10 St. Louis Cardinals studs and duds from May

Paul Goldschmidt #46 and Nolan Arenado #28 of the St. Louis Cardinals look on after the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 14, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 7-6 in eleven innings. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Paul Goldschmidt #46 and Nolan Arenado #28 of the St. Louis Cardinals look on after the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 14, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 7-6 in eleven innings. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Cardinals Nolan Arenado
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 07: Nolan Arenado #28 of the St. Louis Cardinals looks on after an at bat against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on May 07, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Dud: Nolan Arenado

May Stats (28 G): .196/.270/.373, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 9 R, 12 SO

After winning NL Player of the Month during April, Nolan Arenado looked to finally be putting together the kind of MVP caliber season fans had seen from him back in his Colorado days. It appeared to be a two-horse race between the Cardinals 3rd baseman and Padres Manny Machado entering May.

Arenado has not been himself during May, his his OPS dropping 482 points as his teammate Goldschmidt has begun to catch fire. Fortunately for the Cardinals, even though Arenado has not been getting on base at the same rate, he did still find a way to drive in runs with 17 RBI but left many runs on the table throughout the month.

Maybe his start in April was a bit more than we can expect from him, but it would be shocking if June was not significantly better for the Cardinal slugger. Hitting behind Goldschmidt, continued surges from rookie contributors, and the return of some injured contributors could bring some life back to the bat of Arenado. If he can begin to hit well again while Goldschmidt maintains MVP form, the middle of the Cardinal order will be nearly impossible to pitch to.