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Buy or Sell: 2022 Projections for St. Louis Cardinals Rotation

By Josh Jacobs

Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers the pitch in the second inning of game one of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on June 20, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers the pitch in the second inning of game one of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on June 20, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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JUPITER, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 22: Dakota Hudson #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the New York Mets in the third inning of a Grapefruit League spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on February 22, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 22: Dakota Hudson #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the New York Mets in the third inning of a Grapefruit League spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on February 22, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Dakota Hudson

2022 Projection: Record: 5-3, ERA: 3.63, Innings: 72, SO: 64, BB: 29, WHIP: 1.28

Verdict: Sell

Dakota Hudson returns to the St. Louis Cardinals rotation after missing the majority of 2020 and 2021 with Tommy John surgery. Hudson was a promising young pitcher for the club in 2018 and 2019, and the St. Louis Cardinals brass believes Hudson will get back to his rise to being a high level starter.

In his first full season back, his ERA and WHIP projections seem pretty realistic as he looks to find his groove again, but only 72 innings is projecting more injuries onto the Cardinal right hander, and although they do happen, Hudson was able to hit 174.2 innings in his full season as a starter, so expect 150ish innings if he is healthy. There is reason to believe he will put up better numbers than is even projected as well.

Miles Mikolas

2022 Projections: Record: 4-5, ERA: 4.28, Innings: 82, SO: 70, BB: 24, WHIP: 1.28

Verdict: Buy

Miles Mikolas has had an up and down tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals. In his first season with the club in 2018, he was an All-Star and finished 6th in Cy Young voting. He struggled a bit in 2019, and then missed all of 2020 and most of 2021 with injuries.

Coming into 2022, expectations should be low for what Mikolas can bring to the rotation. I would project more than 82 innings for him, but an ERA of 4.28 seems to be what the Cardinals should expect from him, but would be excited to see him catch some of his 2018 form.

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