Should the St. Louis Cardinals pitching trio be compared to Atlanta Braves trio?
By Danielle
With the 2014 Hall of Fame announcement by the BBWAA right around the corner, it’s no surprise that the St. Louis Cardinals pitchers are being compared to the likes of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.
Sep 24, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) celebrates with starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) after a game against the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium. Wacha threw 8.2 innings allowing one hit and striking out nine as St. Louis defeated Washington 2-0. Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
While Smoltz playing for the Cardinals in his final playing season of 2009 may or may not be remembered by many, Adam Wainwright came through early in his career with the Atlanta Braves organization before being traded just over 10 years ago. There’s no doubt that Wainwright learned from those Hall of Fame pitchers in addition to learning from the likes of Chris Carpenter.
The trio of Wainwright, Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha highlight the Cardinals rotation. Is it the best trio out there? I don’t know. The Detroit Tigers have a trio that includes two Cy Young Award winners.
Wainwright is in his prime and successfully rebounded from Tommy John surgery two years that led him to miss the 2011 season. Miller and Wacha are still young but Wacha is displayed a poise this season that one just does not see from rookie pitchers–especially rookie pitchers that are pitching in big games.
Just give these two a few more seasons and they will be scary good. Wacha has thrown two near-no-hitters while Miller’s first career start saw a no-hit bid and later had a 1-hit complete game shutout against the Colorado Rockies.