St. Louis Cardinals: Wild Card roster prediction

Let’s take a look at which members of the St. Louis Cardinals will be active for the wild card matchup against the Dodgers.

The St. Louis Cardinals are ready for the postseason. As we get set for the wildcard game in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Wednesday, it’s time to predict the postseason roster. It’s important to note that the roster can change between the wildcard and division series rounds. With that in mind, let’s take a shot at the official group that will be battling it out for the Cardinals.

Starter: Adam Wainwright

The veteran. The ace. Uncle Charlie. Waino will take the mound in the bottom half of the first inning and immediately be tested against the hot bats of Trea Turner and Corey Seager.

Starting position players: Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill, Nolan Arenado, Dylan Carlson, Yadier Molina, Harrison Bader, Edmundo Sosa.

The expected starting lineup for the Cardinals will be the same as the one that carried them through the historical 17-game win streak. Look for Tommy Edman to work the count early against Mad Max. Edman doesn’t walk much, but if the Cardinals can get runners on early, that would be a huge plus.

The bottom of the order is going to be crucial. Harrison Bader is on fire, but he hasn’t had a chance to produce on this big stage against a legend like Scherzer. Between him, Dylan Carlson, and the electric Edmundo Sosa, someone outside the big three will have to provide some runs.

Bench players: Andrew Knizner, Paul DeJong, Lars Nootbaar, Matt Carpenter, Jose Rondon.

One of the advantages of a one-game playoff is that you can carry an expanded bench. While the Dodgers are known for their depth, each Cardinals batter has a specific role to play in this game.

Knizner is unlikely to see the field, and I don’t expect Jose Rondon will be needed to pinch hit either. But between the energy of Lars Nootbaar and the veteran presence of Paul DeJong and Matt Carpenter, the Cardinals bench has both the ability and experience to deliver in a big moment.

Bullpen: Giovanny Gallegos, Luis Garcia, TJ McFarland, Alex Reyes, Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson, Kodi Whitley, Genesis Cabrera, Kwang-Hyun Kim, Andrew Miller

The Cardinals bullpen is ready to go. Garcia, Reyes, Cabrera, and Whitley are anchors and each are available to throw a shutdown inning. McFarland is a ground ball double-play wizard. Hudson and Kim are your long-relief men if you need two or more innings. And Gallegos has the ninth inning on lockdown.

Flaherty makes the team because he looked fantastic on Sunday. I’m not sure his exact role, but you can’t leave him out of the bullpen in this scenario.

If I were manager Mike Shildt, however, I would avoid Andrew Miller if possible. That being, said, I have to remind everyone that a veteran with postseason success can never be doubted on this stage.

Long relievers: Jon Lester, J.A. Happ

Lastly, since you know that there is only one starter needed in this win-or-go-home environment, there is no reason to put all of the regular rotation on the 26-man roster. As Woodford pitched on Sunday and you want Mikolas ready for the future, I would give the last spots to Happ and Lester. Two break-in-case-of-emergency lefties if the game gets really crazy.

And there you go. The expected 26 Cardinals ready for the wild card game in Los Angeles. First pitch at 7pm central on Wednesday. Let’s go Redbirds!