4 updated hitting coach ideas for the Cardinals after Turner Ward's firing

The St. Louis Cardinals are in need of a hitting coach. After not renewing Turner Ward's contract for 2025, there is a vacancy within the coaching staff. Ward, the organization's fourth hitting coach since 2010, was Oliver Marmol's choice following the 2022 season. Former All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt also had a good rapport with Ward.

Since 2023, the Cardinals' offense has ranked 17th in wRC+ (101), 16th in OPS (.723), and 16th in wOBA (.315). Those are all fairly decent statistics, and they would look even better when paired with a strong pitching corps. The issue is that the Cardinals have failed to provide good pitching these past few years, too.

What has really been jarring to see has been the team's output with runners in scoring position since Ward's ascension to hitting coach. With runners in scoring position since 2023, the Cardinals have the 4th-worst OPS (.703), the 6th-worst wRC+ (92), and the 4th-worst batting average (.238). Without an ability to drive in runs, the Cardinals have gone nowhere.

While it may be partially unfair to pin all of these struggles on one man, particularly a person who isn't even playing the game, someone had to take the heat for the team's recent underperformance.

Back in August, I made a list of people who could theoretically replace Turner Ward in 2025 and beyond. Some of those names, including assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen and Triple-A Memphis's hitting coach Howie Clark, remain serious candidates. I'll revisit those two options briefly before re-opening the discussion.

Howie Clark would be a safe play, as he is quite familiar with players like Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II, Thomas Saggese, Ivan Herrera, and Nolan Gorman, all players tabbed to lead the organization in the future. He has also been in St. Louis's coaching system for quite some time.

Brandon Allen was allowed to retain his position as the team's assistant hitting coach -- a role he's held since November of 2022 -- despite Ward's firing. This alone may signal the organization's favorability toward Allen. His promotion may not be the most attractive move from a fan perspective, but it makes sense given who the Cardinals are as an organization.

Hiring either Brandon Allen or Howie Clark would be a good move, as they both have strong resumes and are notably good coaches. However, fans may want an outside candidate for the future.

These four hitting coach options woulld be excellent outside-the-box moves for the Cardinals this offseason.

Gary Pettis

Gary Pettis is a former player who became a coach after his playing career, as is the story for most coaches on an MLB staff. Pettis played for a decade from 1982 until 1992, and he won five Gold Gloves during his time in the league. He wasn't much of a hitter, but that doesn't mean he can't be a solid hitting coach.

After hanging up his cleats, he began a lengthy coaching career with the then-California Angels in 1995. Stints with the Chicago White Sox (1997-2002), New York Mets (2003-2004), and the Texas Rangers (2007-2014) ensued. What Pettis is most known for, however, would be his time with the Houston Astros since 2015. He was a part of two World Series teams in 2017 and 2022 while in Houston.

It was recently announced that the Astros would not renew Pettis's contract for the 2025 season, thus making him an available candidate. Pettis, 66, also served as a third base coach, baserunning coordinator, and an outfield coach in Houston. Under his leadership, the Astros led the league in wRC+ (112), slugging percentage (.441), and they've had the second-best OPS (.770) in baseball.

Pettis would be a great addition to the Cardinals' staff. He was instrumental in leading young players like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Yordan Alvarez in Houston, and his additional experience as an outfielder and baserunning coach would deepen the organization's coaching outreach. Additionally, Pettis is an outside voice, something the organization has been leaning towards since hiring Chaim Bloom last year.

Ryan Ludwick

Ryan Ludwick is the lone internal candidate on this list. He is currently a roving instructor for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he was instrumental in orchestrating a swing change for rookie center fielder Victor Scott II in July and August.

Howie Clark, the Triple-A hitting coach, was insistent on Scott adjusting his swing, but it took advice from former Cardinal Ludwick for things to change. Ludwick and Scott worked on shortening Scott's leg kick prior to swinging and instead using his athleticism in his swing; dividends showed pretty quickly. His average exit velocity increased, and he saw more power and home runs with his revamped swing.

Ludwick is listed as a special advisor with Jason Isringhausen for the minor league teams, but he could see his role grow this offseason. As a player, Ludwick had a slash line of .260/.330/.451 with 154 home runs in 12 seasons. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2008 thanks to a .299/.375/.591 slash line and an OPS+ of 151. He slugged 37 home runs and drove in 113 runners that year.

Ludwick has held his role as a special advisor and roving instructor in the minors since 2022. Perhaps a more stationary role in St. Louis with the big-league club would be enticing to Ludwick, now 46 years old. His coaching career has been spent solely with the Cardinals, as he has never been an instructor or coach for another team. This would be a risky internal hiring, but it would be a sign of a change of pace in the organization.

John Soteropulos

John Soteropulos is not a coach I was familiar with, so I can't take credit for mentioning him here. Kareem Haq was actually the person whom I saw bring up his name first as an option for hitting coach, and Kareem's reasoning is quite sound.

Soteropulos is a former Division 1 baseball player who attended the University of California, Berkeley. A few years after graduating, John combined his baseball acumen with his degree in English and Education to join Driveline, a company that specializes in data analytics in baseball. He worked for Driveline for almost four years before being hired by none other than Chaim Bloom in Boston as a roving hitting instructor. He has since been promoted to a hitting coordinator in Boston.

According to Kareem, Lars Nootbaar has worked with Soteropulos to improve bat speed. As is the case with most Driveline coaches, analytics and data are paramount for Soteropulos. He uses objective feedback like biomechanics, bat speed, and batted ball data to best help hitters find their stroke.

While he hasn't worked in isolation, Soteropulos's Red Sox have seen tremendous growth in their hitters since he joined the team two years ago. With Jason Ochart, the Director of Hitting Development and Program Design for the Red Sox, Soteropulos has helped Boston improve bat speed, bat-to-ball skills, swing decisions, and the flight of the ball via launch angle, barrel percentage, and exit velocity.

Red Sox hitters barreled baseballs at the 7th-best rate in 2024, the 13th-fastest average exit velocity in baseball, and the 9th-fastest bat speed in baseball in 2024. Boston also pulled fly balls, the best type of hit for damage offensively, at the 8th-highest rate in baseball in 2024.The changes that Soteropulos and his team implemented last year have been paying dividends already.

John Soteropulos's connections to Chaim Bloom make him a viable candidate to become the Cardinals' newest hitting coach, and his analytical approach to hitting would be a welcome change for an organization that has become stale in its coaching style.