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1. Diamondbacks top prospect Max Scherzer is continuing to build arm strength and raise his pitch count.  In each of his last four appearances he’s pitched one inning more than the last and his strikeout to walk ratio over that period has been 3.25 (26:8). If When the Diamondbacks need another starter, Scherzer should be the man.
2. Pirates closer Matt Capps has a Double-A appearance on Wednesday and a bullpen session to throw on Thursday. If both go well, he could return to Pittsburgh on Friday.
3. Even though Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright feels like he’s ready to return to the rotation, the Cards may force him to make another rehab start, if Chris Carpenter is ready to return soon.

With Adam Wainwright’s recent finger sprain, there are rumblings in St. Louis of moving reliever Kyle McClellan to the starting rotation. Wainwright’s injury doesn’t look to be very serious, and he looks to be back as soon as his DL stint is over. That said, with the Cards’ terrible rotation and McClellan’s four solid pitches and starting experience, it may be a move that’s best for the team in the long term.

Kyle is a 24-year-old former starter who suffered through injuries (including two elbow surgeries) in the minors and hasn’t started full-time since 2004. Despite that, he has a terrific starter’s profile, as he mixes in several good pitches with a low-to-mid 90’s fastball, walks very few, and is a dominant ground ball pitcher. Despite logging only 30.2 career innings in AA and jumping from there to the majors, he has been the best pitcher in the Cardinals ‘pen this season.

LaRussa says that if McClellan moves to the rotation, it will be for the long term. That makes him worth picking up in any league that’s remotely deep, if nothing else as a flyer that will help your ratios while you wait. If this does go down, he could be a Duchscherer-level sleeper.

Kyle McClellan’s Stats: