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3 Cardinals we should see in the All-Star Game
The St. Louis Cardinals sit at 27-27 after winning their three-game series over the Cincinnati Reds. Last season, Nolan Arenado was the only St. Louis representative for the All-Star game held in Seattle. Although the Cardinals showed modest improvement from their terrible 2023 season, there will be more than one member from St. Louis at the 2024 All-Star Game in Arlington.
Here are three players who we hope will take a roster spot on the National League All-Star team next month, starting with a brand new starting pitcher who has been impressive in his limited time here.
Sonny Gray
The St. Louis Cardinals needed a no.1-starting pitcher, and free-agent Sonny Gray fit that mold. After a hamstring pull sidelined Gray in Spring Training, Gray debuted against the Philadelphia Phillies and pitched five shutout innings, albeit on a pitch count. Throughout the rest of April, Gray's performance was stellar enough to be voted one of, if not the best signings in all of Major League Baseball.
Among pitchers who pitched at least 50 innings, Gray is among the best in the National League. In particular, he has been one of the better strikeout pitchers. Gray ranks second in K/9, third in K%, and fourth in K/BB. In addition, Gray is seventh in the National League in WHIP and, more impressively, second in SIERA. It is no wonder why Gray has a record of seven wins and two losses so far in 2024.
Gray has significant competition for the National League All-Star Game. Phillies pitchers Ranger Suarez and Zach Wheeler have two of the four highest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) statistics among National League starting pitchers. The other two are a resurgent Chris Sale in Atlanta and first-year Dodger Tyler Glasnow. If Gray can stay healthy and Marmol and the coaches let Gray keep pitching, look for Sonny Gray to get an All-Star nod.
Ryan Helsley
The National League leader in saves will have a spot in the All-Star game in Texas. Ryan Helsley has started to return to his 2022 form and looks to be a lock for the Midsummer Classic. Armed with one of the best fastballs in the majors, Helsley also leads the National League in Games Finished.
As the Cardinals entered May, Helsley re-emerged after an injury-riddled 2023 season. His performance led him to be named NL Relief Pitcher of the Month by MLB.com. Here is what Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru said about the Cardinals closer:
Helsley missed about half of the 2023 season with a right forearm strain, but he's gotten right back at it in 2024. The 29-year-old put in a lot of work for the Cards in April -- his 16 appearances were tied for the most in baseball, as were his 10 saves.
Those were accompanied by a sparkling 1.69 ERA and 9.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio (19 strikeouts, two walks). Not to be outdone, he also returned with his characteristic high-octane fastball, which has averaged 99.3 mph this season.
In 2022, Helsley split closer duties with Giovanny Gallegos and finished with nineteen saves, while Gallegos had fourteen. Now established as the closer for the Cardinals, Helsley is poised to smash through that career-high 19 saves, as the flamethrower already collected eighteen saves entering May 31st. Seven of those saves have come since the Cardinal's win on May 12th in Milwaukee and are critical to this team's current hot stretch.
If the St. Louis Cardinals want to return to the postseason, Helsley needs to continue at this pace. We are starting to see glimpses of the Helsley of 2022, and that's good news not only for the team but also for Helsley himself. Look for Helsley to come in for a relief appearance in July at the All-Star game.
Masyn Winn
Mookie Betts will likely start the NL All-Star game at the shortstop position, but Masyn Winn should enter the game later on as a representative.
If you had told St. Louis Cardinals fans that by the end of May, Masyn Winn would be your leader in WAR, they would not have believed it, but it is true. Buoyed by an 18-game hitting streak going into the Philadelphia series, Winn is the Cardinals leader in bWAR at 2.2.
Masyn Winn's 18-game hit streak is the 2nd-longest rookie hitting streak in @Cardinals club history, trailing only Joe McEwing (25 in 1999).
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) May 29, 2024
Winn is 25-for-68 (.368) during the streak and has raised his average to .308. pic.twitter.com/vL1GT1jgUH
That bWAR is tied at second with Elly De La Cruz among shortstops behind Mookie Betts. Winn is, without a doubt, one of the candidates for National League Rookie of the Year. Here is what Bernie Miklasz said about Masyn Winn's impressive 2024 season from Scoops with Danny Mac.
Winn is slugging .475 in May. He's slugging .559 during his current 18-game hitting streak, with nine of his 25 hits going for doubles or homers. And of course he hits for average, leading all MLB rookies with a .308 batting average. Among hitters age 22 or younger, Winn ranks first in batting average and onbase percentage (.358), is third in slugging, and No. 1 with a .798 OPS.
Did I also mention that he can still play that famed defense Cardinals fans love? According to Baseball-Reference, Winn ranks second in the National League in Defensive WAR at 0.9 behind Arizona's Ketel Marte.
The All-Star game always has a representative from each MLB team, so unless Masyn Winn has an unforeseen significant dropoff in performance, the best player on the 2024 Cardinals will be at Arlington come July. While Winn may not be the Statcast darling that Elly De La Cruz is, Winn has shown to be one of the best players in the National League this year. Expect him in Arlington in July.
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