Just a quick post today to get things going again.
Lost in all the hubbub of Adam Wainwright‘s struggles, Yadier Molina‘s injury, and their desire to return was the solid performance of Lance Lynn.
So far he’s pitched twice this post-season, going about six innings each time while allowing two runs before turning things over to the bullpen. Not bad at all. We’ll need more starts like that from him if we plan to keep our run going, given the uncertainty of Waino’s status. He’s definitely capable of that, and more.
Beyond this season though, what I’m really interested in seeing is whether Lynn can build off of this year, as he had easily the best season of his career, with a 2.74 ERA, a 1.262 WHIP, and his lowest walk rate at 3.2 per nine innings. All of this came in a career high 203.2 innings.
Given that Lynn is only 27, if he can indeed match this years’ production or even exceed it, we may have Waino’s successor on our hands.
Now many people will immediately say “but Doug, his ERA was over a full run lower than his previous low! It has to be a fluke!” I understand the skepticism, and I’m admittedly a little skeptical myself, but Lynn *is* entering the prime of his career (he’s 27) and has a good pitching coach in Derek Lilliquist as well as an excellent mentor in Waino (and a possible second mentor in John Lackey as well) in addition to having a coach on the field to guide him in Yadi. I think, as long as he’s in this environment, he has a decent chance to repeat this performance.
If he does prove capable of coming close to this year’s level, then perhaps we can ease back on Waino a little, thus prolonging his career. I’d love to see Waino flingin’ the ball for the Cards effectively until his late 30’s.
Just something to think about.
As always, thanks for reading.
