5 burning questions the Cardinals must answer before Spring Training begins

2. What is Brant Brown’s plan to help young hitters development get back on track?

Back in August, I wrote this piece about how Brant Brown could be a strong candidate to replace Turner Ward if the Cardinals moved on from their former hitting coach this offseason. The Cardinals did indeed fire Ward and hire Brown, and so far, the reviews have been glowing from young Cardinals hitters regarding Brown.

Jordan Walker is one of the young Cardinal bats who took a step back in 2024, and if you just take a few moments to listen to his Winter Warm-Up press conference, you'll see how excited he is to work with Brown and the impact the new hitting coach has already made on Walker's swing this offseason.

Brown is going to be tasked with getting Walker, Nolan Gorman, Victor Scott II, and other young Cardinals' hitters back on track in 2025. The success of the Cardinals' young bats seems to be the key to both their immediate success and the long-term viability of this reset. If their bats get back to ascending in this league, the future is bright. If they don't, well, the "rebuild" word that the Cardinals keep avoiding will become the narrative they have to embrace.

I don't think it's an understatement to say that Brown may be the most important coaching hire the Cardinals have made in years. While Brown can't wave a magic wand and fix their young hitters, his ability to connect with them, earn their trust, and provide direction for their offensive approach will be a huge X-factor for this organization.

He's got a lot of work ahead of him though. Walker went from a top prospect in baseball with superstar potential in 2023 to lost at the plate in 2024. Gorman was mashing home runs left and right two years ago and was one of the best young power bats in the game, and he followed that up with a historically bad strikeout rate last year. Victor Scott II was often overmatched at the plate last year, Thomas Saggese did not hit during his cup of coffee with St. Louis, and both Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar saw slight regression. Heck, even Alec Burleson, who was excellent in the first half for St. Louis, fell off in a major way in the second half.

Can Brown help the young bats get on track? Early reviews say yes, but we all know the proof will ultimately be in the pudding.