St. Louis Cardinals outfielders’ performance: 2022 is 2020

The performance of the St. Louis Cardinals outfielders so far in 2022 is like 2020 all over again, which is not a good thing.

St. Louis Cardinals fans have seen the team try a variety of solutions the last several seasons in an attempt to put together a solid outfield the last several seasons.  From free-agent signings like Dexter Fowler to trading for Marcell Ozuna to bringing up a variety of minor leaguers – Tommy Pham, Harrison Bader, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson, and others – nothing really seemed to click overall.  Sure, there were some strong individual seasons mixed in there, but the trio of turf defenders has been lacking as an overall package for a few years.

But then 2021 came.  O’Neill combined his Gold Glove defense with some serious power, Bader captured his first Gold Glove and provided an above-average bat, and Carlson finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting.

Problem solved, right?  The Cardinals could spend the offseason looking for starting pitching (Steven Matz), bringing in pitching more reinforcements in the form of hurlers returning from Asia (Drew VerHagen and Aaron Brooks), and at least thinking about a shortstop upgrade (but not actually upgrading).  The outfield was going to be strong for the next few years.

So far, that expectation has been more of a pipe dream.  Yes, major league hitters are performing awfully as a whole in 2022, but even by these reduced standards, Cardinals outfielders are struggling.  This unit isn’t reminding anyone of last year’s strong triumvirate.  Instead, we’ve headed back in time to the eminently forgettable 2020 campaign.

It might be painful, but let’s take a look at all three positions and see how St. Louis’ outfield has regressed to the low performance levels of two seasons ago.  (All stats through games of Sunday, May 8.)