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St. Louis Cardinals To Promote Shelby Miller, According To Reports

The St. Louis Cardinals call up top prospect Shelby Miller for a part in their September stretch run.

By Dan Moore
March 12, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller (71) throws a pitch during spring training game against the Washington Nationals at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE
March 12, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller (71) throws a pitch during spring training game against the Washington Nationals at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE

Despite a slow start nearly got him Colby Rasmus'd, Shelby Miller, the St. Louis Cardinals' top pitching prospect, will be called up as part of their September roster expansion, according to a report from Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Miller, for a few years now counted among the top prospects in baseball, will begin his big league career as a long reliever in hopes of competing for a rotation spot in 2013.

It's been a wild year for Miller, whose stock as a prospect had probably fallen to an all-time low midway through his age-21 season, as the Pacific Coast League seemed to homer off him at will. The home runs are still a problem, but the second half of the season has seen Miller's other peripherals spike--in 10 starts since the All-Star Break, he's struck out 70, well over a strikeout an inning, and walked just seven.

It's been a strange trip, but if it ends with the promise of an open competition for a spot in the rotation come next year's Spring Training, Shelby Miller will end up exactly where we thought he would going into this year. But all that starts right now.