mikolas signed a two-year, $15.5 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on December 5, 2017.[19] He won his debut with the Cardinals 8–4 on April 2, 2018, at Miller Park against the Milwaukee Brewers. While batting, he hit a two-run home run versus Zach Davies for his first major league hit. On the mound, he completed ​5 2⁄3 innings, allowing three home runs and four runs total, while striking out five and walking none.[20]

Mikolas threw his first major league complete game, a shutout, on May 21, 2018 at Busch Stadium against the Kansas City Royals. He struck out nine, walked one, and gave up only four hits as the Cardinals defeated Kansas City 6–0.[21] Owning a 9–3 record, a 2.63 ERA, and a 1.03 WHIP, Mikolas was named to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his first All-Star selection.[22] Mikolas finished his 2018 campaign with an 18-4 record (including a 10-0 record on the road) and a 2.83 ERA in 32 starts, walking just 29 batters in 200.2 innings.[23]

Personal life

Mikolas earned the nickname "Lizard King" when, on a bet, he ate a lizard in the bullpen during a 2011 Arizona Fall League game. The video of Mikolas eating the lizard was posted to YouTube.[24]

Mikolas is married to Lauren Mikolas, who was an elementary school teacher, UFC ring girl, and certified wellness coach who became a social media celebrity in Japan with her lifestyle blog.[25][26] Their first child, a daughter, was born March in 2017,[27] and his wife gave birth to twins in July 2018.[28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Capozzi, Joe (May 7, 2012). "'Great feeling' for Padres pitcher Mikolas, a Jupiter High grad, to make debut vs. Marlins". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  2. ↑ "These former DII baseball standouts are heading to the 2018 MLB All Star Game". NCAA.com. July 16, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. ↑ Stats (May 10, 2018). "Many Miles later, Cardinals' Mikolas faces Padres". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ Center, Bill (July 4, 2011). "Daily Update: Darnell, Brach, Gyorko, Mikolas promoted". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  5. ↑ Center, Bill (March 25, 2012). "Padres Report: Five sent to minor league camp". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  6. ↑ Baer, Bill (May 5, 2012). "Huston Street to go on disabled list with shoulder strain". Hardballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  7. ↑ "'Great feeling' for Padres pitcher Miles Mikolas, a Jupiter High grad, to make debut vs. Marlins". Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  8. ↑ Brock, Corey (July 5, 2012). "Padres recall Mikolas to bolster bullpen". MLB.com. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Padres recall RHP Miles Mikolas from Triple-A". azfamily.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ Baer, Bill (November 25, 2013). "Pirates acquire Jaff Decker from Padres, designate Garrett Jones for assignment – HardballTalk". Mlb.nbcsports.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  11. ↑ "First pitch: The return of Miles Mikolas". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Texas Rangers: Texas Rangers trade 1B Chris McGuiness for Pirates P Miles Mikolas | SportsDay". Rangersblog.dallasnews.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Miles Mikolas To Make First Major League Start - Nova Southeastern University". Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Miles Mikolas Took a Wild Journey to the Cardinals Rotation – The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Giants acquire pitchers Poreda, Mikolas". November 25, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2018 – via Japan Times Online.
  17. ↑ "Miles Mikolas drawining MLB interest after NPB stint". Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Miles Mikolas, 31–13 in Japan, joins St. Louis Cardinals". Espn.com. December 5, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  19. ↑ Langosch, Jenifer (December 5, 2017). "Cardinals sign Mikolas to 2-year contract". MLB.com. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  20. ↑ Wagner, Andrew (April 2, 2018). "Mikolas homers, pitches Cardinals over Brewers". MLB.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Mikolas puts up nine zeros against Royals". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  22. ↑ Trezza, Joe (May 24, 2018). "Miles Mikolas named National League All-Star | St. Louis Cardinals". Mlb.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  23. ↑ http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24836290/mlb-hours-miles-mikolas-kept-st-louis-cardinals-postseason-hopes-alive
  24. ↑ "Padres add heat to mix with reliever Miles Mikolas, the legendary Lizard King of the San Diego bullpen". MLBlogs Network. mlbblogger. May 8, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  25. ↑ "U.S. baseball player joins Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants, but it's his wife that's getting the attention". RocketNews24. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  26. ↑ "How a teacher from Jupiter became a celebrity in Japan". Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  27. ↑ Trezza, Joe (May 24, 2018). "Miles Mikolas to miss 2018 All-Star Game | St. Louis Cardinals". Mlb.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  28. ↑ FOX Sports Midwest Jul 18, 2018 at 6:45p ET (2018-07-18). "Cardinals place Mikolas on paternity leave, recall Bowman from Triple-A". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
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