(Photo Credit: Jerry Lai: USA TODAY Sports)
The pitching, both in the bullpen and in the starting rotation, were big components of the 2015 season for the St. Louis Cardinals, during which they won 100 games for the third time since 2000 and for the first time since the 2005 season.
Unfortunately, most of the season lacked one key player, who has been a perennial pitcher since 2006: Adam Wainwright.
On April 25th, 2015, in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wainwright was at the plate batting, when he ended up tearing his Achilles tendon while running to first base. Suddenly, it was dead silent in Cardinal Nation, seeing the ace of the staff going down for what was considered to be a season-ending injury.
However, the now 34-year old ace was bound and determined to return before the season ended.
And he did just that.
He was able to return during the final few games of the regular season, as well as the postseason, returning to the bullpen, a place he started his Major League Baseball career at. The Cardinals wound up being eliminated in four games by the Chicago Cubs in the National League Divisional Series.
But now, it’s a new year, a new season, and a new chance for Wainwright to make up for last season’s abrupt end.
STL Today’s Derrick Goold wrote an article a short time ago regarding Wainwright, and the following quote was featured (originally said from someone within the Cardinals organization): “A teammate said Adam Wainwright is returning to full strength “with a chip” on his shoulder after missing most of last year. Wainwright agreed with the diagnosis.”
What is still interesting to note about Wainwright is his pitching arsenal. Four of his five pitches are used more than 19% of the time he’s out on the mound, with the cutter being used the most (28%), and the curveball being used the second-most (27%). His changeup is only used a mere one percent of the time.
At full health over the course of a season, Wainwright is capable of reaching 200+ IP, and with the National League Central more competitive than it has been in years, the Cardinals will need their ace on the mound spearheading and leading the way for the others.
