Jack Flahertys 25th birthday was October 15 and to celebrate we have a ranking of the the 25 best Cardinal starting pitchers from the last 25 years. Read on to find out where Flaherty lands on the list.
25) Alan Benes played with the Cardinals from 1995 to 2001 after being a first round draft pick in 1993. His best season came when he was 25 in 1997. That season he struck out 160 batters through 161.2 innings while also having the lowest ERA of his career. Benes was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
24) Jake Westbrook was on the team from 2010 to 2013. He was acquired from the Cleveland Indians in a three team deal that sent Ryan Ludwick to the San Diego Padres. Westbrook wasn't the most dominate pitcher but he did improve his statistics after the trade posting a 4-4 record and 3.48 ERA with The Cardinals in 2010. His highlight came in the 2011 World Series by winning game six, the famous David Freese game that helped St. Louis force a game seven they eventually won.
23) Jeff Suppan has the second most innings pitched out of anybody on this list sitting at 2542.2 for his career. 642.1 of those came with The Cardinals in two different stints, the first from 2004-2006 and then again for the 2010 season. Game three of the 2006 NLCS Suppan hit a homerun while pitching eight innings and not allowing a single run.
22) Rick Ankiel is tough to place on this list due to him only have pitched one full season and bits of two more seasons. Baseball America named Ankiel the best minor league player for the 1999 season and he made his debut for The Cardinals that season at age 19 and performed well with a 3.27 ERA through 33 innings pitches. The next season at the young age of 20 he pitched extremely well in the regular season and finished second for Rookie of the Year behind Rafael Furcal. During the 2000 postseason Ankiel dealt with a well reported episode of what he calls the yips that ultimately led to him changing his position to the outfield and had a decent career doing that.
21) Donovan Osborne was the St. Louis Cardinals first round draft pick in 1990 and finished fifth for Rookie of the Year in 1992. He was the opening day starter for the 1999 season, however his best season came in 1996 when he posted a 3.58 ERA and a 13-9 record over 198.2 innings pitched. Unfortunately injuries limited what he was able to do the rest of his career.
20) Jason Marquis was a silver slugger in 2005 where he batted a .310 average, 10 rbi, 10 runs, eight doubles, one homer and one triple, impressive for a pitcher. His pitching was never great for the cardinals however as he only had one season with a winning record. His value came in the form of innings pitched as he never threw less than 190 innings for The Cardinals in a season.
19) The St. Louis Cardinals acquired Joel Piñeiro during the 2007 season in exchange for a player to be named later. According to Baseball Almanac that player was Sean Danielson who never got a shot in the big leagues. Piñeiro went 6-4 with the Cardinals in 2007 and pitched an ERA of 3.96. He played in St. Louis until 2009, that season he led the National League in shutouts while also having a solid ERA of 3.49. He left the following season and signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
18) Shelby Miller was the first round pick for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009 and quickly became their number one prospect. By the time he got the call up for his MLB debut in 2012 he was a top five prospect in all of baseball. Looking at his numbers from 2012 he appeared to be one of the best pitchers in the game as he struck out 16 batters through only 13.2 innings of relief and allowed only two earned runs. 2013 Miller, 22 years old, earned the right to be a starter full time and cruised to a 3.06 ERA through 31 games and a 15-9 record. These numbers were good enough to be voted third for rookie of the year. After having a mediocre 2014 season that saw him record more innings pitched but fewer strikeouts Miller was traded to the Atlanta Braves in the deal that brought Jason Heyward to St. Louis. Miller made the All-Star Game in 2015 after the trade.
17) John Lackey was received in a trade with the Boston Red Sox that saw the Cardinals send away Allen Craig and Joe Kelly, two fan favorites at the time. He finished 2014 off worse than he had started but 2015 was a different story that made the trade worth it. In 2015 Lackey finished ninth in the Cy Young Award voting by having a career best 2.77 ERA through 218 innings, the second most in his career. Lackey could be placed higher on this list due to this almost Cy Young winning season, however he left in the offseason and signed to the rival Chicago Cubs helping them win their first World Series title since 1908.
16) Todd Stottlemyre (not to be confused with Todd Wellemeyer) played for The Cardinals from 1996 until 1998 when he was traded for Fernando Tatis and Darren Oliver. Stottlemyre had the best years of his career playing for the St. Louis Cardinals by having a combined record of 35-29 and pitching 565.2 innings.
15) Kwang Hyun Kim is probably a surprise to many for this list as he only has one season for the Cardinals and a shortened season at that. However Cardinals fans should be feeling really good about Kim after he went 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA in 2020. He did this by only allowing 1.026 walks plus hits per inning which would place him 11th in the MLB. Look forward to Kim moving up this list as he makes more and more starts for the Cardinals.
14) Woody Williams was acquired in 2001 for outfielder Ray Lankford and immediately made his presence felt for the Cardinals by finishing the season 7-1 with a 2.28 ERA through 11 games. In 2002 he went 9-4 with a 2.53 ERA but was only able to play in 17 games throughout the season. 2003 was a rebound year for Williams as he made the All-Star Game and finished with an 18-9 record through 220.2 innings pitched.
13) Dakota Hudson has turned in three great seasons for the Cardinals even though only one of them was a full season. Hudson is excellent at forcing batters to hit ground balls and limiting the damage they can do against him. In 2019 he finished fifth for Rookie of the Year and went 16-7 with 174.2 innings pitched and finished first in groundball percentage at 56.9%. In 2020 Hudson had a 56.7% ground ball rate that was good enough for third. If he is able to continue this and lower his hard hit rate at the same time Cardinals fans will have the lucky opportunity to watch what could be one of the best starting pitchers we have ever seen in St. Louis.
12) Kyle Loshe was up and down during his tenure with the Cardinals and when he was down it could be ugly, but when he was up he was one of the best pitchers in the big leagues. In 2008 he threw for 200 innings and posted a 15-6 record. In 2009 he threw for only 117.2 innings and a 6-10 record. Then again in 2010 he only pitched for 92 innings and a 4-8 record. Then in 2011 and 2012 he showed St. Louis again what he was capable of doing when fully healthy by going 14-8 and a 3.39 ERA in 2011 and leading the Cardinals in wins. 2012 he was able to finish seventh for the Cy Young Award by pitching a 16-3 record through 211 innings with a 2.86 ERA, a career high for Loshe. His 33 games started that season also led the National League.
11) Michael Wacha was a first round selection by the Cardinals in the 2012 draft and he quickly made his debut just one year later for the big league squad. At just 21 years old he earned a spot on the Cardinals 2013 playoff roster and walked away with the NLCS MVP Award. As Cardinal fans were starting to notice the similarities Wacha had with teammate and ace of the staff Adam Wainwright and former Cardinal ace Chris Carpenter his outlook was rising fast. Unfortunately starting in 2014 signs began to point in the opposite direction after a shoulder injury forced him to miss most of the season, however he was able to return for the postseason. Then 2015 happened and it was the best season of Wachas career as he made the All-Star Game, went 17-7 and pitched a career high 181.1 innings. This was supposed to be the true breakout for Wacha but again in 2016 he landed on the injured list with another shoulder injury. In 2017 Wacha pitched 165.2 innings and stayed relatively healthy throughout the year but his ERA ballooned up to 4.13. 2018 Wacha only started 15 games due to another injury and by 2019 rolled around he lost his starting rotation spot after a 4.76 ERA and finished the season in the bullpen. 2019 was Wachas last year with the Cardinals and he now plays for the New York Mets, hopefully he can stay healthy and be a productive player.
10) Miles Mikolas was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 from the Yomiuri Giants of Japan after having three really good seasons overseas. Mikolas went on to continue that success by making the 2018 All-Star Game and finishing with 18 wins and four losses along with a 2.83 ERA and 1.071 WHIP. The 18 wins tied him with Max Scherzer and Jon Lester while he also was tied for the 6th fewest homers allowed. All this put together and Miles Mikolas finished sixth in the Cy Young Award race.
The exact opposite happened in 2019 as Mikolas went 9-14 and a 4.16 ERA, which was still better than league average just not the same as his former numbers. He allowed 27 homers which placed him 38th.
Mikolas missed the 2020 season after he underwent surgery to repair his right flexor tendon. Cardinals fans should expect him to come back healthy in 2021 and live up to his contract he signed after the 2018 season worth $68 million over four years.
