Shelby Miller Talks On Joining The Atlanta Braves

By now everyone knows the details to the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves blockbuster trade that happened Monday afternoon.  The Braves key piece in the trade was acquiring starting pitcher Shelby Miller.  MLB Network on Sirius had the opportunity to talk with Miller after the trade was made.

Your reaction to the trade, who told you and what did you tell them back?

“I was just finishing my workouts and my trainer came up to me and told me to get ahold of my agents.  So they are the ones that told me and we got everything cleared up.  It’s a great opportunity to go help Atlanta win a World Series.”

Shelby, who do you know in the organization that gets you excited to pitch with the Braves

“One thing I remember every time we went to Turner Field were the numbers…they went to the playoffs for a ridiculous amount of years in a row with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and I feel like we have to same opportunity to do that with the team we have now.  They have a great offensive lineup and starting pitching is phenomenal and I can’t wait to pitch with those guys and get over there to meet my new teammates.  Awesome opportunity and really looking forward to it.”

How are you different this offseason compared to 2013 offseason?

“I’m going to try to get a lot stronger, try to put on some weight and just come in prepared.  I know it’s a huge year for me especially now that I’m pitching for a new team it’s going to be pretty awesome.  You just have to expect me to try my absolute hardest.  Every time I go out there I’m going to try to do the best I can to help my team win that day.  I look forward to pitching in front of amazing Braves fans.”

The 24-year-old was drafted in the 1st round, 19th overall, of the 2009 MLB draft by the Cardinals.  He was drafted out of high school from Brownwood High in Texas.

2016 will be the first time he’s Arbitration Eligible and won’t be a free agent until 2019…this is a major reason the Braves were interested in this young pitcher.

The 6’3″ 215 pound starter is 26-18 in the two years he has been a pro with a 3.33 ERA and 1.230 WHIP.  He has 312 strikeouts compared to 134 walks.