Benny Sieu – USA Today Sports
So far, we’ve seen a year of dominant starting pitching in MLB. We’ve seen guys like Matt Harvey and Shelby Miller burst onto the scene, and we’ve seen the usual dominating performances from Clayton Kershaw and Jordan Zimmermann.
Someone that doesn’t get talked about nearly as much as he should is tonight’s starter for the St. Louis Cardinals, Adam Wainwright.
So far, Wainwright is 5-3 with a 2.51 ERA. He is tied for fifth in wins, ninth in ERA, eighth in WHIP, fifth in strikeouts and leads all of baseball with a 12.60 K/BB ratio. He doesn’t just lead that category — he has a 7.60 K/BB lead on the second best in that category. He has only walked five batters this year in 64.2 innings pitched.
Command like that is truly remarkable, and Wainwright will take his turn in the rotation tonight against the San Diego Padres.
The Padres are sixth in the National League in walks this year and they just beat the Cardinals’ other Cy Young candidate, Shelby Miller. If the Padres are going to have any chance, look for Everth Cabrera to try and wreak havoc at the top of the order by working the count, getting on base and stealing bases.
The story really is Wainwright though. He looks to have regained his pre-Tommy John surgery form and then some. Before having to sit out the 2011 season with the injury, Wainwright finished third and second in Cy Young voting respectively.
After a 14-13 season last year, Wainwright seems all the way back and is ready to make another run at the award. If he continues to be this accurate, Wainwright could do some unthinkable things on the mound this year.
For now, he will just look to get his sixth win of the year tonight against the Padres.
Zach Slotter is a writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @zlot6, Like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.