9) Darryl Kile was selected by the Houston Astros in the 30th round of the 1987 MLB draft and by all means exceeded the expectations of his draft slot. Three time All-Star and two top five Cy Young Award finishes, Kile has had a 20 win season and pitched for at least 200 innings five times throughout his career. His 20 win season came in 2000, his first with the Cardinals where he was also selected to the All-Star team and finished fifth for the Cy Young Award. Kile pitched well again in 2001 finishing with a 16-11 record with only a 3.09 ERA good for the sixth lowest in the MLB.
Kile passed away during the 2002 season from a heart attack but was in the midst of another great season. The St. Louis Cardinals honor Darryl Kile still till this day with a "DK57" sign that hangs in the bullpen.
8) Jamie García had plenty of injuries but is still in the top 10 on this list because of how good he was when he played and the longevity of his career on the Cardinals. He pitched 8 seasons with St. Louis that resulted in a 62-45 record and a 3.57 ERA through 896 total innings. These numbers could be higher and should be higher but injuries that occurred in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 kept him from playing a full season in four straight years. García had an extremely effective rookie campaign in 2010 and actually finished third in the Rookie of the Year race. That season he started 28 games with a 13-8 record, and allowed the eighth fewest homeruns per nine innings. 2011 saw García pitch a career high of innings at 194.2 while being 13-7. 2011 was also the first time he pitched in the post season making a start in the NLDS, two in the NLCS, and another two in the World Series helping St. Louis bring home the title.
7) October 15 was Jack Flahertys birthday and he turned 25 years old but has been a huge piece of the rotation since his debut in 2017. His numbers weren't great in the beginning but Flaherty did show in 2018 he can be a formidable pitcher in the big leagues early on in his career and finished fifth for the Rookie of the Year Award. 2019 he was even better and pitched a very low ERA of 2.75, good for sixth in the MLB on top of 196.1 innings that ranked him 19th in the league, and a National League leading WHIP of .968. These numbers, powered by one of the strongest halves of a season ever, shot him into the Cy Young conversation. He finished fourth in that race and also 13th in the MVP Award race. These accolades at a young age threw Flaherty in the spotlight and the expectations for his 2020 season were soaring high. Flaherty was unable to live up to those expectations and finished 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA although his FIP(fielding independent pitching) shows that it could have been lower. He was able to pitch in the postseason this year against the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round. He started one game and went six innings deep while allowing only one run off six hits and two walks. He struck eight out in this game and has always been a dominate strike out pitcher that should consistently make the top 10 for strikeouts and be a perennial Cy Young candidate.
6) Andy Benes had two different stints with the Cardinals from 1996-1997 and then 2000-2002 when he retired. He signed with St. Louis in 1996 putting him on the same team as his brother Alan Benes. That first season he was one of the best pitchers in the MLB and earned third place for the Cy Young Award by going 18-10 and having 160 strikeouts through 230.1 innings. The 1997 season he pitched fewer innings but reduced his ERA to 3.10. Benes left the Cardinals to go and play for the brand new Arizona Diamondbacks. He returned two years later for the 2000 season, he went 12-9 but his ERA sky rocketed up to 4.88. The season after was worse and saw him pitch only 107.1 innings and his ERA was a career worst 7.38. He retired in 2002 after pitching less than 100 innings for the first time since his rookie season, he was able to lower his ERA to 2.78 however. That final season helped Benes record his 2000th strikeout and his 2500th inning.
5) Carlos Martinez has spent his entire eight year career with the St. Louis Cardinals and he started as a reliever back in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2015 he got the opportunity to be a full time starter and it payed off instantly as he made the All-Star game on his way to striking out 184 people through only 179.2 innings and a 3.01 ERA. 2016 he went 16-9 with a 3.04 ERA over 195.1 innings. In 2017 he again made the All-Star game with a stat line of 3.64 ERA, 2 complete game shutouts, 205 innings, and 217 strikeouts while leading the National League in batters faced. in 2018 and 2019 we saw him revert back to a reliever where he racked up 29 saves while dealing with some health problems. Those issues lingered in 2020 and it showed by Martinez having his worst season yet. But whenever he gets fully healthy he will be a force in the MLB.
4) Lance Lynn is the definition of an innings eater and that is shown in his 977.2 innings pitched through six seasons in St. Louis from 2011-2017. He made his debut in 2011 and won two crucial playoff games to help the Cardinals win the World Series. He didn't get much regular season work until 2012 when he was able to make the All-Star game at 25 years old and finished the season with an 18-7 record and striking out 180 batters through 176 innings. He pitched for at least 175 innings each of the years after 2011 and also never let his ERA get above 4.00. Overall Lynn was way above league average at his worst and would've been an awesome player for the Cardinals to keep through the years as he just finished fifth in the 2019 Cy Young Award race.
