Mikolas racked up six strikeouts and allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings in Tuesday's 1-0 exhibition loss to the Blue Jays.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas took over after starter Luke Weaver opened the game and worked a trio of frames, and he utilized the opportunity to put an exclamation point on a spring that only got better as it unfolded. The veteran right-hander generated scoreless efforts in three of his last four appearances, compiling 16 strikeouts over the entirety of that span. Mikolas has credited his time in Japan, where he essentially resurrected his career with a 31-13 record over his last three seasons, with helping him refine all aspects of his game, Sean Farrell of MLB.com reports. "Just putting in the work and really being kind of isolated over there allowed me to just really focus on my craft and work on a lot of things with my pitching," Mikolas said. "My breaking balls, my timing, my delivery, just a lot of time to get comfortable as a starter, and I think that's begun to translate pretty well over here."

Mikolas (1-2) allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk over six innings in Thursday's 8-2 Grapefruit League win over the Braves.

EDGE Analysis

He heads into the regular season on a roll, as Thursday's quality start was a strong follow-up to a five-inning blanking of the Nationals last Friday. A key to his improvement over a first pair of rough spring starts has been his curveball, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, with pitching coach Mike Maddux noting how consistently Mikolas has been able to throw it for strikes. If he's able to maintain the same caliber of performance once the games begin counting next week, Mikolas will prove to be one of the more prudent offseason acquisitions across the majors.

Mikolas' spring ERA is down to 6.59 after Friday's five-inning blanking of the Nationals, an outing in which he allowed three hits, issued a walk and recorded two strikeouts.

EDGE Analysis

'Mikolas has now generated consecutive scoreless starts after giving up 10 earned runs over his first pair of outings. The key against a Nationals split-squad in manager Mike Matheny's view was pitch variety according to Ben Frederickson and Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "His breaking ball, he had a better feel. He was throwing it where he wanted to. He was throwing some early strikes. Saw some good, hard (split-changeups)." Mikolas worked up to 79 pitches in the outing, getting 49 of his offerings into the strike zone. He'll look to keep building momentum for the regular season in a likely Wednesday start against the Marlins.

Mikolas tossed four scoreless innings in Friday's 4-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Astros, allowing four hits and two walks while recording three strikeouts.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander put together what was easily his best appearance of spring thus far, looking much more like the pitcher that turned in a 31-13 record in the Japanese Central League while toiling for the Yomiuri Giants the last three seasons. Mikolas scattered four harmless singles across his quartet of frames and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth by retiring Brian McCann and J.D. Davis on a pop out and groundout, respectively. The veteran stretched out to 68 pitches (45 strikes) overall, Glenn Sattell of MLB.com reports, and got up as high as 98 mph with his fastball. He's looking to refine his slider change ahead of his next outing, in an effort to continue keeping quality bats as off-balance as he did Friday against the defending World Series champions. "That should make it a little more effective, get some more drop out of it as well as more of a timing pitch to use it as a changeup so that I can vary my speeds from the fastball and the slider/cutter, curveball, changeup/split change," he said.

Mikolas will still be a member of the Cardinals' rotation despite his early spring struggles, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas has had a very difficult start to spring training, giving up 13 hits and 10 runs in 4.2 innings while striking out just two batters. Still, the Cardinals consider him a lock for the rotation. If he continues to struggle this spring, his fantasy stock will take a deserved hit, as he's yet to prove that he can get major-league hitters out. But it sounds as though the team won't be giving up on him any time soon, so those who have already drafted him can expect him to at least open the season as a starter.

Mikolas threw a round of live batting practice instead of his regularly scheduled bullpen session Tuesday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas has struggled through his first two Grapefruit League starts, generating an unsightly 19.29 ERA and 0-2 record in the process. The change in routine was designed to give both manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Mike Maddux a first-hand look at Mikolas pitching to live batters, in an effort to identify what adjustments the right-hander might need to make. Mikolas is slated to next take the mound Thursday against the Marlins.

Mikolas (0-2) allowed four earned runs on six hits over three innings in Saturday's 9-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Braves. He did issue any walks or record any strikeouts.

EDGE Analysis

Mikolas endured a second rough outing to open his first spring training stateside since returning from spending the last three seasons in Japan. While the results he generated with the Yomiuri Giants during his tenure were certainly encouraging, they've yet to carry over into his first two appearances. The veteran has looked more like the pitcher that generated an unsightly 6.44 ERA and 1.43 WHIP while allowing eight home runs over 57.3 innings in his last taste of major-league action with the Rangers in 2014, as he's now surrendered 10 earned runs over 4.2 innings. The biggest hiccup Saturday was a second-inning, three-run home run that he gave up to Christian Colon, the second such round tripper he's allowed in as many starts. Despite the struggles, both Mikolas and manager Mike Matheny saw some positives as per Zak Kerr of MLB.com, with the fact that the right-hander often notched early-count strikes while compiling 42 over 56 pitches and threw both his fastball and curveball well cited as particularly encouraging aspects of his outing.

Mikolas signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

The deal is said to be worth $15.5 million, per Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com. It's a handsome reward for Mikolas, who bet on himself and turned his career around in Japan after disappointing stints with the Padres and Rangers. The right-hander turned in sub-2.50 ERAs in each of his three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, and posted a sparkling 187:23 K:BB over 188 innings as a starter last season. He should slot into the rotation behind Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha and Luke Weaver.

Mikolas signed a contract to play in Japan in 2015 with the Yomiuri Giants, the Japan Times reports. Mikolas struggled in the majors in 2014 with a 6.44 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 10 starts. He'll be just 27 next season, so he could return to MLB if a stint in Japan revitalizes his career.

Mikolas was released by the Rangers on Thursday. Mikolas struggled in his time in the majors in 2014, posting a 6.44 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 10 starts. He'll likely play in Japan in 2015.