St. Louis Cardinals: Carlos Martinez is looking Cy Young caliber worthy

St. Louis Cardinals ace Carlos Martine has been flat out dominant in April, making himself a viable Cy Youn award candidate.

It’s only April, and to say the MLB season is a long grueling one is the understatement of the century — so handing out the end of season awards the first month of the season is silly. However, St. Louis Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez has been flat-out filthy since his Opening day loss.

For those of you worried about his first start, those concerns are LONG gone, (hopefully) never to be seen again. Over the past 27-plus innings, the dominance of Carlos Martinez cannot be understated.

Just take a look at these microscopic numbers over his past four starts.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is 27.1 innings pitched, one earned-runs, and 32 strikeouts. He was robbed of a victory in yesterday’s start after the bullpen squandered his 3-0 lead, but Jordan Hicks earned his first MLB victory, so all is good.

Keep in mind, two of these outings are against the lowly Cincinnati Reds, but their lineup still boasts the likes of Billy Hamilton, Joey Votto, and; they are professional hitters.

Take a look at this frame of pitches by Carlos Martinez from yesterday’s start against the Cincinnati Reds.

91 MPH cut-fastball

84 MPH slider

Here’s that same slider against a right-handed hitter.

One more time with that slider. The third time is definitely the charm, for Carlos Martinez here, against his counterpart Homer Bailey.

Just filthy. Flatout nasty pitches right here. If that’s not impressive enough, take a look at this pitch chart from a recent start of Carlos Martinez.

Talk about firing on all cylinders, huh?

John, that’s not a bold statement. Carlos Martinez is an ace pitcher — there’s not much debate about it anymore. The key to his success this season? Two words: Cut-fastball.

Carlos Martinez came into the season as the St. Louis Cardinals only hope of having a real ace for the staff, with Adam Wainwright a shell of his former self. He’s embraced that role both on the baseball diamond and off the field.

Next: Carlos Martinez's glove represents heroism

Carlos Martinez is the entire package for the St. Louis Cardinals. On the field with his dominant pitching, and also, with his dynamic and fun personality to go along with it. Oh, and he’s a fantastic person with a heart of gold — check out the link directly above to see how heroic he indeed is.