Richard Justice says St. Louis Cardinals are the 2015 NL Central favorite
By Danielle
MLB.com columnist Richard Justice writes that the St. Louis Cardinals are the favorites to win the National League Central during the 2015 season.
Justice writes:
"Nothing that happens between now and Opening Day is likely to change one thing: The Cardinals will be favored to win their third straight National League Central championship and to make their fifth straight playoff appearance."
General manager John Mozeliak might not do a thing this offseason but this is a team that does need an offensive spark. Last season’s team was sorely missing such a spark but made the postseason anyway and the club’s fourth straight NLCS appearance. The team, Justice notes, scored 164 fewer runs in the 2014 season compared to the 2013 season. Of course, the 2013 season saw Allen Craig hit like crazy with runners in scoring position.
Justice makes note of the fact that there will be seven pitchers competing for five rotation spots: Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, John Lackey, Jaime Garcia, Shelby Miller, Michael Wacha and Marco Gonzales. I’ve jokingly said that the Cardinals have ought to go to a six-man starting rotation to make room for all these arms but the reality of that would take away a bullpen arm or a much-needed bat off the bench.
As for an offensive upgrade, Justice brings up possible trades for Matt Kemp or Carl Crawford or Justin Upton. At the same time, Justice writes “Mozeliak has to consider the wisdom of trading one of the things virtually every other team is trying to acquire.”
Could Kolten Wong and Matt Adams improve this season? Wong had a breakout postseason and won’t have to worry about losing starts to Mark Ellis or Daniel Descalso anytime soon. Ellis won’t be re-signed and the club is likely to non-tender Descalso.
"This isn’t unusual for young players. One of the things that has made the Cardinals a model franchise has been their ability to develop so many good, young players and to mix those young players into the lineup without missing a beat."
Matt Adams was red hot during the first half of 2014 but cooled down after the All-Star break, hitting .238 in August and .240 in September/October. Where Adams needs to improve upon is his hitting against left-handed hitters: .190/.231/.298. Looking at his splits this past season where Adams was the regular first baseman, one starts to wonder if he’ll ever hit left-handed pitching. This is definitely an area where the Cardinals should look for a right-handed option to complement Adams.
Justice wonders if keeping too much youth on the roster would bring uncertainty. This means that instead of a trade or signing a free agent as a stopgap in right field, the Cardinals would allow Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty to compete for right field. The youth question is a good one to ask. Regardless of which, the better question to ask, instead, is will the power show up this season?