Kuzul

The recognition has been quiet, and the hype has been nonexistent.

But there is substance. It exists under the radar for a team that has not had many splashes this season but has modestly positioned itself as the best team in the National League.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Randal Grichuk has played a significant role in that accomplishment, putting himself among the top candidates for NL Rookie of the Year. He’s the organization’s best offensive project since Albert Pujols, though he has never really been seen as an elite prospect despite being drafted one spot ahead of Mike Trout by the Los Angeles Angels in 2009.

Grichuk went into Wednesday hitting .291/.341/.571 with a .912 OPS, a 147 OPS+ and a 150 wRC+. He led all league rookies in Isolated Power (.279), wOBA (.385), wRC+, slugging percentage and OPS, and was third in FanGraphs WAR (2.8) despite starting the year as the Cardinals’ fourth or fifth outfielder. He also strikes out more than 30 percent of the time, far outpacing the league’s 19.6 percent non-pitcher rate.

He continued his production Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds, hitting a double that missed being a home run by centimeters as well as the game-winning homer in the 13th inning, his 13th of the season. He extended his hitting streak to eight games and had his team-high seventh game with at least two extra-base hits.

“He’s still a young guy figuring it all out,” Cardinals hitting coach John Mabry told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch during spring training. “He’s a Lamborghini. He’s got all the skills in the world. You look at his skill set and every person on this field and every person in this league would look at him and go, ‘Yeah, I want that.’ He’s got the tools. He’s also trying to manage them on the fly.”

The Angels did not have Grichuk as high as Trout on their 2009 draft board, but because they had back-to-back picks at Nos. 24 and 25, they went with Grichuk first in an attempt to tamp down Trout’s slot bonus. Trout has gone on to become the best player in the game. While that was happening, Grichuk failed to turn himself into a top-flight prospect, having never been rated in any major publication’s Top 100 list while in the minors.

That made him somewhat expendable in 2013, when the Angels traded him and Peter Bourjos to St. Louis for World Series hero David Freese and pitcher Fernando Salas. While Bourjos would provide immediate outfield help, Grichuk was still seen as a project, having just completed a disappointing season at Double-A: .306 OBP, .780 OPS.

He was a bit better the following year at Triple-A Memphis, earning playing time with the Cardinals in 2014, though not enough to sap his rookie eligibility for 2015. Entering this year’s spring training, the Cardinals had no one else close to the majors in their farm system with the raw power Grichuk possessed. So after he posted a .911 OPS in 44 Grapefruit League at-bats, the Cardinals decided to bring him along for Opening Day.

His first real chance for everyday playing time came in May after he spent time on the disabled list with a back injury. He started playing again on May 16, manning all three outfield positions and hitting .302/.339/.547 for that month.

Grichuk really made his presence felt while left fielder Matt Holliday was on the DL with a quad strain, an injury that could have devastated the lineup considering Holliday had a .417 OBP and .839 OPS at the time. But Grichuk made sure Holliday’s absence did not hurt the club as he batted .290/.342/.570 with a .912 OPS, seven doubles, four triples and five home runs in 30 games.

Things have only gotten better for Grichuk since Holliday returned—though the latter went back on the DL after aggravating the quad last week. Between July 17, when Holliday initially returned, and Wednesday’s game, Grichuk hit .339/.413/.696 with a 1.109 OPS and five homers.

Post All-Star Game: Randal Grichuk is batting .339 (21-62), 4 doubles, triple, 6 HR, 14 RBI, 1.132 OPS in 16 games.

— Chris Tunno (@TunesSTL) August 6, 2015

Manager Mike Matheny told reporters Wednesday:

He’s got some potential. You might see some swing and misses every once and a while, but you’re also going to see what you did tonight. I think he’s going to keep honing his approach at the plate, which is going to take some of those swing and misses out of play. But we’re not going to have him shorten up. He has the ability to jump the ball out of the park and change the game.

Grichuk struck out twice Wednesday, and he might always be a high-strikeout player. In order to keep up his current success, he might have to adjust his approach, though. As of now, a big reason for his production is his .387 BABIP, which dwarfs the .304 non-pitcher league average and seems unsustainable for the long term.

However, Grichuk also has a hard-hit rate of 37 percent. The league average is 29.5 percent, according to FanGraphs. And among players with at least 100 at-bats worth of batted-ball data, Grichuk ranks seventh in all of baseball with a 93.2 mph average exit velocity, via BaseballSavant.com.

