Biographical

Adam Wainwright PCardinals

Cardinals Player Cards | Cardinals Team Audit | Cardinals Depth Chart

2019 Projections (Preseason PECOTA - seasonal age 37)

IP	ERA	WHIP	SO	W	L	SV	WARP
Login or Subscribe today for access to projections!

Birth Date	8-30-1981
Height	6' 7"
Weight	230 lbs

Age	43 years, 7 months, 15 days
Bats	R
Throws	R

: 0.82015
: 2.52016
: 1.02017
: 0.72018
: 0.92019
proj

WARP Summary

Show All
Stats Only
Transactions
More PECOTA
Splits
Book Comments
Pitch f/x
Articles

MLB Statistics

Historical (past-seasons) WARP is now based on DRA..
cFIP and DRA are not available on a by-team basis and display as zeroes(0). See TOT line for season totals of these stats.
Multiple stints are are currently shown —Click to hide.

YEAR	Team	Lg	G	GS	IP	W	L	SV	H	BB	SO	HR	PPF	H/9	BB/9	HR/9	K/9	GB%	BABIP	WHIP	FIP	ERA	cFIP	DRA	DRA-	WARP
2005	SLN	MLB	2	0	2.0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	100	9.0	4.5	4.5	0.0	0%	.143	1.50	10.98	13.50	128	7.71	165.8	0.0
2006	SLN	MLB	61	0	75.0	2	1	3	64	22	72	6	94	7.7	2.6	0.7	8.6	0%	.283	1.15	3.26	3.12	77	3.10	63.2	2.1
2007	SLN	MLB	32	32	202.0	14	12	0	212	70	136	13	102	9.4	3.1	0.6	6.1	0%	.304	1.40	3.83	3.70	94	4.21	87.2	3.4
2008	SLN	MLB	20	20	132.0	11	3	0	122	34	91	12	96	8.3	2.3	0.8	6.2	0%	.272	1.18	3.74	3.20	86	3.46	73.7	3.1
2009	SLN	MLB	34	34	233.0	19	8	0	216	66	212	17	92	8.3	2.5	0.7	8.2	0%	.296	1.21	3.07	2.63	73	2.89	62.0	7.0
2010	SLN	MLB	33	33	230.3	20	11	0	186	56	213	15	88	7.3	2.2	0.6	8.3	0%	.275	1.05	2.87	2.42	70	2.70	61.1	6.9
2012	SLN	MLB	32	32	198.7	14	13	0	196	52	184	15	98	8.9	2.4	0.7	8.3	0%	.315	1.25	3.13	3.94	76	2.89	66.2	5.3
2013	SLN	MLB	34	34	241.7	19	9	0	223	35	219	15	101	8.3	1.3	0.6	8.2	0%	.305	1.07	2.52	2.94	71	2.61	62.4	6.8
2014	SLN	MLB	32	32	227.0	20	9	0	184	50	179	10	101	7.3	2.0	0.4	7.1	0%	.267	1.03	2.85	2.38	85	2.88	70.6	5.5
2015	SLN	MLB	7	4	28.0	2	1	0	25	4	20	0	93	8.0	1.3	0.0	6.4	0%	.287	1.04	2.16	1.61	83	2.72	63.6	0.8
2016	SLN	MLB	33	33	198.7	13	9	0	220	59	161	22	91	10.0	2.7	1.0	7.3	45%	.330	1.40	3.96	4.62	92	4.26	94.4	2.5
2017	SLN	MLB	24	23	123.3	12	5	0	140	45	96	14	96	10.2	3.3	1.0	7.0	50%	.326	1.50	4.31	5.11	99	4.84	103.1	1.0
2018	SLN	MLB	8	8	40.3	2	4	0	41	18	40	5	92	9.1	4.0	1.1	8.9	51%	.310	1.46	4.23	4.46	97	3.78	84.5	0.7
2019	SLN	MLB	31	31	171.7	14	10	0	181	64	153	22	93	9.5	3.4	1.2	8.0	49%	.319	1.43	4.30	4.19	93	4.58	93.9	2.2
Career		MLB	383	316	2103.7	162	95	3	2012	576	1776	167	96	8.6	2.5	0.7	7.6	50%	.300	1.23	3.36	3.39	83	3.41	75.1	47.2

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.

