Devastating news today for the St. Louis Cardinals as they face the possibility of losing Adam Wainwright for the season with an injured elbow. Further tests are scheduled with more results due tomorrow with the possibility that Wainwright could be facing Tommy John surgery. With pitchers, it could always be several issues with arm injuries but the fact that he had a 100 innings jump from 2008 to 2009 probably did not help matters. It also looks like he turned into a different pitcher the last two years as his strikeout rate would indicate, but how he got there tells a story too as he relied less on his fastball and increased the use of his curve ball, throwing it a close to 29% of the time last year.

Unless the Cardinals decide to pursue a trade or a free agent, here is a look at some of their internal options.

Lance Lynn – the first round pick of the Cardinals in 2008, he had a 4.77 ERA in 29 starts in Triple-A last season with a 1.38 WHIP and 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Still has some work to do on his control with 3.3 walks per nine innings.

P.J. Walters – has pitched at Triple-A the last three years and finally cracked the 4 ERA barrier at 3.81. Over his minor league career, he had 91 starts in 125 games with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP with 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He has not had any success in 46 major league innings so far with a 7.24 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.

Kyle McClellan – moving him into the rotation would leave a hole in the bullpen and he has not started a game since one start in 2007 in the minor leagues. His numbers have been much better in the major leagues than what he showed in the minor leagues where he started 51 of 103 games, compiling a 4.64 ERA with a 1.35 WHIP.

Ian Snell – non-roster invitee started eight games for Seattle in 2010, going 0-5 with a 6.41 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP.

Miguel Batista – another non-roster invitee, last started in 2008 when he started 20 games for the Mariners. Pitched in relief for the Nationals last year with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.