5 bold Cardinals predictions that aged well in 2024, 5 that did not

Prediction that I nailed - Cardinals finally have an internal starting pitcher emerge in the Major League rotation

Well, the only part I did not actually nail was that I left out both Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy as options for guys who could fill that role, but overall, I think it was a great take on my end to predict that a young arm would finally take one of the Cardinals' rotation spots.

Coming into the season, all five rotation spots were filled by veteran options for the Cardinals, which is not a recipe for long-term success. The Cardinals had needed for a long time for someone to step up and take the bull by the horns in their rotation, and Pallante was that guy for them.

In 20 starts in 2024, Pallante posted a 3.56 ERA and 3.62 FIP over 111.1 innings of work, taking the time he spent in Triple-A improving his game and turning himself into a quality starter for St. Louis. Now coming into 2025, Pallante has a rotation spot locked down, and even the young Michael McGreevy will have every opportunity to earn a spot after his strong performances with St. Louis.

One thing I did get right was that we would have prospects knocking on the door of St. Louis as well, although I did not have the name Quinn Mathews as one of those options. Mathews will likely join the Cardinals' rotation in early 2025, and names like Sem Robberse, Gordon Graceffo, Matthew Liberatore, and Tink Hence will all be potential options in the near future.

My last prediction and one I missed on - Cardinals return to the playoffs but are unable to get past the Braves or Dodgers

If you actually just read the first four paragraphs of my original prediction, a lot of this actually worked out how I said it would. I identified how weak the NL Central was, and outside of the Brewers, I was right about there not being a major threat.

I also identified that even though the Cardinals only won 71 games in 2023, the Diamondbacks needed just 84 wins to make the playoffs that year. I thought it was likely that the Cardinals would win at least 84 games in 2024, leading to a playoff birth and then the potential for them to make noise in October.

Instead, the Cardinals won 83 games, and instead of being one or so games out of the playoffs, were six games back of the third National League Wild Card.

Well, I was about 50/50 on my bold predictions for the Cardinals in 2024 back in January, and I feel decent about that outcome. Maybe I can get above .500 like the Cardinals next year...