YEAR	Team	Lg	LG	G	GS	IP	W	L	SV	H	BB	SO	HR	PPF	H/9	BB/9	HR/9	K/9	GB%	BABIP	WHIP	FIP	ERA	cFIP	DRA	DRA-
2005	SLN	MLB	NL	2	0	2.0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	100	9.0	4.5	4.5	0.0	0%	.143	1.50	10.98	13.50	128	7.71	165.8
2006	SLN	MLB	NL	61	0	75.0	2	1	3	64	22	72	6	94	7.7	2.6	0.7	8.6	0%	.283	1.15	3.26	3.12	77	3.10	63.2
2007	SLN	MLB	NL	32	32	202.0	14	12	0	212	70	136	13	102	9.4	3.1	0.6	6.1	0%	.304	1.40	3.83	3.70	94	4.21	87.2
2008	SLN	MLB	NL	20	20	132.0	11	3	0	122	34	91	12	96	8.3	2.3	0.8	6.2	0%	.272	1.18	3.74	3.20	86	3.46	73.7
2009	SLN	MLB	NL	34	34	233.0	19	8	0	216	66	212	17	92	8.3	2.5	0.7	8.2	0%	.296	1.21	3.07	2.63	73	2.89	62.0
2010	SLN	MLB	NL	33	33	230.3	20	11	0	186	56	213	15	88	7.3	2.2	0.6	8.3	0%	.275	1.05	2.87	2.42	70	2.70	61.1
2012	SLN	MLB	NL	32	32	198.7	14	13	0	196	52	184	15	98	8.9	2.4	0.7	8.3	0%	.315	1.25	3.13	3.94	76	2.89	66.2
2013	SLN	MLB	NL	34	34	241.7	19	9	0	223	35	219	15	101	8.3	1.3	0.6	8.2	0%	.305	1.07	2.52	2.94	71	2.61	62.4
2014	SLN	MLB	NL	32	32	227.0	20	9	0	184	50	179	10	101	7.3	2.0	0.4	7.1	0%	.267	1.03	2.85	2.38	85	2.88	70.6
2015	SLN	MLB	NL	7	4	28.0	2	1	0	25	4	20	0	93	8.0	1.3	0.0	6.4	0%	.287	1.04	2.16	1.61	83	2.72	63.6
2016	SLN	MLB	NL	33	33	198.7	13	9	0	220	59	161	22	91	10.0	2.7	1.0	7.3	45%	.330	1.40	3.96	4.62	92	4.26	94.4
2017	SLN	MLB	NL	24	23	123.3	12	5	0	140	45	96	14	96	10.2	3.3	1.0	7.0	50%	.326	1.50	4.31	5.11	99	4.84	103.1
2018	SLN	MLB	NL	8	8	40.3	2	4	0	41	18	40	5	92	9.1	4.0	1.1	8.9	51%	.310	1.46	4.23	4.46	97	3.78	84.5
2018	PMB	A+	FSL	2	2	3.0	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	90	3.0	0.0	0.0	15.0	50%	.250	0.33	0.14	0.00	47	2.26	47.8
2018	SFD	AA	TEX	3	3	10.0	1	0	0	5	0	9	0	105	4.5	0.0	0.0	8.1	42%	.192	0.50	1.94	0.00	80	2.33	49.2
2018	MEM	AAA	PCL	2	2	9.0	1	0	0	8	4	11	0	80	8.0	4.0	0.0	11.0	38%	.381	1.33	2.63	0.00	79	3.94	83.3
2019	SLN	MLB	NL	31	31	171.7	14	10	0	181	64	153	22	93	9.5	3.4	1.2	8.0	49%	.319	1.43	4.30	4.19	93	4.58	93.9

