As any good Cardinal fan knows, the St. Louis Cardinals have one Ace, and his name is Adam Wainwright. It’s true that Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, and Lance Lynn have all looked like young studs at one point in time or another, and they may even become better pitchers than Wainwright someday, but the rotation is anchored by the lanky right-hander — and it will be until he retires.
And yet, good Cardinal fan though I am, I have frequently struggled to think of Adam as a true Ace in the same sense that Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, and Felix Hernandez are.