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3 impressive Cardinals standouts in this season so far
What a difference just a couple of weeks can make in baseball. The Cardinals had the worst record in baseball. They are climbing out of the cellar at five games back in the NL Central.
It's not been the greatest of starts to a season for the St. Louis Cardinals. It's been the worst the team has had in over 50 years. But over the past couple of weeks, the team has had a bit of a resurgence and is gaining ground in the NL Central. The Cardinals have won a series against the Cubs. They swept the Red Sox in Boston. They won a series in St. Louis against the Brewers and Dodgers.
This week the Cardinals are taking a swing through Ohio to play the Reds and Guardians. They haven't gotten off to the best start against the Reds, losing Monday 6-5, but they have three more games.
The team has also had some exciting players to step up in this period of resurgence. Let's discuss those players.
Nolan Gorman
Gorman has been so good he was named NL Player of the Week. He's hit .458 in six games, with a 1.519 OPS and four home runs. It was an impressive streak in an equally remarkable season for Gorman. After the end of his 2022 season, it's a beautiful surprise to see the work he put in to improve his swing. He had improved his offense over last season. It's as if we are seeing now what we had hoped to see to start his career last season when he was brought up from AAA Memphis.
When you know, you know! pic.twitter.com/RCpWSBoZ99
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 21, 2023
Gorman is slashing .302/.392/.636 with an OPS of 1.028. He's scored 21 runs, 43 hits, 13 home runs, 39 RBI, and three stolen bases. And this is through the first couple of months of the season. It will be exciting to see what he can accomplish this season.
Paul DeJong
DeJong started the season on the injured list, but he has been outstanding since his comeback. Over the offseason, he worked to simplify his swing. He's no longer using a leg kick and relies on the power generated from his swing and the pitch's velocity. He looks more comfortable at bat and has the results he has been working so hard to achieve.
105.8 MPH off the bat of Paul DeJong! #STLCards pic.twitter.com/IRYadGVX2G
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 21, 2023
In 93 plate appearances, he slashes .289/.366/.627 with an OPS of .993. He has 24 hits, 19 runs, eight home runs, 18 RBI, and two stolen bases. DeJong has massively struggled since the Covid-19 shortened 2020 season. It's great to see him look more relaxed at the plate. He does appear to be having fun again playing the. That matters, and it will be noticed by his teammates, who have to be impressed with their teammates' results after such a struggle.
Here's hoping Pauly D keeps having a great season.
Willson Contreras
Contreras has been the man to watch so far this season as he has the massive task of taking over the starting catcher role after the retirement of Yadier Molina, who'd filled the position for nearly two decades.
Contreras was delegated to play designated hitter at the beginning of the month to learn the inner workings of being a catcher via the Cardinal Way. Contreras handled the controversy of how the matter was handled by management professionally. After a week, he returned to the starting catcher's role. He subsequently caught the best game thrown by Jack Flaherty in two seasons. On May 15, he pitched seven innings, giving up three hits and no runs while striking out ten batters. Flaherty was quick to credit Contreras for helping him through the outing.
Willson Contreras hits this one to dead center for the lead! 💥 pic.twitter.com/GeU84W9Nqy
— MLB (@MLB) May 19, 2023
Contreras was also seen as a significant offensive improvement at the catching position. He's hitting .237/.321/.393 with an OPS of .714. He's had 41 hits, 21 runs, 12 doubles, five home runs, 25 RBI, and four stolen bases.
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The energy and enthusiasm Contreras brings to the Cardinals clubhouse have been fantastic to watch. The Cardinals typically quietly go about their business, so it's fun to see a player with enthusiasm express it and it seems to be a nice change of pace for the team. Hopefully, Contreras keeps that fire burning. It will be so important down the stretch.
Next. 6 Cardinals who could become superstars. dark