Plate Discipline

YEAR	Pits	Zone%	Swing%	Contact%	Z-Swing%	O-Swing%	Z-Contact%	O-Contact%	SwStr%
2008	1861	0.5013	0.4218	0.7898	0.5734	0.2694	0.8785	0.6000	0.2102
2009	3589	0.4770	0.4347	0.7795	0.5748	0.3069	0.8872	0.5955	0.2205
2010	3324	0.4982	0.4326	0.7643	0.5700	0.2962	0.8612	0.5789	0.2357
2012	3079	0.4829	0.4501	0.7965	0.6073	0.3034	0.8726	0.6542	0.2035
2013	3524	0.4804	0.4722	0.7831	0.6066	0.3479	0.8948	0.6028	0.2169
2014	3234	0.5099	0.4573	0.7863	0.5913	0.3180	0.8810	0.6032	0.2137
2015	383	0.5091	0.4935	0.8095	0.6564	0.3245	0.8672	0.6885	0.1905
2016	3166	0.4883	0.4311	0.7956	0.5757	0.2932	0.8899	0.6189	0.2044
2017	2130	0.4779	0.4300	0.8210	0.5963	0.2779	0.8880	0.6893	0.1790
2018	730	0.4603	0.4000	0.7603	0.5506	0.2716	0.8595	0.5888	0.2397
2019	2783	0.4977	0.4168	0.8026	0.5704	0.2647	0.8823	0.6324	0.1974
Career	27803	0.4895	0.4400	0.7887	0.5855	0.3005	0.8810	0.6168	0.2113

Injury History — No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On	Date Off	Transaction	Days	Games	Side	Body Part	Injury	Severity	Surgery Date	Reaggravation
2014-06-11	2014-06-21	DTD	10	9	Right	Elbow	Inflammation		-
2014-04-23	2014-04-27	DTD	4	4	Right	Knee	Hyperextension		-	-
2013-04-03	2013-04-07	DTD	4	3	Right	Upper Arm	Contusion	Batted Ball	-	-
2011-03-22	2011-10-29	60-DL	221	162	Right	Elbow	Recovery From Surgery	Tommy John Surgery	2011-02-28
2011-02-21	2011-03-22	Camp	29	0	Right	Elbow	Surgery	Tommy John Surgery	2011-02-28
2011-01-17	2011-01-17	Off	0	0	Right	Elbow	Sprain	Partial Ulnar Collateral Ligament Tear	-
2010-09-25	2010-10-04	DTD	9	9	Right	Forearm	Strain		-
2008-09-02	2008-09-02	DTD	0	0		Low Back	Spasms		-
2008-06-08	2008-08-22	60-DL	75	65	Right	Fingers	Sprain	Middle Finger Volar Plate	-
2007-05-15	2007-05-15	DTD	0	0	Right	Elbow	Inflammation	Tendonitis	-
2004-06-08	2004-09-08	Minors	92	0	Right	Elbow	Sprain	Ulnar Collateral Ligament	-

Compensation

Year	Team	Salary
2023	SLN	$17,500,000
2022	SLN	$17,500,000
2021	SLN	$8,000,000
2020	SLN	$5,000,000
2019	SLN	$2,000,000
2018	SLN	$19,500,000
2017	SLN	$19,500,000
2016	SLN	$19,500,000
2015	SLN	$19,500,000
2014	SLN	$19,500,000
2013	SLN	$12,000,000
2012	SLN	$9,000,000
2011	SLN	$6,687,500
2010	SLN	$4,837,500
2009	SLN	$2,787,500
2008	SLN	$500,000
2007	SLN	$410,000
2006	SLN	$327,000

Years	Description	Salary
18 yr	Previous	$184,049,500
18 yr	Total	$184,049,500

Service Time	Agent	Contract Status
17 y 27 d	Steve Hammond	1 year/$17.5M (2023)

