The St. Louis Cardinals: Yeah, they’ve got issues (a musical analysis)

6. Ryan Helsley

“Indian Reservation” – Paul Revere and the Raiders

Should the Cardinals reserve a spot in their starting rotation for the one-quarter Cherokee fireballer, Ryan Helsley, who looked so good in the postseason? This is an issue, but perhaps a good issue to have.

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The rookie was a quality reliever in 2019, netting 0.6 bWAR in just 36 innings after his call-up from AAA Memphis. But it was in the NLCS that he really shined, pitching in three of the four games, and holding the dastardly Nationals at bay with no hits in four innings. This put one of the few smiles on Cardinals’ fans faces in that series.

But there was instant talk among keen observers that Helsley “just looked like” a starter. And we’ve known since Spring Training that Helsley is capable of throwing pitches over 100 mph, a shame to waste in his current middle-relief mode.

If so, when will they have to begin stretching him out as a starting pitcher? And will there be room for him in the five-man rotation when technically ahead of him on the depth chart are Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, Dakota Hudson, Carlos Martinez and the injury-plagued Alex Reyes? Issues… good issues for once.

7. Dylan Carlson

“New Kid in Town” – Eagles

Outfielder Dylan Carlson is the team’s number one prospect and was knocking on the door quite loudly in 2019. But at 20 years of age, despite the success of Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. (and other juveniles) the Cardinals simply weren’t having it. Years-of-control, don’t you know. Now that Carlson can have a legal-drink (next week), perhaps Carlson can be “unlocked.”

But the Cardinals will have issues come Spring of a) whether to give Carlson a big-league shot and b) if so, how much they can rely on his success to cede Marcell Ozuna to the free-agent waters?