National media is changing its tune around the new-look St. Louis Cardinals

Before the 2026 season, most people had the Cardinals projected to finish last place, in the cellar of the NL Central. Not only were they supposed to be bad, but it was also said to be a historic kind of bad. 

For an organization as deeply rooted in winning as the Cardinals, you can imagine how unsettled fans were after seeing these projections. But based on recent recalculations, the Redbirds might not be so busted after all. 

Different baseball outlets have deemed the Cardinals watchable early on.

The national media is taking notice of the Redbirds' early-season success after dooming them to last place. Baseball personalities like Jake Storiale of Talkin’ Baseball, Chris Rose of the Rose Rotation, Peter Appel of JustBaseball Media, and Greg Amsinger of MLB Network have shown immediate interest in the Cardinals' impact tremors. 

“A lot of people in baseball media threw the Cardinals to the side. Not me,” said Appel. He continued, “It’s a team playing with nothing to lose. They intrigue me early on.” 

Chris Rose, on a segment with Talkin’ Baseball, continued the Redbirds hype train. 

“I thought that the Cardinals were going to be horrific to watch this year. In the offseason, I remember asking myself, “When was the last time they lost 95 games in a year?” Because that could really happen with how the NL Central has improved.” 

Rose seems about ready to recant his predetermined conclusion for the Cardinals in 2026. 

Jake Storiale added his two cents, “The Cardinals could have a better season than the Pirates, and I feel like two weeks ago, that sounded sinful to say.” 

Greg Amsinger appeared on KMOX Sports with STL Sports Central columnist Brenden Schaeffer prior to the season. He seems to have spearheaded this Redbird renaissance. 

“I like the team,” Amsinger said. “The rotation is filled with nothing but high-upside guys. It’s not solidified, but all five guys have upside. Nationally, people are writing the Cardinals off in a division which is silly to do.” 

In years past, most of the hype around The Lou has been internally sponsored. Beat writers, columnists, and other smaller networks that seemed to think they could root the Redbirds to a 12th World Series. 

Now, in the first year of the Chaim Bloom regime, St. Louis has capitalized on the new culture. They’re playing a fun brand of baseball, and the game is taking notice. The season is still incredibly young, but this kind of media buildup is worth noticing, especially the way in which it’s surfaced.