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One fantasy baseball prospect to watch very closely this week is St. Louis Cardinals SP Shelby Miller.
Miller is scheduled to make two starts this week, which is the first two-start week of his young career. The organization, and the fantasy community alike, will be looking for Miller to be a future ace, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the extra pressure this scoring period.
In his most recent start, Miller allowed a leadoff triple to Pittsburgh Pirates OF Starling Marte. The run would eventually score and it was a less than stellar opening inning for the rookie. However, as the game went on, Miller slowed down and starting picking apart Pittsburgh’s lineup.
He finished the game with six innings pitched, six hits allowed, two earned runs, and just one walk. He ended up losing the game, but that was only because Pittsburgh’s A.J. Burnett pitched a gem. Miller still struck out six batters and gained some much needed experience.
Miller’s first start this week comes Monday against the Washington Nationals. He will face veteran starter Dan Haren. The Nationals are one of the strongest teams offensively in baseball, so this will be the toughest test the rookie hurler has faced this far into his MLB career.
His second start will be against the Pirates yet again. The Bucos will send SP Jeff Locke to the mound and this matchup will be a strong opportunity for Miller to show the fantasy world what he can do. I completely expect Miller to last seven-plus innings in this outing.
There is no question that Mr. Mustang is the next great fantasy pitching prospect, but it is still worth it to see if he is ready to become a full-time contributor for fantasy owners. Just make sure to watch Miller closely this week, because this could be the start to an amazing fantasy career.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
