What will the Team look like this Year?

2020. Yeah it feels weird, feels just like yesterday Pujols and Freese carried the Birds to a World Series and Tommy Pham had a breakout year and became one the best players in the game. But here we are — 2020. The Cardinals have an actual Ace, something they haven’t had since 2014 when Waino was unhittable, in Jack Flaherty. They have a star First Baseman with Goldy. They have the best up the middle defense in baseball who both are above average hitters. Kolten Wong and Paul DeJong both could win gold gloves. They have a HOF catcher. It’s the outfield that’s the question. LF doesn’t even feel like a competition it’s going to be O’Neill, he’s gonna hit 25-30 homers and strikeout over 100 times, we as fans have to accept it. I think he’ll also become comfortable with the position and be a pretty good defender, not Bader type but adequate. Center Field to me is the biggest competition. Thomas versus Bader. The right answer is so easy — Thomas. Thomas is a better hitter and has a better eye. He would make the team better starting every day. But it sure feels like the Cards are saying it’s Bader’s job to lose, which is stupid. He can’t hit breaking balls and is stupidly aggressive. What I mean by that is his approach is bad. He looks at fastballs down the middle but swings at breaking balls. If he can show that he can hold off more and swing at fastballs and barrel them, then maybe we can have a conversation on whose better. Thomas also is a great Defense outfielder, he has an above-average arm and very good range. Bader is the best defensive Center Fielder in the game. The choice to me would be Thomas and never look back (or be aggressive and make it Carlson). Right Field is a lock with Fowler, even though it shouldn’t be. He’s an average player and that’s okay. If Carlson was not as good as he is then I wouldn’t be complaining. Fowler is fine and liveable in the outfield, it’s just going to be frustrating if they don’t even let Carlson try to play because of that.

The next competition will be the 5th spot in the rotation. Originally it would have been between Martinez and K. Kim but with Mikolas’s injury, Martinez will be in the rotation no matter what. The competition will be between KK, Ponce, Cabrera, Gomber, and possibly Hesley. The best pitcher is Hesley and he should be in the rotation in the future but at the moment they need him to be an elite reliever and possibly part of the closer committee. My pick would be Cabrera, he’s the most fun and has the best stuff. Dude throws 96-99 and has a wipeout slider, oh and he’s a left-hander with swag. He needs an opportunity but he has command issues and probably would be better suited for the bullpen. He’s just so damn fun. The smart choice would be Ponce or KK and one of them will probably be the 5th starter. I’ll guess it’s KK, who will be pretty good. He’s projected by Fangraphs to have like a 3ish WAR which is fantastic for his price of 4 Mil a year.

The last competition is 3rd Base. It’s going to be Matt Carpenter. He’s gonna be given the chance and I think he’s going to do well with it. He’s added muscle this off-season and has been working to try and hit the ball to left field. I think he’s gonna have a prototypical Marp year where he hits .270 20 homers and an OBP of .380. Edman should get a look and I think he will, but he’ll most likely just be the utility man along with Brad Miller. The Birds utility players are pretty good and will be great bench pieces. And you never know, Arenado might be a Cardinal at some point this season, wouldn’t get your hopes up but it’s possible, especially with how the NL West is the most locked division In baseball. The Cardinals will be good, don’t worry. The projections don’t look great at the moment but the cards always outperform them. Again, another year, another team that somehow plays better than expected.