10 bold predictions for the Cardinals trade deadline and rest of the 2024 season

The MLB All-Star festivities are officially over and the St. Louis Cardinals will open the "second half" of their season on Friday against the Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals' 2024 campaign thus far has been filled with ups and downs, as the club looked dead in the water as early as May 11th but has stormed back into playoff contention ever since.

Even as the Cardinals have ascended back into the postseason mix, things have not gone swimmingly across the board. As bats like Willson Contreras, Alec Burleson, and Brendan Donovan lead the Cardinals' offense, others like Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, and Nolan Arenado still have not been the players we had thought they would be this season.

On the pitching side of things, the bullpen has been terrific, but cracks are beginning to show with some of their more highly utilized arms. The rotation has done its job this year, but it clearly needs another upgrade and some of the Cardinals' veteran arms have been shakier as of late.

With the trade deadline almost here and the Cardinals' push for October underway, I decided to give some takes on how I think the second half of baseball will go for this organization.

Here are 10 bold predictions about the St. Louis Cardinals' trade deadline and second half of baseball

Bold Prediction #1 - Masyn Winn finishes second in National League Rookie of the Year voting

Barring some crazy turn of events, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Paul Skenes does not run away with the National League Rookie of the Year voting this year. So for Masyn Winn and all other rookies in this class, the true competition is for who will finish second in the voting.

For the first month or so of the season, Cubs' starter Shota Imanaga looked like the runaway favorite himself, but he has been less and less effective as the year has gone on. While his ERA is still really good sitting a 2.97, it's risen to 3.31 over his last 15 starts and 4.62 over his last seven. I don't think Imanaga will be a bad starter the rest of the year, but I don't see him being as dominant as he was at the beginning of the year either.

Padres' Jackson Merrill and Brewers' Joey Ortiz will give the Winn a run for his money as well, but like Imanaga, both of them have seen regression in the past month or so as well. Ortiz is in this conversation due to his bat, and while his OPS still sits at .801, it has been rapidly declining as of late. Merrill's offensive production is very comparable to Winn's this year and he also plays at a premium position in center field, but I have more confidence in Winn maintaining his play down the stretch.

It will be a tight race, but that is also why I think Winn may have the edge. His ability to produce highlight plays with his glove, arm, and bat could sway voters in his direction.