St. Louis Cardinals: Mike Matheny Announces the Starting Rotation for 2017

The St. Louis Cardinals will finish out spring training and head into the regular season with a fixed 5-man rotation confirmed by Mike Matheny earlier this month.

After the St. Louis Cardinals found out top pitching prospect Alex Reyes would miss the entire 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery, the starting rotation seemed quite obvious. However, with guys like Luke Weaver and John Gant lurking in addition to the questions surrounding Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn‘s health, there was still quite a bit of speculation. There was also all that build-up of Trevor Rosenthal possibly starting.

In mid-March, manager Mike Matheny put all that speculation to rest by solidifying who the starting rotation will be. Barring any further injuries or changes the starting rotation on Opening Day will consist of Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Mike Leake, and Michael Wacha.

Martinez was just recently named the Opening Day starter and also pitched today against the Washington Nationals in a 6-1 win. He spent most of spring training pitching for the Dominican World Baseball Classic team.

Wacha was surely the most questioned pitcher this spring. He has had extensive injuries as well as  his fair share of struggles but has looked stronger, both mentally and physically thus far. He’s started five games and has pitched 17 innings allowing 17 hits. He’s also struck out 15 while only walking four. Wacha has also showcased and focused good command on his fastball which leads to success for his secondary pitches.

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Lance Lynn is also an interesting player to watch this year. He’s returning from Tommy John surgery and is a free agent at the end of the year. Lynn has been a work-horse for the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career but it looks as though his time in St. Louis may end this year. He will be looking to build up his value as high as possible before entering free agency.

That trio joins Mike Leake and Adam Wainwright who are both looking to bounce back after they had underperformed in 2016. Both will be relying on this new idea of improved defense and are hoping that their success will go hand-in-hand with the team’s. They will be relied upon to eat up a bunch of innings while Wacha and Lynn attempt to remain healthy.

Next: Is Greg Garcia Better than Kolten Wong?

This is your 2017 St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation. Martinez, Wainwright, Lynn, Leake, and Wacha will attempt to lead this team back into the playoffs after missing them for the first time in 6 years. It was also the first time missing the playoffs since Mike Matheny has taken over. The big questions are can this rotation stay healthy and can they perform well enough to compete in the NL Central?