Brant Brown's replacement could hold the master key to the Cardinals' future

St. Louis Cardinals hitters were abuzz with excitement prior to the 2025 season when the team hired Brant Brown as its hitting coach. But despite Brown's modern approach to hitting, which reportedly differed from that of many of his predecessors, the Cardinals faltered down the stretch in 2025 and flatlined offensively in 2026, tying for second to last in the major leagues in OPS. St. Louis severed ties with Brown on Oct. 23, and as they potentially begin searching for a replacement, it's worth emphasizing the importance of whoever takes over the position, as he may have an outsized impact on the young Cardinals squad.

Fans often side-eye the hitting coach when an offense goes awry, and many times, it's an unfair criticism, as the hitters also need to do their part in executing on what they've been told. But with one of the youngest rosters in the major leagues in 2026 and that likely to still be the case in 2027, the Cardinals may need to place more importance on their hitting coach than many other teams do.

Although President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom hasn't thrown out a hard-and-fast year for the Cardinals to return to serious contention, the club will be under more pressure with each passing season to show signs of progress on the field and in the box score. On offense, that has increasingly meant developing hitters at the major league level.

With the contraction of the minor leagues and the baseball-wide trend of promoting prospects more quickly than ever, players are generally less refined at the major league level than in years past, as they usually haven't received as much time in the minor leagues to hone their craft. Therefore, with so many young hitters who remain unmolded balls of clay, the onus is on the major league hitting coach to help them flourish more than it ever may have been before. If the new coach fumbles in his duties, it might force the Cardinals to take an unexpected detour in their road back to respectability.

That's not to understate how crucial Brown's hiring was in trying to get the Cardinals back on track, and he may have helped some players take their game to the next level. Alec Burleson led the major leagues in RBIs, JJ Wetherholt constructed a strong rookie season, and Jordan Walker busted out with the performance that fans had expected of him when he was a top prospect. But several players failed to take that next step, such as Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott, and Walker credited his turnaround to assistant hitting coach Casey Chenoweth, not Brown.

Casey Chenoweth should be the favorite to become the Cardinals' next hitting coach.

One factor in the Cardinals' demise in 2023 was the lack of voices from outside of the organization, which could make it appear that Chenoweth taking over the role would be falling back into bad habits. As Brown's assistant, Chenoweth clearly espoused similar views to his former adviser, and if the Cardinals have learned one lesson from the rival Milwaukee Brewers, it's that philosophical harmony within an organization is a key to success. The team shouldn't risk upending that with so many young, developing players in tow.

The flip side is that the Cardinals' young hitters could possess some bad habits that those within the organization simply don't know how to fix, and a new hitting coach could help said players mend those flaws. This is how the Cardinals were able to repair their horrifically outdated pitching strategy. But Chenoweth has already earned his stripes by helping Walker unlock his potential, so he deserves a chance to help other hitters reach their ceilings as well.

Whoever takes the reins as the Cardinals' next hitting coach will be faced with a team that holds plenty of promising talent on the offensive side, and a strong coach who can coax the best out of players who have their entire careers ahead of them should lead to a flourishing Cardinals offense in the near future.

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