Bold St. Louis Cardinals predictions for the 2020 season

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Jack Flaherty #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals – (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Baseball can always find a way to surprise even the most avid of fans. The St. Louis Cardinals could see some crazy things happen in the 2020 season.

The St. Louis Cardinals are preparing for the upcoming 2020 season which will be just 60 games.

In a shortened season we are bound to see some crazy things occur, and the Cardinals are no exception.

With that in mind, here are five bold predictions for the St. Louis Cardinals this season.

Jack Flaherty has an ERA Under 1.00

Jack Flaherty emerged last season as the Cardinals ace and as one of the best pitchers in the sport. His second half of the season was historic. Flaherty’s second-half ERA was 0.91, which is mind-boggling and a true indicator of his potential greatness.

To look at the other perspective, it will be hard to continue to pitch at that pace. Some regression is probably fair to expect. But for the 2019 season as a whole, his ERA was still an excellent 2.75.

In a potential 60-game season (less than half a normal season), I could see him continuing that remarkable stretch of pitching. Flaherty is a no-doubt ace and an absolute competitor. If he isn’t already, he’s going to be a household name very soon.

Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals – (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The Cardinals make a significant mid-season trade

This might be the boldest prediction on this list if you look at the Cardinals track record at the trade deadline in recent seasons. I’m also unsure how eager teams will be to make trades in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. With the economic landscape of the sport up in the air in the short term, it’s possible we’ll see some teams looking to shed salary.

It’s also possible that more teams will still be realistically in the playoff race and thus less likely to trade away assets from their major league team. I can’t say with any certainty how I expect the trade deadline to shake out this season, but I’m predicting a splash from the Cardinals.

With some money coming off the books after the season and even more after the 2021 season, alongside a consistently loyal fanbase that will probably be ready and willing to rush back to Busch Stadium whenever fans are allowed again, the Cardinals might be in a position to pounce on a deal if a difference-maker is available.

Another thought here is that the Cardinals might see this as their last potential run with Adam Wainwright and/or Yadier Molina (both have expiring contracts) and might try to puncture this era of Cardinals baseball with another run for a title.

Dakota Hudson #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals – (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

An Unlikely Contributor Emerges

Last season the Cardinals got a huge boost from Tommy Edman. His arrival sparked a struggling offense and he now has a defined role as at least a super-sub, if not as an everyday player.

The Cardinals will be facing a sprint this season where every game is magnified so much more than usual. They should play the best players and never try to punt away any opportunities.

With that said, injuries happen. Players can underperform. There are a lot of things that can happen to lead to unexpected chances for unexpected players. Who could that be this season? My guess would be someone stepping up in a big way in the bullpen. Maybe Johan Oviedo grabs a role and runs with it? The team has long had success with young pitching, especially debuting in relief.

Dakota Hudson loses his rotation spot

How good was Dakota Hudson last season? It’s a serious question. By looking at his “back of the baseball card” stats, he looks like a budding star. Hudson won 16 games in his first season in the rotation and also had a 3.35 ERA. Hard not to like those numbers, right? Dig a little deeper and you’ll notice his FIP was 4.93, over a whole run and a half higher than his ERA. That suggests some of his 2019 success was helped by some good luck.

His walks were also a big red flag. He led baseball in walks, at 4.4 walks per nine innings. Add that to the fact that he’s not a big strikeout pitcher and you’ll see reasons why he’s due for regression.

That’s not to say he’s not valuable, as he is an extreme ground ball pitcher. That will always help him to escape some jams and could help him avoid a major step back. That could play in relief in a Seth Maness type of role.

Matt Carpenter #13 of the St. Louis Cardinals – (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

The Cardinals have a bottom-five offense

Last season, the Cardinals struggled to score runs at times. If you look at their projected lineup it has some players on the downward trajectory of their careers, and some players with relatively little MLB experience.