So even with Grichuk’s approach flaws and good luck, he hits the ball hard enough that he could maintain this level of production for more than just a season, even after a correction to his BABIP.

Grichuk has used the first four months of this season to blossom into one of the league’s best rookies and one of St. Louis’ best hitters. And as the Cardinals push their way into the postseason over the next three months, his continued success will be counted on to keep them as a World Series contender.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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The hits keep coming for the St. Louis Cardinals, as Lance Lynn will be out for at least two weeks with a forearm injury. 

Continue for updates. 

Lynn Placed on DL

Friday, June 12

The Cardinals announced that Lynn was placed on the 15-day-disabled list, retroactive to June 8, and recalled Tyler Lyons to replace him.  

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Lynn “probably could have pitched” through the injury but the team wanted to err on the side of caution, per Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com.

Per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Mozeliak hopes Lynn will be able to return after 15 days before hyping the right-hander’s replacement:

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals’ current rotation has just one player who made at least 20 starts in 2014:

Lynn has been his usual solid self for the Cardinals this season, posting a 3.07 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 73.1 innings. Tyler Lyons struggled in three earlier MLB starts with a 5.54 ERA in 13 innings, but he did right the ship in Triple-A with a 2.61 ERA and 56 strikeouts against nine walks in 48.1 innings. 

The Cardinals have been fighting injuries all year, with Matt Adams on the 60-day disabled list and Adam Wainwright out for the season. Matt Holliday was also recently placed on the 15-day disabled list. 

With all those injuries, it’s easy to understand why the Cardinals would want to be cautious with Lynn. It also helps they have baseball’s best record entering play on Friday (39-21) and can afford to let player’s wounds heal properly without risking further complications. 

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(Warning: Video contains NSFW language.)

The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Chicago Cubs on Monday night, and before the game was even over, we knew who the MVP was.

Some random dude who ran onto the field.

This fellow was special, you see, because he had what most fans who pull these stunt never do: a goal.

The quick-footed sprinter eluded stadium security in right field and bolted toward home. Once there, he brought fans to their feet with a legendary somersault right on top of the ol‘ dish.

And they say baseball is boring.

[Instagram]

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You could say that the St. Louis Cardinals have enjoyed a good start for the most part. Bats have been active and pitching has been consistent, allowing less pressure to be on everyone and more talk to be about how well the team can do if Yadier Molina remains healthy.

But all of a sudden, ladies and gentlemen, the Chicago Cubs have shown they will have at least a degree of scrap about themselves.

After securing a 1-0 win against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs move up to within two games of St. Louis in these early standings. In Chicago terms, though, none of that matters; it’s on fire.

As of 4:48pm CST, May 1, 2015

Chicago has a winning record, a good streak and pitching that has finally shown up to keep it in games. In fact, with the win against the Brewers Friday, the Cubs tied St. Louis for the No. 3 spot in baseball with three shutouts this season.

St. Louis’ pitching might just be challenged here.

The fun part—because yes here’s where it gets good—as of Friday night, the Cardinals will have 10 games against the Cubs before the All-Star break. That’s more than against any other team on the St. Louis schedule. The two play just two series after the break, meaning the Cardinals have a greater chance now to affect their positioning later in the season.

Both of the second-half series come in the second and third weeks of September.

If the Cubs are going to be a contender this season as it certainly appears that they could, now will be the time or St. Louis to play its best baseball.

Despite the obvious loss of Adam Wainwright being the headline-taker for now, the Cardinals should be thankful that their injury situation is as favorable as it is, given that now is when they will need to be healthy for these games against Chicago.

For traditionalists, it’s great to see the Cardinals and the Cubs again squaring off at the top of the division, even if it is early. But there’s no time to get caught up in the excitement. If the Cardinals are serious about taking the National League Central Division in 2015, it’s time to win.

Follow Dan Irwin on Twitter @irwinsports or on Facebook.

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It was 67 degrees when the St. Louis Cardinals lost their home opener to the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4. With that type of weather, it’s OK (sometimes) to take your shirt off. 

One Cardinals fan bared it all, showing off a mural of Busch Stadium painted on his belly. Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jeff Rearden got it painted on at a bar before the game. You would assume it would take a couple of drinks to agree to this, but Rearden was up for anything.

“I just let the artist do whatever she wanted. And she painted this.”

