St. Louis Cardinals: Departed Players Are NOT Better

Jason Heyward- RF

Everyone take a breath before we dive into this discussion.  We all know how painful the Jason Heyward departure was on Cardinals fans–most likely thanks to his going to the Cubs but also due to his comments explaining his reasoning.  That stated, let’s examine his spring numbers against Stephen Piscotty (at-best option) and Jeremy Hazelbaker (at-worst option).

First, though, Heyward-

Heyward is an outstanding player and that cannot be denied but these numbers do not paint that picture.  For whatever reason, these numbers are not painting the picture of the player fans watched in St. Louis in 2015.  It is early, and we can all very likely assume that these numbers will climb, but at this point I wonder how frustrated fans would be if Heyward was sporting the birds on the bat?

An interesting comparison is that of shocking Hazelbaker.  Let’s look at his spring numbers:

Hazelbaker is making a strong push to break camp with the major squad.  While these numbers are facing lesser-qualified players, Hazelbaker is currently posting better numbers than Heyward including three additional stolen bases!  In 2015, Heyward was heralded as a stolen base threat, yet now it seems that perhaps Hazelbaker is the stolen base solution?

Let’s turn our attention to the at-best option for 2016 right field, Stephen Piscotty:

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Piscotty, one year younger than Heyward, is also posting better numbers at this point than Heyward.  While not posting the power of Heyward, Piscotty is crushing OBP numbers as compared to Heyward.  In addition to this, Piscotty has stolen three bases while Heyward has stolen only one.

And, by the way, all of these numbers have come in fewer at-bats than Heyward has faced this spring.  Noting these stats, would you rather have Piscotty and Hazelbaker or Heyward?  Again, it is important to note that these are spring numbers and are subject to be completely different in the season, but…?

Next: Opening Day Lineup Prediction

Despite all the gnashing of teeth at this point about the lackluster Cardinals, do you think these former players would be contributing or further complicating these feelings?  I feel that these former players- if with the Cardinals today- would have us all shaking our fists at Mozeliak for keeping them. In short, our current roster is better than the players who departed. Period.