It was announced today that Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals will need Tommy John surgery.
Having been one of the most valuable pitchers in baseball over the last couple seasons, this is a huge blow to a Cardinals team that could be trying to make one last run with slugger Albert Pujols before he tests free agency.
Here’s a look at other pitchers who have had the surgery and what it cost their teams.
As 9 Inning Blog reported yesterday, Adam Wainwright will indeed continue with his decision to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
Wainwright did go for a second opinion today and it did conclude that he will have to go under the knife.
Tommy John surgery usually requires 12-18 months of rehabilitation. Tough break for a kid who was slowly coming up in the ranks as a pitcher.
Wainwright has gone the past four seasons winning 10+ games and finished the past two seasons with 200+ strikeouts. Last year, he was 20-11 with 2.42 ERA and the previous year, he was 19-8 with 2.63 ERA.
Cardinals will be able to void their $9 million option for 2012 and $12 million for 2013, so it will be interesting to see how they handle his contract situation.
The bigger question is who is going to replace the right-hander. I offered some insight on who could replace him yesterday and came to the conclusion that it will be Kyle McClellan.
However, a few more names have been thrown in the mix as well. Ian Snell, Lance Lynn, Brian Tallet and Miguel Batista could also be part of the in-house mix that gets the job. Also, consider Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Bonderman, who both have yet to find jobs in the majors this season.
I also heard that if either the Yankees’ Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia do not make the team out of Spring Training, they have an out-clause in their contracts where they could get released.
If anything, Wainwright’s 15+ wins are going to be very difficult to replace, especially in the ever more competitive National League Central.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
Whether he becomes a one-year wonder remains to be seen, but Carlos Gonzalez will enter the 2011 season as one of the most feared hitters in the National League. Actually, in the NL West, the only hitter that may give pitchers nightmares more than Gonzalez is his teammate, Troy Tulowitzki.
Gonzalez broke out in a huge way in 2010. In 145 games, he hit .336/.376/.598 with 111 runs scored, 197 hits, 34 doubles, 9 triples, 34 homers, 117 RBI’s and 26 stolen bases.
He led the National League in hits, total bases and batting average. CarGo also finished third in the NL MVP voting, won his first Gold Glove and also his first Silver Slugger.
Prior to his enormous 2010 season, Gonzalez played in parts of two seasons with the Athletics and Rockies. Combined, he played in 174 games, scored 84 runs, 152 hits, 36 doubles, 8 triples, 17 homers, 55 RBI’s and 20 stolen bases.
He always had tons of potential, but he never showed any signs of cashing in on any of it.
This season, that player could easily be Cardinals’ center fielder, Colby Rasmus.
Like Gonzalez, Rasmus is a young lefty with some pop in his bat. Really, the only thing different about the two is that Rasmus has been an everyday player in his first two seasons in the bigs.
In 2009, his rookie season, Rasmus hit .251/.307/.407 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI’s. He had 119 hits and 22 doubles.
2010 saw slightly more success for Rasmus, as he hit .276/.361/.498 with 23 home runs and 66 RBI’s. He had 128 hits and 28 doubles.
Rasmus made slight improvements between his rookie and sophomore campaigns, but expect signs of greatness this season.
Rasmus clearly has the potential to produce at the level Gonzalez did in 2010 and he may channel that potential this season.
A season like Gonzalez’s 2010 may be a reality for Rasmus this season. He has a lot of power and has the ability to drive in runs with the lineup that he hits in. Stealing 26 bases might not happen, but a respectable 15 is a possibility.
So pitchers, beware. Rasmus could be in line for a .300/.370/.550 season with 30+ dingers and 100+ RBI’s, and he could be one his way to becoming one of the more feared hitters in the National League.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
Word hit Wednesday morning that Cardinals’ ace Adam Wainwright has been flown back to St. Louis to have his right elbow examined by team doctors.
The Cardinals (and fantasy managers) across the country are holding their collective breaths, but it’s expected that Wainwright will undergo Tommy John surgery, which would sideline him for 12-18 months.
This is a devastating blow to not only the Cardinals, but those who own Wainwright as well. The 29-year-old was among the top-ranked starting pitchers this season, checking in as the No. 2 pitcher (27th overall) in our rankings.