He did attract some attention, though. 

In all honesty, it is pretty sweet. 

[Twitter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

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It wasn’t long after the end of the 2014 season that general manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny informed Carlos Martinez that he’d report to spring training as a starter in 2015.

It was the same message Mozeliak had for the 23-year-old right-hander after the 2013 season.

But after losing to Joe Kelly last spring, Martinez seems to have an inside track toward the final spot in the team’s Opening Day rotation this time around, a spot made available through the trades of Kelly and Shelby Miller.

Armed with a triple-digit fastball and a deep arsenal of swing-and-miss offerings, Martinez has emerged as one of the more dominant late-inning relievers in baseball, making 70 appearances out of the Cardinals’ bullpen since arriving on the scene in May 2013.

Yet the organization has never given up on his upside as a starter. It’s probably because the right-hander showed huge potential in the role during his time in the minor leagues, with a 2.61 ERA, .215 opponents’ batting average and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings in 338 innings over 69 starts (70 appearances overall).

Martinez has started eight games for the Cardinals over the last two seasons, but his inconsistency in the role as well as the organization’s pitching depth have kept him from locking down a spot in the rotation.

This year, however, Martinez is determined to break camp as a starter. He spent part of the offseason playing in the Dominican Winter League, where he pitched to a 2.25 ERA with 26 strikeouts against two walks in 24 innings (five starts), and he’s already received glowing reviews from members of the organization after reporting to spring training ahead of schedule.

“A year ago you’d just see a kid bounding around here. It’s amazing the transformation,” Matheny told The Associated Press (h/t Fox Sports Midwest) earlier in the week. “In general there’s a whole different demeanor to him.”

So will this be the year Martinez finally sticks as a starter?

As a reliever, Martinez throws mostly fastballs, both four-seamers and sinkers, and sliders, and they’re each extraordinary pitches by all measures.

Martinez’s average fastball velocity of 96.7 mph in 2014 was tied for third highest among all pitchers with at least 80 innings pitched, per FanGraphs, while Brooks Baseball says he topped out at 101.97 mph last April.

Unsurprisingly, Martinez also throws his sinker (or two-seam fastball) exceptionally hard, averaging 95.2 mph with the pitch. He can struggle to control the pitch (17.78 percent strike rate) but generally keeps it down in the zone, as only seven percent of the balls put in play last season against his sinker were in the air compared to 65 percent on the ground.

So what makes the 23-year-old’s sinker so good? Beyond throwing it harder than most other pitchers, Martinez’s sinker stands out for its difference in vertical movement relative to his four-seamer. Specifically, the right-hander’s fastball averaged 8.2 inches of vertical movement last season where as his sinker had 3.2 inches, meaning there was more than a five-inch gap between pitches.

And then there’s Martinez’s slider, which was his best swing-and-miss offering last season thanks to a 24.2 percent whiff rate, per Brooks Baseball. In general, his slider generated whiffs on 45.5 percent of all swings. Martinez’s success with the pitch might have something to do with the fact he threw it nearly five miles per hour harder last season (86.5 mph) than he did in 2013 (81.6 mph), as it also allowed him to create more vertical movement.

Martinez’s changeup was widely viewed as his best secondary offering during his rise through the minor leagues, but he’s had to dial back his use of the pitch significantly as a reliever. But while the right-hander threw it only 2.9 percent of the time, he still was able to produce a nearly 21 percent whiff rate.

Improving his changeup has been a focal point for Martinez this offseason, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

It’s a circle changeup and it has depth to it. The changeup is not a new pitch for him. There was a time during his development that a scout told me Martinez could get “changeup happy” when he should just pile-drive the fastball. Played off his fastball, the changeup was viewed was one of his best and most deceptive pitches as he worked his way through the minors.

But for as good as Martinez’s stuff is, the 23-year-old still has plenty of room for improvement in terms of his command, evidenced by his 3.63 walks per nine innings last season.

The bigger issue is Martinez’s career splits, as he’s dominated right-handed batters in the major leagues but struggled mightily against lefties.

More specifically, he has problems throwing strikes and induce whiffs from left-handed hitters like he does righties:

Combine all that with the concerns regarding his long-term durability as a starter, and you begin to see why the Cardinals want Martinez to earn his spot in the rotation this spring. His main competition is left-handers Jaime Garcia and Marco Gonzales, and it’s possible that Carlos Villanueva could also receive consideration should the other hurlers struggle.

