St. Louis Cardinals: Who is the next man up if Mikolas misses time?

Wednesday is a big day for Miles Mikolas when it comes to whether or not he’ll be ready for Opening Day. Who is the next man up for the St. Louis Cardinals?

It has been a rough start to the spring for the rotation of the St. Louis Cardinals. First, Miles Mikolas was pushed back from his first scheduled throwing time, then only one starter (Adam Wainwright) made it through the first inning.

Carlos Martinez was the second Cardinal starter to finish the first on Tuesday, but Mikolas is still being held out from game action.

Wednesday is a huge day for Mikolas as he is slated to have an “aggressive” bullpen. If it goes well, he’ll still be on track to start the season in the rotation. If it doesn’t, he’ll have to be delayed. Thankfully for the Cardinals, they do have plenty of options for the rotation.

If Mikolas is out, a spot will almost definitely go to Carlos Martinez. Beyond him, who are the best options?

John Gant

Since his arrival on the St. Louis Cardinals, Gant has only ever been a spot starter. However, there have been multiple times this winter where Gant has expressed his goals to be in the rotation, and that has continued this spring.

Gant is second on the team with 4.2 innings pitched in two outings. This is right in line with the workload of all the other starters. Now, Gant hasn’t done amazing in those outings, letting up four earned runs, but he is being treated as a starter and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him jump into a starting spot if Mikolas misses time.

Daniel Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon has always been on the outside looking in when it comes to the Cardinals rotation. Even after starting in the Minors, he’s only ever gotten spot starts with the big club. This spring, Ponce is right behind Gant with 4.0 innings pitched and has had better success.

Ponce’s issue has always been efficiency, so that will be something to watch this spring. He’s got good stuff, it just comes down to whether or not he can make it deep in games.

Alex Reyes

If the team is truly only looking for a short-term fill-in for Mikolas, Alex Reyes might be the best option. According to the team, they are looking to get Reyes to 100 innings pitched this season. In a relief role, that is a little high, but if he makes a spot start or fills in for Mikolas for a bit to start the year, it could be a perfect way to get him to the innings count the team wants.

Reyes was another pitcher at 4.0 innings this spring before his inning on Tuesday. He struck out the side against the Mets even if he gave up two hits.

In a perfect world, Mikolas’ bullpen on Wednesday goes well and he responds well on Thursday. However, this injury is eerily similar to the injury that kept him out for 2020.