St. Louis Cardinals outfielders’ performance: 2022 is 2020

Tyler O’Neill won his first Gold Glove in 2020.  He also hit .173/.261/.360, which worked out to an OPS+ of 70, putting him 30% below average at the plate.  Unless he was playing shortstop like Ozzie Smith, O’Neill’s bat was going to have to perk up for him to be a key contributor going forward.

Cut to 2021, and things clicked magnificently.  O’Neill maintained his Gold Glove performance in left field while crushing 34 homers and batting .286/.352/.560, a 146 OPS+.  Sure, his strikeout percentage increased from 2020’s worrisome 27.4% to a cringe-worthy 31.3%, and his walk rate dropped from 9.6% to 7.1%, but the powerful contact he made when the bat found the ball was worth it.  O’Neill also chipped in 15 steals in 19 attempts, all adding up to an eight-place finish in MVP voting.  Heading into his age-27 season, things were looking very promising.

So far, not so good.  In about two thirds as many plate appearances as he had in that dreadful ’20 campaign, O’Neill is hitting .206/.277/.330, a disappointing OPS+ of 82.  He has only two long balls so far, though a 3-for-4 performance on stolen bases offers a glimmer of positivity.  While he is walking 9.8% of the time, he’s whiffing in 27.7% of his at-bats.

Something closer to last year’s numbers are going to be needed for O’Neill to continue as a heart-of-the-order threat.  He needs to improve, and even more so, the team needs his improvement.