Even before his first pitch of the regular season, Cardinals prospect Michael Wacha has already earned a promotion. Boosted by his solid spring performance with the parent club, Wacha is expected to start the season with Triple-A Memphis, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The young right-hander, who was the 19th overall selection in last year's MLB draft, finished the 2012 campaign in the bullpen for Double-A Springfield. In five Grapefruit League appearances this spring, Wacha permitted just one unearned run and one walk while racking up 15 strikeouts over 11 2/3 innings.