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St. Louis Cardinals: Five story lines for the Cardinals in the weeks ahead
By Shane Sturtz
4) Can Kolten Wong sustain his early season St. Louis Cardinals success at the plate?
Kolten Wong hasn’t lived up to the five-year, $25.5 million contract he signed before the 2016 St. Louis Cardinals season. After his strong rookie season, Wong hasn’t been able to play at that level.
He has been criticized for letting errors in the field affect him at the plate. His mental fortitude was constantly in question and it finally caught up to him in 2016 as he batted .240 with only nineteen XBHs and twenty-three RBIs. A somewhat waste of a season for the Flyin’ Hawaiian.
In 2017, Wong was ready to carve out a new role and put everything behind him. And he’s done that so far. Mostly batting at the bottom of the lineup, Wong is slashing at .278/.378/.414 with one HR, eleven 2Bs, and sixteen RBIs.
He already has more doubles than last year and is fast approaching his RBI total. Wong has quietly produced no matter where he is in the lineup.
His consistency may be reason to believe he could move up in the order due to the struggles of Aledmys Diaz and Dexter Fowler. His power may have leveled off, but Wong is still a good contact hitter who can add speed on the base paths.