Colin Henderson goes over St. Louis Cardinals SP Adam Wainwright's success this season at 39 years of age and how fantasy managers can rely on him even in his advanced age.

Video Transcript

COLIN HENDERSON: Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright just continues to be a rock for the Redbirds. He pitched seven innings on Sunday against the Twins, giving up six hits and three earned, striking out five in a victory. The win improves his season line to 9 and 6 with a 3.53 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 124 strikeouts across 132 and 2/3 innings.

While those numbers would be good for many pitchers, especially ones who are pushing 40, they failed to give Wainwright the full credit he deserves. Dating back to June 1, Wainwright is 6 and 2 with a 2.96 ERA with opposing batters only hitting 2.16 against him. Across those 11 starts, he has pitched at least six innings in 10 of them, and at least seven innings in seven of them.

He has only giving up more than three runs once over that span, and has racked up 10 quality starts. Think he is getting by throwing junk? Think again, as he is currently on pace to put up one of the best K/9 ratios in his career while continuing to rarely issue free passes.

While it may normally be foolish to rely on someone at his age over the stretch run of your fantasy season, Wainwright is showing that he is an exception to the rule. Until he starts to show signs of aging or wearing down, he should be locked into lineups against all but the best offenses as the Cardinals try to keep their slight playoff hopes alive.