What's the most 'noble profession' for a vet pitcher? The innings eater

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A year ago at this time, Miles Mikolas joked that he wanted to name his boat “Too Many Strikes.”

New year, new team, new boat name.

“It's called 'Innings Eater,'” Mikolas said, jokingly.

Last year with St. Louis, Mikolas believed that too many of his pitches late in counts the year prior found too much of the strike zone, often resulting in home runs or hard-hit balls. Missing the zone more frequently, he theorized, would produce more strikeouts and help him last further into games.

The approach didn't work as planned.

Mikolas surrendered a career-high 29 homers last season, ninth-worst most among MLB pitchers, en route to posting a 4.84 ERA.

After eight years with St. Louis, the two-time All-Star and owner of a 72-75 career record signed with Washington in February.

The 37-year-old right-hander will provide a veteran presence on a young, rebuilding Nationals staff.

At a time when front offices are chasing strikeout pitchers, Mikolas will also be tasked with delivering what is becoming a lost art – eating innings.

“It's a very noble profession,” Mikolas said with a grin.

Having pitched at least 150 innings in every season but two with the Cardinals -- he missed all of 2020 following flexor-tendon surgery and managed fewer than 50 the following season -- Mikolas prides himself on keeping his body healthy enough to be available every time his rotations turn arrives.

Washington signed Mikolas believing that he'll not only be ready every fifth day, but also that his right arm still has plenty of life.

“We expect more of him than to just be an innings eater,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said.

The Nationals got their first look at Mikolas in game action Friday night against Houston. It didn't exactly start the way Mikolas had hoped.

Houston leadoff hitter Jose Altuve pounded a Mikolas offering to deep center field. A spectacular leaping catch by Jacob Young prevented an extra-base hit, possibly even a home run.

“It almost started out real bad,” Mikolas said. “Great catch by Young out there. But it's nice to see the defense get some work. And everybody needs work in Spring Training.”

Allowing several hard-hit balls in that first outing, Mikolas surrendered only one hit, but did walk three in two innings as he tried to miss more bats. He ended his night by striking out Altuve with the bases loaded.

Never one who feared tinkering with his arsenal, Mikolas is using this spring to experiment with a split changeup, taking velocity away from the straight splitter he's thrown in past seasons. He's also endeavoring to develop more “sweepy” action on his slider, hoping it can become a better swing-and-miss pitch.

Off the mound, Mikolas is embracing his role as staff veteran. Now that he's gotten to know his new teammates -- and they know him better -- several younger pitchers have taken the opportunity to tap into his wisdom regarding different aspects of pitching.

If Mikolas has set performance goals for this season, he isn't willing to share them, opting instead to hyperbolically state the desire to strike out every batter, and win an obscene amount of games.

One aspect that's already clear: Less than a month into his Nationals tenure, he's quite comfortable with his role and his potential legacy.

“I'm not chasing any records or anything like that,” Mikolas said. “But I'd like to leave an imprint on the game in some way, shape or form. Whether that's sharing my experience -- being a guy who was a reliever-turned-starter, to Japan and coming back and having some success, and doing a lot of different things -- or being able to leave some knowledge here and there.”