Why Shelby Miller Is a Valuable Trade Target This Offseason

Atlanta's young starter is one of the belles of the ball during this offseason.

One of the most sought after starting pitchers by baseball executives this offseason won six games and lost an National League-worst 17 in 2015.

Yes, that's right, if we used the archaic statistic of wins and losses, Atlanta's Shelby Miller and his 6-17 record wouldn't draw the attention of a mosquito, much less virtually every general manager in baseball who is looking for pitching.

Thank goodness we have elevated ourselves as a baseball society.

Miller, acquired from St. Louis in the trade that sent Jason Hayward to the Cardinals, has been made available by the Braves this offseason, and the asking price has been steep. CBS Sports' Jon Heymanplay (BABIP) of .285 last season to say that his season was based on luck. But Miller has been able to maintain a low BABIP throughout his career, .280 in '13, .256 in '14 and .285 last year. That appears to be more skill than luck.

And much of his statistics were based off a very strong first half in which he he posted an ERA of 2.38, allowing batters to hit a mere .225/.291/.336 in 113 2/3 innings. It's easy to see why he made the All-Star team.

His numbers dropped in the second half, although they were still solid. He had a 3.83 ERA and gave up a slash line of .246/.327/.378 in 91 2/3 innings after the All-Star Game.

In other words, some team is going to have