St. Louis Cardinals: Reasons for the Cards to avoid the Moose

The Moose stinks at getting on base and the St. Louis Cardinals need on base machines.

Last year, Moustakas had an OBP of .314.  He has a career OBP of .305.  Critics will point out that Gyorko has the same career OBP.

That is true, however, Gyorko posted a career-high OBP last year in his breakout season.  His average OBP is also dragged down from his time with San Diego.  Gyorko’s OBP as a Cardinal is a much more respectable .324.  Over two additional seasons, Moustakas showed the world that his average OBP is accurate.

In addition to not getting on base, Moustakas puts the ball in play a lot.  That is a problem when you are incredibly slow and your teammates are also very slow.  Moustakas on the St. Louis Cardinals might set a record of double plays grounded into.  That, my friends, is a rally killer.

If Gyorko can replicate his .341 OBP or otherwise improve on that number, he will be the better on-base guy.  Moreover, I would rather have Gyorko’s slightly higher number of strikeouts than Moustakas’ propensity to ground into double plays – one out (yes, even via strikeout) is better than two.