Details

1 year/$17.5M (2023). Signed extension with St. Louis 10/26/22. Performance bonuses: $500,000 each for 28, 30 games started. $10M is deferred, paid in $1M installments each 7/1, 2024-33. Award bonuses: $500,000 for top 10 finish in Cy Young vote. $50,000 each for All Star, Gold Glove, LCS MVP, WS MVP. $25,000 for Silver Slugger. Full no-trade protection. Perks: hotel suite on road.
1 year/$17.5M (2022). Signed extension with St. Louis 10/2/21. Full no-trade protection.
1 year/$8M (2021). Re-signed by St. Louis as a free agent 1/29/21. Performance bonuses based on games started and relief appearances. Award bonuses: $500,000 for 1st-10th finish in Cy Young vote. $50,000 each for All Star, Gold Glove, Division Series MVP, LCS MVP, WS MVP. $25,000 for Silver Slugger. Full no-trade protection (also already may block all trades as a 10-and-5 player).
1 year/$5M (2020). Re-signed by St. Louis as a free agent 11/11/19. Performance bonuses: $1.5M each for 20, 25 starts. $2M for 28 starts. $500,000 each for 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 relief appearances. Full no-trade protection.
1 year (2019). Re-signed by St. Louis 10/29/18. Performance bonuses: Games started: $0.5M for 5 GS. $1M each for 10 GS, 15 GS. $1.5M for 20 GS. $2M each for 25, 30 GS. Relief appearances: $0.5M each for 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 games. Games finished: $0.5M each for 25, 30 GF. $0.6M each for 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 GF.
5 years/$97.5M (2014-18). Signed extension with St. Louis 3/27/13. 14-18: $19.5M annually. Full no-trade protection. Award bonuses: $0.5M each for Top 10 finish in Cy Young vote. $50,000 each for Gold Glove, All-Star, WS MVP, LCS MVP or Division Series MVP.
4 years/$15M (2008-11), plus 2012-13 club options. Signed extension with St. Louis 3/20/08. $0.75M signing bonus. 08:$0.5M, 09:$2.6M, 10:$4.65M, 11:$6.5M, 12:$9M club option, 13:$12M club option. Replaced contract renewed 3/4/08 (1 year/$0.448M - split contract paying $0.246M minors). Club must exercise options together. Options guaranteed with top 5 finish in 2010 or 2011 Cy Young vote (met 11/16/10). 2012 option increases to $10M with 2010 or 2011 Cy Young award. St. Louis exercised 2012-13 options 10/27/11.
1 year/$410,000 (2007). Re-signed by St. Louis 2/07.
1 year/$327,000 (2006). Re-signed by St. Louis 2/06.
1 year (2005). Re-signed by St. Louis 3/05. Recalled 9/05.
1 year (2004). Contract purchased by Atlanta 11/03. Acquired by St. Louis in trade from Atlanta 12/03 (St. Louis sent Wainwright, RHP Jason Marquis and LHP Ray King to Atlanta in exchange for OF J.D. Drew and OF Eli Marrero). Optioned to Triple-A 3/04.
Drafted by Atlanta 2000 (1-29) (Glynn Academy, Brunswick, Ga.). $1.25M signing bonus.

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT	W	L	SV	G	GS	IP	H	BB	SO	HR	BABIP	WHIP	ERA	DRA	VORP	WARP
Weighted Mean	?	?	?	?	?	0.0	?	0	0	?	.000	0.00	0.00	?	0.0	0.0

The rest of this card is restricted to Baseball Prospectus Subscribers.

Not a subscriber? Click here for a free card so you can see what's missing.

Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or to subscribe and get instant access to the best baseball content on the web.

BP Annual Player Comments

The rest of this card is restricted to Baseball Prospectus Subscribers.

Not a subscriber? Click here for a free card so you can see what's missing.

Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or to subscribe and get instant access to the best baseball content on the web.