3) Matt Morris is yet another first round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals that dazzled throughout his tenure with the team and ended up as a two time All-Star, a wins leader, runner up for Rookie of the Year, and a third place finish for the Cy Young. His rookie season in 1997 he pitched for a total of 217 innings and only a 3.19 ERA for a record of 12-9. He got beat out by future teammate Scott Rolen for Rookie of the Year. He played just over 100 innings in 1998 but had a 2.53 ERA. Morris had to miss the entirety of the 1999 season and most of the 2000 season due to tommy john surgery. In 2001 Morris had the best season of his career. He led the MLB with a 22 win season while only losing eight games, paired with a 3.16 ERA through 216.1 innings. He finished third in the Cy Young voting behind Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, and also finished 14th in the MVP race. Morris had another outstanding year in 2002 but he never returned to the Cy Young form he had in 2001. For his total career in a Cardinal uniform he had a record of 101-62, 3.61 ERA, 1377.1 innings, and 986 strikeouts. Morris could have been better in the post season but his regular season stats with the Cardinals make him a top three starting pitcher for the Cardinals over the last 25 seasons.
2) Chris Carpenter was probably every kids favorite player when he was with the Cardinals. Having joined the team in 2004 he helped carry one of the best Cardinal teams of all time to the post season while having a 15-5 regular season, however he was unable to play in the 2004 postseason. 2005 Carpenter had a career year by making the All-Star game, winning the Cy Young Award, and placing eighth for the MVP Award. he earned the Cy Young by having a dominating record of 21-5, 2.83 ERA, 241.2 innings pitched, and 213 strikeouts. He followed that up with another dominating 2006 season where he made the All-Star game again, and finished third for the Cy Young while helping St. Louis win the World Series. Carpenter was hurt throughout 2007 and 2008 but returned in 2009 and was stellar for the Cardinals. He lead the National League in ERA at 2.24 and finished second in the Cy Young. The Next two seasons Carpenter made up for his previous time lost by making the All-Star game in 2010, leading the MLB in games started for back to back seasons, led the National League in innings pitched in 2011, and won another World Series in 2011.
The Cy Young Award is good enough to rank Carpenter above others but what truly stands out are his postseason statistics. He has a record of 10-4, 3.0 ERA, a complete game shutout, 108 total innings pitched, and 68 strikeouts. Chris Carpenter is one of the best St. Louis Cardinals of all time.
1) Who other than Adam Wainwright? He has been the leader not just for the pitching staff but the team as a whole since he came on board as a reliever in 2005, and the only thing he hasn't done for the Cardinals is win a Cy Young or an MVP. His achievements include two World Series rings, three All-Star games, four top three Cy Young finishes, four top 20 MVP finishes, three All-Star games, two time Gold Glove winner, and a Silver Slugger Award. He has been a machine for the past 15 years playing every season with the Cardinals, and having recorded a win against every team besides St. Louis. For how awe inspiring he is as a starting pitcher the first memory of him that comes to mind is the 2006 World Series game five when he struck out Brandon Inge to end the game and win the title for St. Louis. The second memory is the 2006 NLCS when Wainwright struck out Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded to win the series. His all time numbers are 167-98, 3.38 ERA, 393 games played, 24 complete games, 10 complete game shutouts, 2169.1 innings pitched, only 176 homeruns allowed, 1830 strikeouts, 9001 total batters faced, and a 1.225 WHIP. The crazy thing is after seeing how he performed in 2020 it looks like he still has a couple or a few more years left in the tank at a minimum and hopefully with the Cardinals.
Wainwright has a postseason stat line of a 4-5 record, 2.89 ERA, four saves, 109 innings pitched, and 118 strikeouts.
This is the complete list of the 25 best St. Louis Cardinals pitchers from the last 25 years, I compiled this list to celebrate Jack Flahertys 25th birthday that was on October 15.
All statistics are from Baseball Reference and Fangraphs.
Feel free to leave a comment or suggestion down below or reach out to me on social media as I am always down for a conversation about Cardinals baseball.
Featured image courtesy of USA Today.
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