2013 MLB All-Star Game: Top 5 Candidates To Start For the National League

Adam Wainwright, St.Louis Cardinals

Jun 13, 2013; Flushing, NY,USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) pitches during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Had you asked about a week ago, Wainwright probably would’ve been the favorite. However, the Chicago Cubs touched him up for four runs on June 18, and his ERA rose to 2.37. A solid outing against the Texas Rangers on Sunday then dropped it to 2.31.

So yes, a 2.31 ERA actually earns Wainwright a demotion. He can blame Matt Harvey for that. They’re basically 1A and 1B anyway.

As much of the spotlight that Harvey absorbs, his brilliance can’t takeaway from Wainwright.

Wainwright leads the NL in WAR, he has the lowest BB/9 and his FIP (2.01) is just a tick off Harvey’s 2.00 mark. They aren’t on different planets, after all.

Wainwright’s stuff has also been tremendous, sporting an O-Swing% 37.5 percent–O-Swing% percentage essentially measures how many pitches a batter chases outside of the strike zone. In Wainwright’s case, he’s drawing lots of whiffs, mainly on his curveball, which, per 100 pitches, is the fourth-best in the NL, per FanGraphs.