BP Articles

Click here to see articles tagged with Adam Wainwright

BP Chats

Date	Question	Answer
2016-12-01 19:00:00 (link to chat)	Do you have any biggest bounce-back candidate or buy-low suggestions for us? Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. (Jay M. from Allegan County, MI)	Chris Archer seems obvious, although given the 200+ strikeouts it's not like he did nothing last year. I like Justin Upton as a buy low and on the pitching side I think Adam Wainwright has one more halfway decent season in him before he retires. (Mike Gianella)
2016-08-01 16:00:00 (link to chat)	Hey Mike, besides Martin, who would be a few of your 2nd half trade targets? Thanks (DanDaMan from Vineyard)	Adam Wainwright has been quietly solid after a bad April and should be good down the stretch. Jose Bautista has moved down a lot of people's lists after a poor first half and injury but could still be solid for the last eight weeks. Neil Walker is done with his slump. I'm sure your league has noticed but it someone hasn't I'd pounce. (Mike Gianella)
2016-05-17 14:00:00 (link to chat)	I've got Matt Moore, James Shields, Tyson Ross (currently on DL), JA Happ, Kevin Gausman, and Adam Wainwright (among other starting pitchers) at the back of my rotation/bench in my keeper league. I feel I need to drop one of them soon to balance my roster. Should it be Wainwright? His performance has been lackluster so far but I wonder how much hope I should hold onto that he turns a corner and pitches (mostly) like his old self. (mattstupp from NYC)	I'm tempted to tell you to punt on Happ only because the regression fairy came for him in a big way last night. But yeah, Waino has been not great and he's getting up there in years. I'm hardly a fantasy expert, though, so about five grains of salt there. I'm not an authority on such matters. (Nicolas Stellini)
2016-03-07 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Which two should I keep? Miguel Sano, Yasiel Puig, Rougned Odor, Jonathan Lucroy, Adam Wainwright, Marcus Stroman. Incentives in my league are heavily in favor of keeping players who will have the most value this year. (mattstupp from NYC)	This is tough, but I'd lean on Puig and Stroman as the guys who're most likely to raise the most WARP this year. Now, if we're talking your typical 5x5 fantasy numbers, I'd consider booting Stro and going Sano ... and that's not taking into account positional scarcity. But for me Odor's the only other contender other than those three. Puig for sure in my book. (Bryan Grosnick)
2016-03-07 13:00:00 (link to chat)	It seems like the Cardinals have had a terrible last few months; lose to the Cubs, top prospect suspended 80 games, Molina and Peralta go down with major thumb injuries, and the only free agent that took their money was Mike Leake, while Lackey and Heyward go to the Cubs. Am I right that this is not going well for the Redbirds? (Nude Pablo Sandoval from Boston)	That's a bad username. I'm tempted to not answer your question, but it is an easy one. Yeah, things are looking dark in St. Louis. That means that Adam Wainwright will win 22 games and Greg Garcia will turn into Brandon Crawford. (Bryan Grosnick)
2016-02-03 20:00:00 (link to chat)	Which 2 would you keep? Adam Wainwright, Marcus Stroman, Miguel Sano (has 3B eligibility in Yahoo), or Rougned Odor? (mattstupp from NYC)	Sano and Odor. Stroman is a Duke guy and therefore my boy, but unless you're talking about elite level SP as the alternative, I'm always keeping the bats. (Greg Wellemeyer)
2015-10-07 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Looking ahead, what can we realistically expect to see out of Adam Wainwright in terms of use. (jburnes from Cities)	Was talking to someone else about this. I don't see him being used for much more than an inning. And I'm guessing that it won't be back-to-back days. I just don't think he'll have the impact some are suggesting this postseason. (Sahadev Sharma)
2015-01-21 15:00:00 (link to chat)	Speaking of outside-the-box roles, would it be worth while for St. Louis to designate Marco Gonzales or one of their high-minors guys (Tim Cooney, etc.) as 1940s-style swingmen to get fantastic but fragile Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha a rest every three weeks or so? Or have pitching roles become too specialized for that? (Bill from New Mexico)	The specialization of pitching roles is part of the issue, and the other part is that there is no assured resting pattern that would definitely make a difference for Wainwright and Wacha. I love the idea of expanding roles and having pitchers dumped into buckets based on individual tolerance (ie 20 pitches, 40, 70, etc) rather than the pre-approved patterns of one hitter, one inning, or 100 pitches (depending on the role). (Doug Thorburn)
