St. Louis Cardinals: Jhonny Peralta Shouldn’t Be In the Middle Of the Lineup

Jhonny Peralta competed with Jedd Gyorko during Spring Training for the starting third baseman gig with the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s got the nod for three of the first four games at the hot corner and is off to a slow start.

Last season, right fielder Stephen Piscotty was manager Mike Matheny‘s primary option to hit fourth in the St. Louis Cardinals lineup. He began Grapefruit League games last month in that spot, but spring struggles pushed him further down in the order.

On Opening Day, Matheny turned to veteran third baseman Jhonny Peralta to hit cleanup. He struck out in his first three at-bats before lofting a single to left field in his final plate appearance of the night. Two of his strikeouts came with a runner in scoring position.

Peralta was again in the cleanup spot for the second game of the series. He went one-for-four with another strikeout. His second hit of the season was a bloop that landed in between Chicago Cubs center fielder Jason Heyward and second baseman Javier Baez.

Jedd Gyorko got the start at third base in the final game of the Opening Series. He didn’t perform any better, finishing zero-for-four with two strikeouts.

Peralta was back in the lineup at third base for the first game of the series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. He went zero-for-three with two more strikeouts on a night when the Cardinals offense tallied only two hits, both singles, against the Reds pitching staff.

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Jhonny Peralta may well be the Cardinals’ best option at third base to begin the season. He’s been a steady offensive producer in his career, and he’s healthy after a thumb injury limited him last year. Unless Gyorko hits his way into the starting lineup, it appears Matheny will lean on Peralta more times than not to play third base on a regular basis.

However, Peralta shouldn’t be hitting in the middle of the Cardinals’ order. Fourth, fifth, or even sixth, Matheny has better options than the 34-year old veteran. The cleanup spot will be perhaps the most important spot in the St. Louis lineup this season, especially once top-of-the-order on-base machines Dexter Fowler, Aledmys Diaz, and Matt Carpenter get going.

Piscotty hit fourth on Friday night, and he remains the St. Louis Cardinals’ best option at cleanup for now. He’s hit extraordinarily well with runners in scoring position in his young career, and has better plate discipline and contact ability than Peralta.

Another possible candidate for the cleanup spot would be Randal Grichuk, but until he improves his ability to lay off pitches outside the zone, it’s an unlikely proposition.

Next: Takeaways From the Opening Series

The best way to jump start the Cardinals’ offense early in the season is not to split up the on-base guys from the run producers. Fowler, Diaz, and Carpenter all had on-base percentages above .368 last season. They need an RBI machine hitting behind them. An aging third baseman in a lineup that features better options isn’t the answer.