Our updated starting pitcher rankings now exclude Wainwright, but everything else is the same. Click on each player for a more in-depth analysis, including 2011 projections!
2011 TOP 10 STARTING PITCHERS
1. Roy Halladay (SP – Phi): Five-year averages: 236 IP, 18 wins, 1.42 BB/9, 2.96 ERA, 1.11 WHIP. Entering age-34 season, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t continue dominance.
2. Tim Lincecum (SP – SF): Regression in K/9, BB/9, HR/9, batting average against, ERA and WHIP last year after improving all categories in previous two seasons. Decrease in fastball velocity and fourth-least effective curveball also contributed to his 2010 decline. Throw out unlucky August, however, and his season ERA drops from 3.43 to 2.79.
3. Felix Hernandez (SP – Sea): Lowest ERA (2.27) in majors last year to go along with stellar peripherals: 8.36 K/9, 2.52 BB/9, .210 BAA, 1.06 WHIP. Low BABIP (.263) and sub-2.50 ERA curse, however, suggest regression in 2011.
4. Cliff Lee (SP – Phi): Since 2007 minor-league stint, he has averaged 222 innings, 16 wins, 7.23 K/9, 1.28 BB/9, 2.98 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP per season with four different MLB teams. And now he’s a No. 2 starter on a team with plenty of run support.
5. Josh Johnson (SP – Fla): Since 2005, only five starters have an ERA lower than Johnson’s mark of 3.10 (min. 600 innings). Top-five among qualified starters last season in ERA, FIP, xFIP, HR/9, contact rate and swinging strike rate.
6. Jon Lester (SP – Bos): Has the ninth-best ERA (3.29) among starters who’ve logged 600 innings since 2008. Of the eight pitchers with a lower ERA during that time, only Lincecum has a better strikeout rate (10.25) than Lester (8.72).
7. Clayton Kershaw (SP – LAD): Youngest of 45 pitchers that logged 200-plus innings in 2010. Of that group, only Lincecum, Lester and Weaver posted a strikeout rate better than Kershaw’s (9.34). His age-21 (2009) and age-22 (2010) seasons show he’s well ahead of where Felix Hernandez was at the same ages.
8. Cole Hamels (SP – Phi): Only eight pitchers since 2007 (min. 800 IP) have lower ERA than his total of 3.44. Ranked second among qualified starters last year in contact rate, swinging strike rate, and 10th in strikeout rate. Clearly best No. 4 starter in the majors; should lead to career high in wins this season.
9. Zack Greinke (SP – Mil): Wide range of ERAs (3.47, 2.16, 4.17) and K/9 (7.40, 9.50, 8.14) in last three seasons. 2010 LOB rate (65.3 percent), FIP (3.34) and xFIP (3.76) indicate he was better than 4.17 ERA. Numbers against N.L. since 2008 (7-2, 3.39 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 8.23 K/9, 1.57 BB/9) suggest forthcoming success in Milwaukee.
10. Ubaldo Jimenez (SP – Col): Improved innings pitched, wins, strikeout rate, ERA, WHIP and batting average against in each of last three seasons. Totals after June, however, are discouraging: 4.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 9.43 K/9, 4.19 BB/9 in 120 1/3 innings. Needs to lower his walk rate (3.74 in 2010) to become true elite fantasy pitcher.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: FANTASY BASEBALL INSIDERS
Latest from Fantasy Baseball Insiders:
Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ 2011 Big Board:
MLB Trades: Fantasy Impact:
Previous articles from Fantasy Baseball Insiders:
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
The St. Louis Cardinals were dealt a big blow when they learned that 20-game winner Adam Wainwright could miss the season with an elbow injury.
The last thing a team with playoff hopes wants to hear is that their top-of-the-rotation pitcher is lost before the season even begins.
What this does is turn the Cardinals’ attention to finding a replacement.
While the Cardinals say they won’t be looking for a replacement outside the organization, they have to at least consider it. Even if they can’t get someone who is equal to the value of Wainwright, they can at least take a stab at getting someone who can either help them for the future, or just eat enough innings to matter.