2014-10-23 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Any concerns with Adam Wainwright's elbow? (Scott from Az)	Not beyond the usual concerns for a guy with a TJ history and a lot of innings under his belt. I talked about this with Sam and Ben on Ep #555 of Effectively Wild - I would need to see more evidence to suggest that there was an underlying injury to explain his hiccups in the postseason. (Doug Thorburn)
2014-07-31 19:30:00 (link to chat)	With all the TJS this year I was wondering who has come back from TJS and has had a good long career? (scott from az)	Tons of examples here, that's why so many people are willing to discount a lot of the risk that comes with TJS right now -- Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, AJ Burnett, Jamie Moyer, John Smoltz, Tommy John himself, etc (Ben Carsley)
2014-05-15 20:00:00 (link to chat)	Bret, You guys are killing it over here at BP. The premium subscription is well worth with the Bat Signal. Great stuff. I'm in a first year dynasty league: 12tms/full dynasty/20 man minor league rosters/player's auction value this year carries over to next year as well...Currently in 4th, not sure i'll hold up to compete. My high dollar players are Braun(35), Tulo(27), Posey(24), Waino(27), Kimbrel(21), Minor(14), Bruce(25). Should i decide to become a seller which of those players should i be looking to deal? Which of those players should i definitely be looking to hold onto heading into next year? (Chris from Nebraska)	Thanks, Chris! I'd be looking to deal Posey and Wainwright of that group. There are always catchers in a 12-team league and as much as I love Adam Wainwright (and it's a lot), I'd rather build around Braun/Tulo and think you could get more for him than Bruce or Kimbrel. (Bret Sayre)
2014-04-08 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Do young major-league pitchers consciously tweak their mechanics to imitate the aging stars on their teams? Specifically, do you see any evidence that Michael Wacha has fine-tuned his mechanics to be more like Adam Wainwright's? Whatever he's doing, it sure seems to be working... (Bill from New Mexico)	That's not really the motivation, but it's not necessarily a coincidence that young pitchers will look more like their team's veteran stars. In the case of the Cardinals, they have a strong developmental paradigm with respect to pitching mechanics, and they allow for players with different signatures but similar efficiency. Wacha is more similar to Wainwright than the other pitchers on staff in terms of arm angle and desired pitch trajectory, so it makes sense that he would follow a similar path of development (as opposed to someone like Miller or CarMart), and the Cards P-Dev staff is likely encouraging that path. On the jukebox: Sepultura, "Roots Bloody Roots" (Doug Thorburn)
2014-02-26 19:00:00 (link to chat)	NL only 5x5 roto league. Which four do you prefer?Kershaw/Greinke/Ryu/Samardzija or Wainwright/Lee/Hamels/Liriano (Bruce from MI)	You know, I think I prefer the Waino side of the equation. Kershaw is an absolute stud and the best pitcher in the league but Adam Wainwright isn't far behind and I trust Hamels/Lirano more than I do Ryu/Samardzija. (Mauricio Rubio)
2014-02-11 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Who are some starting pitchers outside the Top 30 (think 30-50 range) that you are targeting to fill in the middle of your rotation this year? Thanks! (Bwamps from LA)	Partly depends on your top 30. Pitchers outside my wife's top 30 that I'd target: Max Scherzer, Adam Wainwright, Cliff Lee, Felix Hernandez. If we use this top 30: http://espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/story/_/page/2014_ranks_SP/tristan-h-cockcroft-fantasy-baseball-starting-pitcher-rankings-2014 then I'd say...Fister, Cueto, Walker, maybe Peralta. Medlen is 29 on that list and I'm exceptionally bullish on Medlen this year. Irrationally, one might say. (Sam Miller)
2013-12-20 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Do you think we'll see Trevor Rosenthal starting for the Cards by 2015, or is he going to turn into another Papelbon "they needed a closer" story? (dianagram from VORGville)	I would love to see Rosenthal in the rotation, but teams are so reluctant to move a guy who has had that level of success that I fear that he may be stuck in the role. His best shot to start might actually be to get lit out of the pen for a couple of months, but he's in the wrong organization to wait for an opening in the rotation. There is a glimmer of hope in the form of Adam Wainwright, who closed for the Cards for a short stint in 2006, but he was quickly moved to the rotation. In that sense, 2014 could be a do or die season for Rosenthal's future role, as another successful season of relief might get him stuck in the 'pen. On the jukebox: Drist, "The Scalpel" (Doug Thorburn)
