Cardinals Opening Day roster prediction with just 2 weeks remaining of camp

Lineups vs. RHP and LHP

vs. RHP

1. 2B JJ Wetherholt
2. C Ivan Herrera
3. 1B Alec Burleson
4. SS Masyn Winn
5. 3B Nolan Gorman
6. DH Nelson Velasquez
7. LF Nathan Church
8. RF Jordan Walker
9. CF Victor Scott II

How Cardinals' manager Oli Marmol puts together his lineup for Opening Day will be facinating to me. To me, the Cardinals' three best hitters are clearly JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, and Alec Burleson, so it would make a ton of sense to have them man the top three spots in the order, but that also does make the 4-9 spots feel really thin.

For awhile, I've had Wetherholt and Winn batting in the top two spots with Burleson and Herrera in the 3-4 spots, and that may end up being what Marmol goes with. Winn hasn't performed well at the top of the lineup in the past, but the Cardinals clearly believe he has another gear in him offensively, and that would really help the top of the Cardinals' lineup if he reaches that this year.

Against right-handed pitching, I think Church will get the early opportunities in left field, as it gives the Cardinals another awesome defender out there, and I know they believe he has more in the tank offensively. If Herrera is catching, Velasquez, Pozo, or Fermin all make sense as DH options.

vs. LHP

1. 2B JJ Wetherholt
2. DH Ivan Herrera
3. 1B Alec Burleson
4. SS Masyn Winn
5. LF Nelson Velasquez
6. 3B Nolan Gorman
7. C Pedro Pages
8. RF Jordan Walker
9. CF Victor Scott II

I do think the Cardinals will likely have Herrera be the designated hitter when lefties are on the mound, as it's an easy way to fit Pages into the lineup as another right-handed bat and get Herrera an off-day from behind the plate. When Herrera does catch though, Pozo or Fermin could easily see more playing time because of that, either at DH or Fermin could even play left field.

Ramon Urias may end up seeing some starts against lefties as well, as they could give Wetherholt the occasional off day against a lefty to rest him, or Urias could spell Gorman as well.

If the Cardinals trust Fermin or Saggese to play center field, I also would not be surprised to see one of them get a few starts out there against lefties over Scott, though the Cardinals really do value Scott's defense in center.