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5 pitchers the St. Louis Cardinals could target this offseason

By Miranda Remaklus

Mike Maddux of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on from the top step of dugout during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on September 05, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brewers defeated the Cardinals 6-5. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
Mike Maddux of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on from the top step of dugout during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on September 05, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brewers defeated the Cardinals 6-5. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 11: Alex Wood #57 of the San Francisco Giants pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game 3 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 11: Alex Wood #57 of the San Francisco Giants pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game 3 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Alex Wood

Lefty starter Alex Wood, 30, started 26 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2021, going 10-4. He threw 138.2 innings and induced ground balls 50.8% of the time.

Wood uses three pitches – a sinker, a slider, and a changeup – and used the sinker a majority of the time. At 91.8 mph, the sinker had 20.9 inches of vertical drop with an active spin of 99%. Wood’s slider averaged 84 mph with 41.3 inches of vertical drop and an active spin of 26%. Wood’s change-up averaged 85.3 mph with 36.2 inches of vertical drop and an active spin of 95%

In 2021, Wood tossed a walk rate of 6.7% or 39 total walks. This is outstanding considering the walk rate of the entire St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff in 2021. Wood had a strikeout rate of 26% with 152 strikeouts. He had an impressive swinging strike percentage of 32.2%.

As a left-hander that can throw several innings with an interesting mix of pitches that can induce ground ball-outs, he would be a good fit for the Cardinals rotation in 2022. The low rate of inducing walks is pretty awesome to see as well.

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