Cardinals' young starters will need stout defense behind them

For the last several years in MLB, the pitching trend has leaned towards striking out batters and limiting balls put into play. The St. Louis Cardinals, meanwhile, have been stuck in their pitch-to-contact ways, much to their detriment and downfall.

Since 2021, the Cardinals rank second as an organization in ground ball rate at 45.4%. Conversely, they rank 29th in strikeout rate (20.1%) in that same time span.

Lucky for the Cardinals, their groundball-prone pitching staff has been buoyed by a stout infield defense behind the pitchers. 2026 may be the year that defensive alignment changes.

The St. Louis Cardinals' young pitching staff will require strong infield defense behind it.

The Cardinals look to roll out a starting rotation of Matthew Liberatore, Dustin May, Michael McGreevy, and some combination of Kyle Leahy, Richard Fitts, Andre Pallante and Quinn Mathews in 2026. Of those seven pitchers, Kyle Leahy had the highest strikeout rate at just 22%, but he logged the vast majority of his innings as a reliever last year. Dustin May (21.1%) had the highest K rate of any pitchers who were primarily starters last year.

In 2025, Cardinals pitchers ranked second in ground ball rate (45.5%), second in ground ball-to-fly ball ratio (1.33), 29th in strikeout percentage (19.8%), and they had the highest zone contact rate (85.5%). It's not expected to see those values change dramatically even if strikeout artists like Liam Doyle and Quinn Mathews make it to the majors.

Conversely, the Cardinals' defense last year was well suited for a pitch-to-contact staff. As a team, the Cardinals ranked first in Outs Above Average (35), first in assists (1,557), fourth in FanGraphs defensive value (24.1), tied for fifth in Fielding Run Value (21), and tied for ninth in fielding percentage (.987). While it may have given coaches and fans some extra gray hairs, the roster construction of the 2025 Cardinals was fairly strong when looking at the pitching and defense in conjunction.

Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II were top-10 defenders in baseball according to Outs Above Average. Nolan Arenado (3 OAA) had a return to form defensively, and Willson Contreras (6 OAA) adjusted quite well to first base. Additionally, Brendan Donovan (2 OAA) was a reliable defender at second base. Unfortunately, three of those infielders are now playing elsewhere while the majority of the Cardinals' pitchers remain.

Alec Burleson (0 OAA at first base in 2025, -2 OAA at first for his career) will fill in primarily at first base. Rookie JJ Wetherholt, who grades out positively defensively at shortstop and should be able to handle the transition to the keystone just fine, won't be much of a downgrade if any from Donovan defensively. Where things get tricky is at the hot corner.

Right now, the position is Nolan Gorman's to take. The only issue is that Nolan Gorman has struggled defending at third for his career. He was a negative defender there (-9 OAA) in 2025. If manager Oli Marmol wants to field his best defensive lineup while also trying to optimize offense, it may be ideal for Gorman to stay at second base and shift Wetherholt to third base.

The final piece in this defensive puzzle is Ramon Urias, whom the Cardinals signed just last week to a one-year deal. Urias is a former Gold Glove recipient who is entering his age-31 season. While it's not expected that Urias will usurp Gorman in the starting lineup, he would be a reliable defensive option on days where Gorman, Winn, or Wetherholt need a day off.

When talking with Tom Ackerman of KMOX last Sunday, president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom discussed the importance of having a reliable defense behind young starting pitching. "When you're trying to win the way that this organization likes to win and when you're trying to support young pitchers...improving your defense is always something we'll look to do."

The 2026 St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff is looking to be more of the same: a pitch-to-contact staff that struggles with striking out batters. Having a stout defense behind these groundball pitchers will be imperative to those pitchers' growth. While there are still plenty of question marks across the infield, an alignment of Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn, and Nolan Gorman should bode well for these inexperienced pitchers.