However, none of them have as much upside as Martinez.

Few do.

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Adam Wainwright is starting 2015 the same way he ended last year: battling an injury. This time, the St. Louis Cardinals ace is reportedly dealing with an abdominal issue.     

Continue for updates.

Wainwright to Receive Exam on Abdominal Pain

Tuesday, Feb. 24

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wainwright will return to St. Louis for an examination:

In his full report, Goold wrote the Cardinals are expecting to know by Thursday “the treatment Wainwright will require and how much time he’ll miss.”

The report includes a quote from Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak saying the team’s level of concern is “medium at this point.” It also notes that Wainwright’s abdominal issue is only prevalent when he’s working out, not when he’s pitching. 

Wainwright, who has finished in the top three for NL Cy Young voting each of the last two years, underwent arthroscopic surgery to trim cartilage in his right elbow after St. Louis lost to San Francisco in the National League Championship Series. 

The Cardinals have to be extra careful with Wainwright this year since their pitching staff has thinned out in the last 12 months. Michael Wacha is an unknown quantity after missing most of 2014. Shelby Miller was traded to Atlanta. John Lackey can eat innings, but he’s 36 years old and in the twilight of his career. 

Wainwright is the workhorse for this rotation, having thrown 468.2 innings in the regular season since 2013. He’s starting to get up there at 33 years old and will need to be protected, especially in the spring, to make it through the rigors of a 162-game season. 

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ST. LOUIS — There were times when he was on a naval ship somewhere on the other side of the world that Lt. Mitch Harris wondered if his dream to play major league baseball would ever become more than that or would remain only a dream.

He knew the odds were against him. Having to complete a five-year active duty requirement following his graduation from the United States Naval Academy meant that he could not begin a professional career until 2013, when he was 27 years old, an age when many baseball careers are ending, not just getting started.

Harris, however, fought through those temporary moments of doubt. He would find a buddy and go out on the ship’s flight deck for a game of catch, doing whatever he could to try to keep his right arm in shape.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without all of the people who supported me and pulled for me,” Harris said by telephone Thursday from his offseason home in Georgia. “In my lowest and roughest times they told me, ‘You can do this.’ That’s the biggest part for me.”

That’s one of the reasons Harris will be thinking about those people next week when he moves one step closer to making his dream a reality. He will walk into the St. Louis Cardinals’ major league spring training camp in Jupiter, Florida, where a locker and jersey, No. 73, with his name on the back will be waiting for him.

Harris is one of 18 non-roster players invited to the Cardinals’ major league camp, but none of the other 17 has a story comparable to what Harris has accomplished.

“It’s a heck of a story,” said Mike Shildt, who was Harris’ manager last season at Double-A Springfield (Missouri). “Now effectively it has gone past the point where it is more of a novelty. He’s carved out an opportunity for himself, and I couldn’t be more excited for him.

“Perseverance, vision, patience, self-belief…it speaks volumes about that young man. He deserves all of the credit for doing the work, but I do appreciate and respect very much the manner in which the organization has stuck by him.”

Harris, a 13th-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2008 draft, put himself in this position with two years of hard work following his five years away from the game he loves.

He pitched at a rookie-level club, the State College, Pennsylvania, Spikes in 2013, and then he rose from Class-A Palm Beach through Double-A Springfield before finishing last season at Triple-A Memphis. He capped off the year with an assignment in the Arizona Fall League.

Combined through the three levels, Harris was 2-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 42 games, all in relief. He struck out 45 hitters in 57 innings, walked 19 and limited opponents to a .221 batting average. He was 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 11 games in Arizona.

“In the back of my mind, if you are going to do this, you have to have the attitude you can do it,” Harris said. “You can’t come out there and wonder if you’ve got it. You’ve got to tell yourself you have it and prove it to yourself. I think that’s what last year was, not only proving to myself what I thought all along, but to everyone else. When I was drafted in 2008 I told them if they would give me a shot hopefully I would make it worthwhile. I felt I owed it to the club. My goal is to make that a worthwhile pick.

“I knew last year was going to have to be a big year for me, and I was fortunate enough to pitch well and put myself in a situation where I was able to move up. That totally needed to happen going into this year. Now I feel like I’m in a situation, as long as I pitch the way I know I am capable of and continue to progress and get stronger, that if there is a spot open I can work hard enough to put myself in that spot.”

