3 unexpected presents from the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2021 season

The 2021 season wasn’t perfect for the St. Louis Cardinals, but each year there are surprises that come out of nowhere. What were the three best this year?

2021 is almost over and it was yet another year where St. Louis Cardinals fans were spoiled by a trip to the playoffs. As much as a Wild Card exit felt like a disappointment, the season could’ve gone a lot worse.

The team was buoyed by an elite defense and a strong September, but there wasn’t too much to be angry about overall. As with every season, there were plenty of surprises that ultimately played a part in making 2021 what it was.

The biggest surprise of the year had to have been the man playing third base, Nolan Arenado. While he didn’t exactly stack up to his own standards, having Arenado in St. Louis at all is a dream fans have had for a few years.

To stick with the holiday spirit, what were three other surprise presents from the 2021 season?

Tyler O’Neill is finally here

After another rough season in 2020 in most offensive categories, a portion of the fanbase was ready to give up on the Cardinals’ left fielder. However, a deeper dive into his plate discipline numbers showed huge gains and the potential of a breakout on the horizon.

In 2021, Mike Shildt and the Cardinals gave O’Neill his first true opportunity (and likely his last) chance to start every day, and everyone’s expectations were blown out of the water.

After starting the season batting 5th behind shortstop Paul DeJong in the cleanup spot, O’Neill finished the season as the team’s everyday three-hole hitter. Sandwiched by Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, O’Neill put up a fantastic 5.4 fWAR behind a career-high 145 wRC+ and 34 homers in just 138 games.

By all advanced metrics, O’Neill’s breakout wasn’t luck. He earned all of the success he had in 2021 through an insane 17.9% barrel rate. Sure, his 31% strikeout percentage could make it difficult to repeat his 2021, but even a slight float back to earth leaves O’Neill as an extremely valuable bat in the middle of the lineup.

Add O’Neill’s Gold Glove defense to his emerging offense and it is easy to see why O’Neill was the most valuable player on the Cardinals in 2021.

Paul Goldschmidt still has plenty in the tank

Since Paul Goldschmidt was traded to the Cardinals and signed on long-term, he has never been “bad,” but fans had yet to see a year that resembled any of his top-10 MVP years that he had in Arizona in the first half of his career.

In 2019, Goldschmidt and his .821 OPS and 117 wRC+ was solid but nowhere near his career 141 mark in that category. Then in 2020, the shortened season saw opposing teams walking Goldschmidt more than ever to avoid facing the only formidable bat in the team’s lineup. When Goldy did get pitched to, a barrage of singles rather than extra-base power was concerning, even if his 147 wRC+ at the end of the year was great.

In 2021, an unlucky start to the year left his slash line at .239/.305/.380 at the end of the second month of the season. Despite the team having success at that time, there was growing concern about the team’s first baseman despite a crazy-high hard-hit percentage.

Thankfully though, regression works both ways. From June 1 on, Paul Goldschmidt was on fire at the plate slashing .322/.395/.583, thriving in the second spot of the lineup. By the end of the year, the 33-year-old first baseman put together his best all-around year in St. Louis with a 138 wRC+, 31 homers, and 99 RBI. Like O’Neill, he tacked on a Gold Glove to his 2021 resume and finished just ahead of O’Neill in MVP voting at the 6th spot.

With three years left under contract in St. Louis, 2021 was a great sign for Goldschmidt, even if it ends up being the high-water mark of his time here.

Whether it was Cabrera, O’Neill, or Goldschmidt, there were plenty of things to be excited about from 2021 when it comes to St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Sure, it’s tough to think about right now in the middle of a lockout, but there are plenty of pieces on the roster to keep building around as we move into next season.