St. Louis Cardinals: Paul Goldschmidt is off to a slow start

What should we make of Paul Goldschmidt’s slow start for the St. Louis Cardinals?

We recently wrote about how Nolan Arenado is starting fast for the St. Louis Cardinals and on pace for a career-best season. But what about Paul Goldschmidt?

Goldschmidt, quite simply, has started slow. He is hitting .236/.276/.347 with two home runs and seven RBI in 17 games. He has struck out 18 times in 72 at-bats. His OPS is .624, which is nearly 200 points lower than his previous career low OPS that he set in 2011. For a player the Cardinals trust to hit No. 2 in the lineup, who also is coming off a .304/.417/.466 slash line in 2020, he needs to be better. A lot better.

The good news for the Cardinals is that Goldschmidt will get better. He has been an All-Star caliber player in almost each season of his 10+ year career and has shown no signs of regression, especially as he enters his age-33 season. And when Goldschmidt does bounce back, that will only further improve Arenado’s numbers, making the Cardinals an even more dangerous team — and the type of team they envisioned when they entered the season.

The Cardinals will need Goldschmidt to be better, and rather quickly. They are tied for last in the National League Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the division, are coming off a sweep of the San Diego Padres. And the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs are second and third in the division, respectfully, though both are playing under .500 baseball the last 10 days.

It’s far too early to panic and why the Cardinals are not sweating their slow start. But their ability to overcome the slow start falls squarely on Goldschmidt’s ability to bounce back and there’s every reason to believe that he will do so. It’s just a matter of how quickly he will be able to do that.