Even though he is now 29 years old, Harris’ age and relative lack of experience—73 career games counting his time in the fall league—are basically irrelevant. Now that he is on the cusp of competing for a spot in the Cardinals’ bullpen, all that matters is can he retire major league hitters.

“I think last year, talking to several of the coaches and guys in the organization, they helped me to really throw that (his age) out the window and get past that,” Harris said. “They helped me realize as long as I take care of what I can take care of, on and off the field, I can put myself in a situation where the front office has to make a decision: Is this guy ready? Can we put him in the big leagues? Can he help our club? Hopefully that is the direction I am heading.”

Harris, who still has about a year remaining on his reserves duty requirement, has been able to restore the velocity he had on his fastball in college, sitting in the low 90s, to go along with a cutter and improved slider. He also began developing a splitter in the second half of last season.

“He did a great job for us,” Shildt said. “I saw him continue to improve. Double-A is a corrective league usually, and he was able to make adjustments and move forward and fine-tune his game. He got more consistent as the season progressed.”

Harris believes the experience he has gained has allowed him to take this next step on his journey, but he is not celebrating. He is saving that for the day he realizes his ultimate goal of making his big-league dream come true.

“What I told myself this offseason was to go into spring training thinking you have a shot at the big league club,” Harris said. “I want to put myself in a situation when that time comes. I’ve got to be ready. That’s something I’ve learned through the organization.

“You literally are an injury away. Anything can happen.”

If Harris does make it to the major leagues, he would become only the second player ever who graduated from the Naval Academy to reach that level. The other was Nemo Gaines, who pitched in four games for the Washington Senators over a three-week span in 1921, 94 years ago.

“That’s a stat I’m still researching,” Harris said. “I looked him up not too long ago. I don’t know the full history.”

Many players have gone from the Naval Academy to the NFL, and David Robinson had an outstanding career in the NBA after his graduation.

“I think baseball is tougher,” Harris said. “In my mind with the other sports you can always work on things wherever you are. But pitching is finely tuned. It’s not a sport where you can just go off by yourself and work on things. You have to be able to work with someone else. That’s kind of hard to do when you are on a ship.”

That is one of the reasons why making it to the major leagues is so important for Harris, both for himself and for all of those friends who have accompanied him along the way.

“I’ve said all along my time of reflection will be once I make it to big leagues,” he said. “My goal isn’t a step at a time. My goal is to make it to the big leagues, whatever it takes. If I was to slip up and relax and take time to reflect and look back, it gives me an opportunity to not work as hard as maybe I should be working.

“I don’t want to relax until I’ve reached that ultimate goal, which is to make it to the big leagues and be successful in the big leagues. Once I do that I will give myself some time of reflection. … I will be super excited when that day comes, and even more excited to see everybody else who has been involved in this journey being able to be excited and live that experience with me.”

Shildt will be one of those people. 

“It’s a special story,” he said. “The final chapters are yet to be written. You have to pull for this guy.

“When I was in the lower levels, with guys who had just signed, I told them, ‘Whatever you do, run the race. Take advantage of the opportunity you have, whether you are good enough or not good enough, run the race. Be all in.’

“Mitch has been all in, and he’s starting to reap the benefits of his labor and his faith.”

Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have long been a team of rich history and respect. The phrase “The Cardinal Way” has become well known. It stands for the way a player handles himself on and off the field. It also seems to give insight into why the franchise loses faith in some players.

The Cardinals bring in numerous instructors to spring training every year. The history of the franchise comes to life to help the stars of tomorrow succeed. The coaching that is provided from both veterans on the roster and former players serving as special instructors can become invaluable to a young player coming into stardom. The team fully expects players to take advantage of the help and to trust in the system provided.

Many players have come through the system only to be traded away. Some were labeled “clubhouse cancer,” others were simply unwilling to be coached. Most of the time, those details begin to surface after the player and team have parted ways.

During the 2013 postseason, fans were confused by the absence of Shelby Miller. He was on the roster but was not used by manager Mike Matheny. Miller was reportedly healthy but remained unused for most of the playoffs.

Miller had his problems in the minor leagues. He found himself suspended indefinitely in 2011 for reported incidents involving alcohol, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Even after that, the team seemed willing to move forward with the pitcher.

