CINCINNATI—The names on the backdrops read, from left to right, Jhonny Peralta, Matt Holliday, Trevor Rosenthal and Michael Wacha. The St. Louis Cardinals logo was affixed to each one.
Shelby Miller, ex-Cardinals pitcher, was at the end of the row with the Braves “A” next o his name.
“They’ve got me over here in the Cardinals corner,” Miller said, flashing a wide smile. “Forgot I got traded.”
The Cardinals swapped Miller for Jason Heyward last winter, but it’s like old times at the All-Star game for Miller. He saw former teammates everywhere he looked in the room of fellow NL All-Stars.
There were the four Cardinals lined up next to him, plus two more just across the aisle: Carlos Martinez and Yadier Molina. The six Cardinals All-Stars are a testament to the team’s wealth of talent, its success this season and the popularity of the franchise.
Miller was good but overshadowed in St. Louis, and now he’s even better and the staff ace for the Braves. He’s been dominant at times this season even as the Braves (42-47) stumbled into the All-Star break. Now he stands alone as the team’s only All-Star after his peers voted him to the team.
Yet Miller said it’s not accurate to say that leaving the Cardinals helped him blossom.
“I don’t think the change or anything made me any different,” he said. “I think it’s just showing up and being a better pitcher than in the past. I don’t think it’s the new scenery. It’s just knowing how to pitch a little bit better and use my pitches more efficiently, and try to go deeper into games.”
It’s certainly plausible Miller would still be in this All-Star game even if he hadn’t changed teams. He’d shown signs of reaching that level during two full seasons with the Cardinals.
Miller had a 3.06 ERA and 169 strikeouts for Miller over 31 starts in 2013. That was enough for a third-place finish in NL rookie of the year voting behind Jose Fernandez and Yasiel Puig (and two spots ahead of current Braves teammate Julio Teheran).
Miller wasn’t as effective in 31 starts for the Cardinals last season but he still flashed dominance from time to time. There was a three-hit shutout against the Blue Jays and also three other starts with seven innings and no earned runs.
“There would be days he would go out, like he has this year, and it’s eight inning no hits, or nine innings, one-hit shutout,” Rosenthal said. “It just looked effortless to him. I am sitting there thinking, ‘If this guy could do that every day.’ It just seemed like he was a hair away from being able to put that all together and do that every time out.”
Miller didn’t get a chance to do it with the Cardinals. They needed an outfielder more than a promising young pitcher, and so off he went to the Braves along with prospect Tyrell Jenkins for Heyward and Jordan Walden.
It’s worked out for both teams.
After a slow start, Heyward now is producing at about the same level as he did last year with the Braves. The Cardinals (56-33) top the NL Central standings.
Meanwhile Miller is on track for career highs in ERA (2.38), walks and hits per inning pitched (1.15) and opponent batting average (.227). He’s already pitched two shutouts, including limiting the Marlins to no hits through 8 2/3 innings.
“We saw a lot of that with us,” Holliday said. “You’ve got to trade a good player to get a really good player. I think we were all a little surprised to see him go but he’s a great young player. He’s got a huge future ahead of him.”
Miller is still just 24-years old, one of 20 players younger than 25 selected for the All-Star teams. His talent, powerful build and career track all point to more success.
Miller looked around the room at his fellow NL stars and acknowledged that the recognition is satisfying—even as he noted that baseball is not a game that tolerates hubris.
“It’s definitely awesome,” Miller said. “At the same time you’ve got to stay humble about this experience. There are guys that have played 10 years in the big leagues and never made an All-Star game. You respect the game, appreciate the honor and hopefully there is more to come.”