2013-05-28 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Do the cardinals just have a never ending supply of quality starting pitchers they can call up? 3 new guys plus Carlos Martinez who will start again in AAA. Is this insane?? (Steve from STL)	When Ned Yost said there was no third baseman tree, Johnny Mo got awfully nervous that people would start snooping around for his pitcher tree. The best part for St. Louis is that all this pitching depth made it so possible for the Adam Wainwright extension to look like a mistake. That you'd not only have to pay him, but you'd force him into the rotation over more deserving guys based on the fact that you did pay him. But internal scouting is one of the most important kinds of scouting, and the Cardinals appear so far to be right on how Wainwright would age. (Zachary Levine)
2013-04-16 20:00:00 (link to chat)	Are there any pitchers you think will make the next step up with the aces like Verlander, Kershaw, Strasburg, King Felix, Price? (nubber from tx)	Does Adam Wainwright count? (Bret Sayre)
2013-03-20 11:00:00 (link to chat)	Another top fantasy writer, Eric Karabell thinks that Trevor Rosenthal may end up as the 8th inning guy this year and then becomes a starter next year, ala Adam Wainwright next year. Your thoughts? I've thought about taking him late in a keeper league. (Eric from CO)	Eric knows his stuff and I wouldn't rule that out. Rosenthal has a big-time arm and even if he's not Shelby Miller, he's a pretty good prospect in his own right, too. That path makes sense, given the makeup of the Cards' staff this year. (Cory Schwartz)
2013-02-15 12:00:00 (link to chat)	Drafted Buster Posey ($8), Yu Darvish ($10), Yoenis Cespedes ($2), Jayson Heyward ($16), Adam Jones ($19), Adam Wainwright ($23) and Sergio Romo ($1). Get to keep 4, values increase by $3 this year. Definitely keeping Posey, Darvish & Cespedes, so who should be the 4th? I'm leaning towards Heyward. (Steve from Milwaukee)	Can you send an AJ Bombers burger in the mail to me, please? I'm keeping Posey, Darvish, Cespedes, and Heyward. (Jason Collette)
2012-10-30 13:00:00 (link to chat)	With the Cardinals' inevitable loss of Kyle Lohse, do you see them being active in the free agent sp market? Besides Wainwright, Shelby Miller, maybe Garcia, Carpenter and Westbrook, they are a bit light. I think Kelly or Rosenthal could replace Lynn. Thank you. (Chopper from Indy)	Hi Chopper. I'm not sure what the Cardinals might be thinking, but if I ran things, I'd wouldn't be looking to replace Lohse's 2012 performance. Adam Wainwright should improve a year removed from surgery and Chris Carpenter should give the team more than three starts. I'd be targeting guys to slot in behind those two, guys who maybe are on level with what Lohse was when he came to St. Louis. Specifically, I'd be looking at Joe Blanton, Edwin Jackson, Shaun Marcum, and Anibal Sanchez. If I wanted to gamble, I might make a play for Scott Baker. But this all says more about my process than the Cardinals', so take it with a grain of salt. (Geoff Young)
2012-03-06 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Derek, thanks for chatting! Question for you on drafting Yu Darvish. In Yahoo! mocks, he's dropping into a cluster of SPs the likes of CJ Wilson, Madison Bumgarner, Josh Johnson, Adam Wainwright, Josh Beckett, Michael Pineda, Dan Hudson, and Mat Latos. How would you rank these 9 players on your draft board? (BR from NYC)	Hmm... off the top of my head, I'll go Beckett, Johnson, Wainwright, Bumgarner, Darvish, Hudson, Wilson, Pineda, Latos. (Derek Carty)
2012-02-20 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Jay- Over/Under on the number of innings Adam Wainwright provides the Cardinals in 2012? (Jake from St. Louis, MO)	185. Everything I've heard suggests he'll be fine, but just to temper expectations a bit, i'd think south of 200 innings. (Jay Jaffe)
2011-03-02 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Hi Christina, What team do you think will disappoint the most to its expectations? (lennyd from Portland)	This is easier to state now, a week after Adam Wainwright's injury, but if you set the Cardinals aside as a special, changing circumstance, I'd put the Dodgers at the head of the class. (Christina Kahrl)