The truth is that there are some trades to be made if the Cardinals are willing to do it and these are the 10 trades they could look to for a player to replace their 20-game winner.
The New York Knicks will soon kick off the Carmelo Anthony era and try to find the reason for bidding against themselves for a player that the Denver Nuggets had to trade.
What the Carmelo-led Knicks will truly look like won’t be known until the 2011-2012 season at the earliest—and that’s assuming there’s a season.
In any event, we can look forward to Carmelo moving off the front page soon.
That will set the stage for the next batter in the sports version of reality TV, Albert Pujols.
Pujols has already said he is ending contract negotiations and will be entering free agency at the end of the year.
The Cardinals have seemingly made their last, best offer.
Sound familiar?
Now, the Cardinals are facing the likelihood of losing Adam Wainwright for all of 2011 and beyond.
Without a suitable replacement, this season could get away from them very quickly—which could give Pujols a Carmelo-sized case of wanderlust.
What could make this situation very interesting are the recent comments made to Comcast SportsNet by GM Kenny Williams of the Chicago White Sox.
Without mentioning Pujols directly, he said there may not be an abundance of teams looking to pay the $30 million salary that Pujols is looking for.
“For the game’s health as a whole, when we’re talking about $30 million players, I think it’s asinine.”
That being said, you have to imagine there will be someone looking to rent Pujols for a few months even with no guarantee that he’ll sign long-term.
The question is what they will be willing to give to the Cardinals.
There’s a saying that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
When the Dallas Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for the draft picks that turned into three Super Bowls, many teams said never again.
Other baseball teams must be looking at the New York Knicks this morning and saying never again.
I’m not a meteorologist, but I sense a very hot summer in St. Louis.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
The St. Louis Cardinals have recently suffered a devastating blow upon learning that star pitcher Adam Wainwright has a severe elbow injury. Wainwright won 20 games for the Cards in 2010, posting a 2.42 ERA.
Unfortunately, injured aces around the major leagues is nothing new.
The Cubs lost top young pitcher Mark Prior to injury, and Brandon Webb, now with the Texas Rangers, is another sad story.
Let’s take a look at some top aces from the recent years who have faced career-threatening surgery.
The St. Louis Cardinals looked like they had everything ready for one final good run in 2011, before Albert Pujols hits the free agent market. Unfortunately, they have now received possibly the worst news they could hear outside of Pujols signing elsewhere.
Adam Wainwright, ace pitcher for the Cardinals, is being sent back to St. Louis to have tests done on his elbow, and Tommy John surgery is likely. If this is the case, then he’s done for the 2011 season.
Besides dashing playoff hopes for the season (the Reds and Brewers make this a very tough division), this could throw a wrench in the works on the Albert Pujols contract situation. How will this injury affect Pujols’ re-signing with the Cardinals?
It has been a rough 2011 so far for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Contract discussions with uber-stud Albert Pujols went south pretty quickly, with negotiations now called off until after the season. The likelihood of Pujols hitting the free agency pool has greatly increased.
But perhaps the most damaging news for the Cardinals’ 2011 season (with direct effect on fantasy baseball rankings for the year) may have come today in the form of Adam Wainwright and a damaged ligament in the ace pitcher’s right elbow.
Wainwright, who has finished in the top three of the NL Cy Young award voting the past two seasons, injured a ligament in his right elbow during practice Wednesday … the same ligament that was causing some discomfort at the end of the 2010 season.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak considered it a “significant injury,” and signs are pointing more and more towards Tommy John surgery for the 29-year-old.
From a fantasy standpoint, Wainwright has emerged as an elite option at a position filled with potential upside, but also numerous red flags. His 2.42 ERA in 230 innings pitched during the 2010 campaign marked the fourth consecutive season that he trimmed his ERA. He struck out 425 batters in the past two years, winning 39 games and recording six complete games during that span.
Obviously from a redraft standpoint, if Wainwright does require Tommy John surgery, he won’t find himself anywhere near a mound in 2011. He should be removed from all redraft rankings at this point, and his status altered in keeper and dynasty leagues, accordingly.
