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The new ace in a hole

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Last season, I wrote about how the then-ace of the Cardinals, Adam Wainwright, was struggling mightily.

And while this season is not even a full month in, the NEW ace of the Cardinals is struggling as well. That man is 25-year old Carlos Martinez. I also delved into the young pitcher’s struggles on this past Tuesday’s episode of The Jeremy Karp Show, which can be found notably on iTunes.

So, what is Martinez’s issue? It’s a combination of many things.

First off, he has been widely inconsistent.

Prior to his second no-decision of the season on Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays, Martinez started 0-3 (his opening night game against Chicago was a no-decision as well) in his first four games on the season with an impressive 12.31 k/9, as well as an 1.19 HR/9 and 4.37 BB/9.

Against the New York Yankees, he struck out 11 batters but walked eight. When he faced the Milwaukee Brewers, he allowed two walks in addition to allowing two home runs. He has struggled to maintain control of his fastball, considered by many to be his best pitch, and his mechanics have taken a dive.

Second is his inability to go deep into games. He through 118 pitches in the aforementioned start against the Yankees (though that may also show the lack of trust St. Louis has in their bullpen pitchers). He hasn’t gone past the sixth inning once all season. Many will also point out the lack of run support given to the starting pitchers thus far, but at the same time, guys like Michael Wacha and Mike Leake have done very well without much run support as well.

Wainwright, who is beginning to take on a more John Lackey-type veteran role, recently won his first game of the season as well. Martinez better do the same too, before the organization really looks into if they made a mistake choosing him to be the new ace.

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