2010-06-28 14:00:00 (link to chat)	No Ubaldo in the top 5? Not that I'm arguing with the top 5 of Halladay, Timmy, Lee, JJ and Lester. Picking five is difficult; if not impossible. (johnsond16 from Wherever you find yourself; there you are)	I'm as big an Ubaldo booster as you'll find, been touting him for years as underrated and I'm delighted to see him doing what he's doing. If we're talking 2010 stats, sure he's a top fiver, and might even be the Cy Young winner if he can avoid falling apart in the second half. But if you're taking a larger sample into account, you might want to put guys like Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter ahead of him. Maybe Zack Greinke and Felix Hernandez as well. OK, here's one way of looking at it: 20008-2010 ERA+ leaders, 300 inning mininimum: http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/V8Caz. Ubaldo is 11th behidn all fo the guys listed above plus Johan Santana, who's really starting to show some wear and trending downward. So Ubaldo: top 10 for me unless we're specifically limiting the discussion to 2010 only. (Jay Jaffe)
2009-09-24 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Do Dave Duncan's pitching philosophy, and every St. Louis pitcher behind Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, lead Secret Sauce to underestimate the Cards' playoff chances? (jalonzo from NYC)	I think the idea that any team is better than an 18-20% chance to win the World Series overestimates everyone's playoff chances. Secret Sauce is what it is, a formula based on the track record of successful teams. Everyone's favorite team not rated well by it is the exception. (Joe Sheehan)
2009-08-11 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Apparently Adam Wainwright uses a lot less warm up pitches than the average pitcher to get ready each inning. This is why LaRussa pushes him harder than his other starters. Is this a sound strategy? Are warm up pitches nearly as taxing on the arm as actual pitches? (BigSteve from St. Louis)	Many years ago, Frank Jobe determined that the muscles and bones take the load up to 75% of max effort, then the load is transferred to tendons and ligaments. The question is, does throwing less warm ups have any trade off and any significant effect on his fatigue level. It all comes down to fatigue level. I've always been curious why a pitcher wouldn't get a massage between innings. (Will Carroll)
2009-04-16 13:00:00 (link to chat)	A short answer to the question about managers learning from their mistakes: Tony La Russa. Alan Benes. Adam Wainwright. Does the answer make sense? (Bill from New Mexico)	I can't tell sometimes if Tony La Russa is brilliant or the luckiest manager alive. Or both/neither. His career and the choices he has made are strange. (Marc Normandin)
2008-12-15 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Thanks for the chat, Will! From what you know, is there a high risk of Adam Wainwright's finger problem recurring? Will it depend largely, not at all, or entirely on how many curveballs he throws in the future? (Susan from St. Louis)	There's not a ton of comps, but none that I'm aware of have had recurrences. If Joel Zumaya can hold up, anyone can. (Will Carroll)
2008-08-15 15:00:00 (link to chat)	Given where the Cardinals are now, in terms of standings and roster strengths/weaknesses, would you rather see Adam Wainwright come back as a starter or reliever if (when) he comes off the DL? Their pen is a mess, but above average starters don't come along every day. (Bill from White Rock, NM)	I'd definitely put Wainwright in the rotation. Why not give Chris Perez that many more chances to save games by having a starter able to keep squiggly numbers off of the scoreboard? (Christina Kahrl)
2008-05-05 12:30:00 (link to chat)	Bryan, I read Tommy Hanson's added a couple ticks to his fastball, but what's your take on his dominance so far this year? Does he have the stuff to develop into a 1-2 type? (Carson from Macon GA)	Haven't heard that Hanson has added some ticks -- during his good start in the 2007 season, he was 93-95 very often, and I haven't heard better than that this season. Anyway, since early 2007 I have liked Hanson quite a bit, his build and scouting report sounded like Adam Wainwright to me since day one. The flyball tendencies do scare me a little bit, to be honest -- it's not like he won't allow a home run all season with flyballs going in the air that often. But while he doesn't have ace potential, he has Wainwright potential, I do believe. (Bryan Smith)

BP Roundtables

No BP Roundtables have mentioned this guy.

PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile

A Collaboration between BrooksBaseball.net and Baseball Prospectus - Pitch classifications provided by Pitch Info LLC

Although he has not thrown an MLB pitch in 2025, Adam Wainwright threw 40,159 pitches that were tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2007 and 2023, all of them occuring in Spring Training. In 2023, he relied primarily on his Sinker (87mph), Curve (72mph) and Cutter (83mph), also mixing in a Fourseam Fastball (86mph). He also rarely threw a Change (80mph), Splitter (83mph), Slider (76mph) and Slow Curve (63mph).