St. Louis Cardinals: Lack of lefty pitching is no reason for concern

The dearth of left-handed pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals to open the season may alarm some, but fans shouldn’t panic.

The St. Louis Cardinals will start their season with one left-handed pitcher: Andrew Miller. With the Milwaukee Brewers as the first opponent of the season, some fans may be afraid they’ll be in for a bumpy ride.

The Brewers possess some solid left-handed hitters, including Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw and Mike Moustakas. But while Miller is the only left-hander in the bullpen and has held lefties to a .229 average in his career, he isn’t the only one adept at retiring left-handed batters.

John Brebbia, the final player added to the St. Louis Cardinals’ roster, has been very effective against lefties in his career; opposing left-handers have only hit .230 off of him. Alex Reyes has been solid as well, limiting left-handers to a respectable .240 average.

In 2018, the St. Louis Cardinals deployed six lefty pitchers: Brett Cecil, Austin Gomber, Tyler Lyons, Tyler Webb, Chasen Shreve and Ryan Sherriff. Webb was the most solid out of these pitchers, and Gomber showed flashes as well. Others, especially Cecil and Lyons, struggled throughout the season. Only Cecil, Gomber and Webb remain in the organization.

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Miller will try to break a recent trend of struggles by acquired bullpen arms. Cecil and Luke Gregerson have not panned out as hoped, and Greg Holland was a disaster. Shreve failed to impress in his limited action as well.

The recently released Shreve was actually better against right-handed hitters in his career, so his departure doesn’t hurt the team’s ability against lefties. Cecil could enter the picture as a second southpaw when he comes off the injured list, but it is also possible that should he struggle more upon his arrival, he could be released.

Something else to consider is the fact that the lefty specialist will be no more after this season. The rule change will require pitchers to face at least three batters, eliminating the “Lefty One Out Guy,” a left-handed pitcher who typically comes in to face a left-handed batter and departs after that hitter. With this being the final season for the LOOGY, it makes sense that the Cardinals might want to get a head start on the inevitable change.

Gone will be the days of bullpen spots reserved for lefty specialists such as Marc Rzepczynski and Randy Choate. Left-handed pitchers will need to be more adaptable in the future if they want to stick around, because being a southpaw won’t be as much of a perk as it used to be for many pitchers.

The team’s recent track record of relief acquisitions could cause some fans to be guarded in their expectations of Miller, but even if he falters, the St. Louis Cardinals should still be in a decent spot with their other pitchers’ abilities to pick up the slack against lefties.