St. Louis Cardinals Player Projections: Dexter Fowler

The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder has been embroiled in controversy since his arrival, but management still has faith he can turn a new leaf. It will be a long and gradual climb, but will it be worth it?

Dexter Fowler is slated to be the starting right fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019, for better or for worse. Fowler’s performance last year didn’t give any reason for optimism, but we know now that he was dealing with issues off of the field as well.

Now that those issues are being managed in a more transparent manner with the team, there’s hope that the mended relationship will help keep Fowler’s head clear enough for him to rebound.

I am not expecting any huge revelation from Fowler this season. He isn’t getting any younger, and it will take some time to rebuild his lost confidence. On top of that, depression doesn’t just go away, it only hides for moments, so Fowler will have to learn how to manage those moments as well.

Personally, I think these ZiPS are some of the best projections of the players I have seen so far. I might change a few things, but this is generally a good idea of what I believe we will see from Fowler in 2019.

They definitely aren’t numbers to cry home about, but it would be a substantial improvement from 2018, which is the best St. Louis Cardinals fans should expect out of him. It would be great to see the Dexter Fowler the St. Louis Cardinals signed, but we don’t know if this is still that Dexter Fowler, of if that iteration of him is forever lost.

The other thing that will make it difficult will be consistency in playing time. The St. Louis Cardinals have a plethora of players they need to play, and Fowler will probably be the first man off of the field in favor of those guys. This isn’t a sign that management doesn’t actually have faith or anything, it’s more of the fact that many great players play the position Fowler resides.

The most notable of those names is Jose Martinez, who has been one of the best hitters on the Cardinals in the past few seasons. Another name is Tyler O’Neill, who was named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the year in 2018, and showed he has the potential to rake big in this league.

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No matter what way you look at it, you have to thing Fowler will be giving up some starts in favor of these guys this year. Barring a complete resurrection, there isn’t too much reason to play Fowler over either Martinez or O’Neill, especially if you are thinking about the future.

I think that Fowler will have some decent stretches, but won’t have consistent enough time to truly establish himself. It’s hard to blame the St. Louis Cardinals for this though, as there are players that simply need to play. This will certainly make it more difficult for Fowler to return to form, but he should get closer after turning a new leaf with the Cardinals.

My Projection: .241/.338/.393, 89 H, 8 HR, 11.95% BB%, 22.88% K%, 0.9 WAR 

While the two main players behind him are unbalanced, Dexter Fowler has the potential to bring a combination of intelligent offense and defense to the St. Louis Cardinals. It will take some time, but there’s a chance that for moments, we will see the Fowler of old.