Miller, now a member of the Atlanta Braves, recently spoke with Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. During the conversation, Miller spoke highly of St. Louis and described the move to Atlanta as a great step for him and his career. Cunningham shares a bit of information that provides a look into Miller’s relationship with the Cardinals:

Miller said he’s been a ‘stubborn pitcher’ in the past, sticking to what he knows even when teammates and coaches who might know better offered him advice. That included Miller sticking with a four-seam fastball that opposing batters constantly fouled off, raising his pitch count.

Suddenly, Miller’s situation in St. Louis gains some clarity. If he was unwilling to change his approach, the team would have likely seen that as a problem. Carrying him on the postseason roster may have only been a move to ensure the team had a pitcher there for an emergency. 

It is likely that Matheny did not trust Miller in high-leverage situations. Edward Mujica shared his thoughts with Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com after a blown save in 2013. He explained what many others felt at the time, you simply throw what Yadier Molina tells you to throw. The game plan is well laid out.

Miller wasn’t willing to throw what Yadi was calling. He continued to stick with his four-seam fastball. He was, in his own words, stubborn. That simply is not the “Cardinal Way”.

Miller’s folly can benefit some of the young pitchers coming through the Cardinals organization. Youngsters like Marco Gonzales and Michael Wacha will benefit from listening to their mentors during their time in the system. Veteran leaders and former players will continue to lay out the plan for success for these young men.

Not listening seems to be how young prospects find their way out of St. Louis.

Bill Ivie is the founder of I-70 Baseball. Follow him on Twitter to discuss baseball anytime.

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Adam Wainwright has been the ace of the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff for a few years. Once the understudy to Chris Carpenter, Wainwright now finds himself the veteran of the pitching staff. That role requires much more than just pitching at a high level.

Wainwright has often found himself among the top pitchers in his league statistically. A veteran of 10 years with the Cardinals, Wainwright has found himself among the top three finishers for the Cy Young Award on three separate occasions. He has won two Gold Glove Awards and represented the National League in three All-Star Games. He has even been recognized in his league’s Most Valuable Player voting, having finished in the top 20 four times in his career.

Those types of accolades make a player rise to the top of the rotation. The top spot in the rotation for a team like the St. Louis Cardinals requires a bit more.

Wainwright seems like a clubhouse leader in most aspects. You can find him talking, dancing or carrying on with any number of teammates during warm-ups or in the dugout. He is very open with his Christian beliefs. His dedication to God and his family is inspiring to many.

He also takes the time to work with the young pitchers who come through the organization. He actively seeks players out. He seems to take his role as a leader of the ballclub very seriously.

His work with his teammates is something that has become more apparent recently. Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins were traded to Atlanta this offseason for outfielder Jason Heyward and reliever Jordan Walden. 

Speaking with Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miller and Jenkins both had praise for the work that Wainwright put in with them. According to Cunningham, both young pitchers had a hard time coming to terms with leaving St. Louis initially but have warmed up to the idea as spring approaches.

Miller admits to Cunningham that he was quite stubborn at times while with St. Louis and was not willing to make changes. Miller credits Wainwright with encouraging him to begin throwing a sinker. It was a new pitch in Miller’s arsenal that might help him approach hitters differently. While he did not embrace it until another pitcher, Justin Masterson, introduced him to a grip he was comfortable with, he now sees the benefit in what Wainwright was teaching him.

Miller told Cunningham the pitch is “a huge pitch for me this year that hopefully is going to take me to the next level.”

Wainwright reportedly helped Jenkins out in a different way. Jenkins had altered his mechanics considerably from the approach he had in high school before he was drafted. Wainwright took the pitcher aside and encouraged him to go back to the way he used to pitch, allowing him to be more comfortable on the mound.

“I thought I had to fit in, so I started changing my mechanics, and my arm slot got a little higher, and things were a little out of sync,” Jenkins told Cunningham. “Adam Wainwright told me, ‘Hey, you are going to be who you are, so just pitch the way you want.'”

Jenkins has pitched well since reverting back to his original delivery. The Braves hope that he can continue to have a strong showing entering the 2015 season.

The Cardinals will look for Wainwright to do more of the same. His production on the mound will be paramount to the team’s future success. His work with young pitchers will continue to be important as the team looks for more prospects to mature into major league players in the near future.

Wainwright is an ace in every sense of the word. The Cardinals need him to be just that.

Transaction and award information in this article courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Bill Ivie is the founder of I-70 Baseball. Follow him on Twitter to discuss baseball anytime.

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