St. Louis Cardinals: Four reasons Adam Wainwright will be a Cy Young finalist

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Jul 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; National League pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) of the St. Louis Cardinals takes the field for workout day the day before the 2014 MLB All Star Game at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

3. He has the track record

It was only two seasons ago in 2014 when Wainwright finished with a 20-9 record, 179 strikeouts, five complete games, three shutouts, a 2.38 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 227 IP. That year Wainwright finished third in the Cy Young voting.

In 2013 Wainwright finished 19-9 with a 2.94 ERA, a 1.068 WHIP, five complete games, two shutouts and a career-high in strikeouts (219) and innings pitched (241.2). He finished second in the Cy Young voting as well.

From 2009 to 2014, Wainwright has finished second in the Cy Young Award twice and third two times. That’s a pretty impressive resume.

Not to mention, Wainwright was rolling along to start the 2015 season. The Cardinals ace started the year on a fast pace going 2-1 with a miniscule 1.71 ERA in three starts, all quality starts. Small sample size, you say? Fair enough.

Dating back to the 2014 season Wainwright actually owns a regular-season streak of seven straight quality starts. During this current streak he owns a 1.00 ERA and a 0.926 WHIP in a whopping 54 innings pitched, averaging just under eight innings a start (7.7).

So, who’s to say Wainwright can’t keep that streak going? Sure, he came out of the bullpen a few times at the end of last season, but that was only to test the waters. Wainwright is the guy who will lead this Cardinals rotation in 2016. Once he’s gotten some spring training starts under his belt, he will be ready to go.

Make no mistake, if Wainwright pitches a full, healthy season this year his name will be in the Cy Young talks. He has the track record to prove it.

Next: He made a bet with Matt Carpenter

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