By the time you read this, Shelby Miller might already have given up one or two runs ... and be well on his way to yet another loss.
Miller enters Wednesday night's start against the Blue Jays -- oh, the Blue Jays? then maybe three or four runs -- with a 5-14 record, which would be pretty unlucky if he were pitching just decently this season.
But of course he's been a lot better than decent. Miller went into Wednesday night with a 135 ERA+, which is really good. From 2006 through this season, only 64 pitchers have qualified for the ERA title with an ERA+ between 130 and 140. Here are the five worst winning percentages among them (via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index):
.263 Shelby Miller (2015)
.440 Chris Sale (2013)
.458 Doug Fister (2011)
.476 Jake Peavy (2008)
.500 Alex Wood (2014)
So Miller's got zero competition over the last decade.
I went back another decade. Still nobody with a sub-.400 winning percentage.
In 1991, Jose DeLeon went 5-9 in 28 starts, for a .357 winning percentage.
In fact, in the last century Miller is the ONLY qualifying pitcher among many hundreds with an ERA+ at least 130 and a sub-.300 winning percentage.
Of course, there's still some time. All these numbers might change, some.
To this point, though? You gotta feel for the guy.