The possible blow also cripples the chances that the Cardinals can win an increasingly competitive NL-Central, as the squad at the moment could be looking at a rotation of Chris Carpenter, Jake Westbrook, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse and P.J. Walters barring any free agent signings.
If you are drafting a fantasy squad in the coming days, be sure to watch the Wainwright situation closely. For the time being, you can definitely drop him from my recent 2011 fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings short of a miracle recovery that doesn’t require surgery. For the rest of my current rankings, go here: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
While quirky advice, my Harry Stamper strategy to draft day dominance has become pretty popular.
For all your hard-hitting fantasy baseball advice, go to www.chinstrapninjas.com
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
The St. Louis Cardinals offer plenty of fantasy baseball value in 2011 from font to back of the draft board. But the Cardinals have also had some issues with consistency over the past few years, and a couple of questions surrounding some key players.
All this and more is covered below. Let’s take a look at what the St. Louis Cardinals have to offer in the 2011 fantasy baseball season.
Impact Players (Hitters):
The Pitching Staff: The following is a preliminary look at the projected lineup and what you could expect.
|
1. Adam Wainwright: The staff’s ace, Wainwright remains one of the best starting pitchers in the National League, and should be considered a Top 10 pitcher on draft day. He is 64-34 with a 2.93 ERA since becoming a full-time starter in 2007 and has become one of the better Fantasy options in baseball for his low ERA and high strikeout totals.
UPDATE – 2/23/2011: Club officials are saying that Waino could need Tommy John surgery, reports Joe Strauss on Twitter. While it is not completely definitive, this suden injury is still very bad news for Cardinals’ fans and fantasy baseball fans. As the news comes in, I’ll keep you guys abreast. |
| 2. Chris Carpenter: Carpenter is a solid SP2 out of St. Louis who can throw a ton of strikes and provide fantasy baseball owners with those ever crucial wins. His durability could be a slight worry with his history of injuries, but if he remains healthy, he’s a solid Top 20 SP. |
| 3. Jamie Garcia: Last year was Garcia’s rookie year, and it was a pretty good one as he went 13-8 with 132 strikeouts and an outstanding 2.70 ERA. He missed the last two games of the regular season due to arm fatigue, but that is always expected with rookies. Garcia is a great option in the middle region of your fantasy baseball draft with no limitations to league type. |
| 4. Kyle Lohse: Lohse can pitch and throw strikes, but he’s more of an injury risk than anything. Keep him on your watch list after the season begins and explore other options at the end of your draft. |
| 5. Jake Westbrook: A lot of people still think that Westbrook is a nice option as a late round flyer, but I’m not buying into it. Westbrook has always been a 50-50 pitcher with low strike counts, so he doesn’t come with a lot of value even at a dollar in an auction draft. You can do better. |
Potential Sleeper: David Freese, 3B: Freese’s rookie season was a disappointment after only hitting four dingers in 240 AB, but that could be attributed to his ongoing ankle problems that were corrected surgically this off-season. Remember, this was the same kid who knocked 26 moonshots in his first season at Triple-A.
Freese should be rearing to go by April, and you can bet the kid will provide 20-25 HR with an average around .300 making him a worthy candidate for sleeper in nearly every league type.
And ta boot, he’ll more than likely be available in the back end of your fantasy baseball draft making his value extra tasty.
What You Should Know: The Cardinals offer much more in the hitting department outside of the three players mentioned above. Skip Schumaker, Ryan Theriot, Lance Berkman and even Yadier Molina are all worthy candidates for your consideration on draft day.
The only thing is, though, all of these players are best suited for the back end of your draft selection, and aren’t very good selections in deeper leagues—NL only leagues are more fitting.
The bullpen, and the starting rotation’s reliability for an entire season remains the most questionable aspect of the Cardinals, and you can find much better options than the likes of Ryan Franklin or Jason Motte.
Still,the Cardinals have plenty of shelf material for managers to consider when shopping around. Keep this team in the back of your mind on draft day, especially towards the end of your 2011 fantasy baseball draft.
Interested in another team? Check out our other Team Analysis: Phillies – Cubs – White Sox – Orioles – Reds – Yankees – Red Sox – A’s
This article is also featured on Fantasyknuckleheads.com
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com