St. Louis Cardinals Superlatives for the 2022 Season

May 23, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (46) is congratulated by teammates at home plate after hitting a walk-off grand slam against the Toronto Blue Jays during the tenth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (46) is congratulated by teammates at home plate after hitting a walk-off grand slam against the Toronto Blue Jays during the tenth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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ST LOUIS, MO – MAY 11: Miles Mikolas #39 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Busch Stadium on May 11, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO – MAY 11: Miles Mikolas #39 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Busch Stadium on May 11, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) /

Best Comeback Story: Miles Mikolas

After finishing 6th in the Cy Young voting in 2018, the Cardinals handed out an extension to their diamond in the rough, and he had not been the same since.

After underperforming when on the mound and riddled by injuries otherwise, Miles Mikolas entered the 2022 season as a huge question mark in the rotation. So far this season, he has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Sporting an ERA of 1.96 and WHIP of 0.98 over 55 innings pitched, Mikolas has been a huge answer to one of the Cardinals biggest holes entering the season.

Outside of Adam Wainwright, the rest of the rotation has been unpredictable. Dakota Hudson has been up and down, the Jordan Hicks experiment has not been anything special, and guys like Steven Matz and Jack Flaherty are currently on the IL. The Cardinals needed another stabilizer, and Mikolas has risen to the occasion.

There are other candidates for this superlative as the season goes on. Depending on how Flaherty returns, if DeJong can get things together, or if Hicks can stabilize his stuff, they could make this conversation interesting. So far though, Mikolas as far and away been the comeback player of the year for the Cardinals, and maybe the National League.