St. Louis Cardinals: Shelby Miller Not Ready to Make the Jump to the Majors

Shelby Miller might need another year or two in the minors before he's ready for a big league rotation. 

The Cardinals' 2011 Minor League Pitcher of the Year has struggled this season in Triple-A in Memphis. The former first-round pick sports a 3-2 record with a 4.45 ERA, giving up half an earned run per inning played. 

In his short 2012 season, Miller has given up four runs in five innings or less three times. 

Despite the less than stellar numbers, the positive win-loss ratio is nice to be on the right side of, and the youngster's SO to BB ratio is great. Shelby currently sits at 37:15.

The fact that the Memphis Redbirds are the worst hitting team in the Pacific Coast League allows Cardinals' fans to exhale. After all, if you don't get the run support you need, you're not going to win a lot of games, no matter who you are. 

Recent spring training reports reveal the Cardinals' concern over Miller's weight. The top prospect decided to recreate his physique and lose some weight. 

Baseball Prospect Nation's assessment of Miller is a little more generous with praise. Miller has all the tools to move up the ranks if he works on his control—although expecting the next Jaime Garcia out of the 19-year-old is a bit premature and is wishful thinking. 

The Cardinals won the World Series last year in large part to Garcia's contributions. Having young pitchers step up and perform under the most clutch circumstances on baseball's biggest stage is not something that happens every season.