St. Louis Cardinals' veteran SP Adam Wainwright reportedly topped out at just 86 MPH in his most recent Spring Training outing. Although many pitchers require time to build up strength and increase velo as the spring rolls on, Wainwright's mark was concerning to say the least. The former All-Star revealed the reason for his low velocity, per The Athletic's Katie Woo.

“It’s a muscular thing,” Wainwright said. “My left glute and my left leg are not firing through. Even when I sprint right now, I’m not really getting my leg up like I want to.”

Wainwright referred to it as a “flaw” in his mechanics. Woo added that neither Adam Wainwright or Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol referred to the issue as an injury.

Adam Wainwright intends to increase his velocity as the spring continues on. It will be interesting to track his pitch speed during the World Baseball Classic, where Wainwright will pitch for Team USA.

It should be noted that Adam Wainwright is a talented enough pitcher to succeed even with low velo. He features an outstanding curveball that has always helped to offset his heater. Additionally. Wainwright has a brilliant pitching I.Q. and understands what it takes to get batters out.

He will still be a key piece to the puzzle for St. Louis regardless of what his velocity ultimately tops out at this season, assuming he manages to stay healthy.

Adam Wainwright later said that he feels like he's making “strides in the right direction.”

“Good thing was we made strides in the right direction. If I was throwing 82 (mph) today we were gonna have a real problem. Picked up a couple 86s — which I’m not real proud about — but we’re going the right way.”