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The St. Louis Cardinals’ Worst Enemies
By Chris Gigley
Gregory Polanco, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals Killer #1: Gregory Polanco Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
No one had more hits against the St. Louis Cardinals (28) than El Coffee did last year. And his .378 batting average against St. Louis was far better than his mark against any other NL Central team. Get this. Polanco hit just .197 against the lowly Milwaukee Brewers and .224 against the Cubs. Go figure.
Pitchers who attack him on the lower half and inside parts of the plate tend to get burned. But feed him a steady diet of breaking pitches with the occasional fastball high in the zone, and he’s as good as out.
But here’s the bad news. He’s just 24 and last year was his first full year in the big leagues. Polanco not only isn’t going anywhere for a while, he’s also young and talented enough to get better with age. His bat speed is insanely quick, which allows him that extra split second to recognize the pitch and swing at it. Polanco has the potential to be our next Thome.