Cardinals: Paul DeJong – The Downfall We Should Have Seen Coming

Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals up to bat against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on April 16, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals up to bat against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on April 16, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 06: Paul DeJong #12 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after striking out in the sixth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 06: Paul DeJong #12 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after striking out in the sixth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 6, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

2. Paul DeJong’s strikeout rate skyrocketed.

In his latest campaign in 2022 it was evident that Pauly-D was just not making contact enough. Strikeouts, although present more than ever in today’s game, became the final straw for him. Here you can see how the contact type he was trying to provide also created more swing and miss with his Strikeout percent:

2018- 25.1%

2019- 22.4%

2020- 28.7%

2021- 25.6%

2022- 33.3%

Compounding his all or nothing swing and misses, he also was failing to reach base more as his walk rate declined from a peak in 2020 of 9.8% down to most recently this past 2022 season at 8.9%.