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3 reasons to believe in the St. Louis Cardinals despite poor start to season
By Josh Jacobs
The Cardinals offense is on the verge of breaking out
While the Cardinals' offense hasn't felt like a great unit this season, the club does rank 8th in baseball in OPS, 3rd in OBP, 8th in SLG, and 4th in average. If you're interested in advanced metrics, they rank 7th in Brls/PA, 6th in hard hit%, and 3rd in sweet spot%. Basically, it's statistically baffling how few runs they are scoring.
Boosted a bit by their blowout win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, the Cardinals rank 14th in runs scored on the season despite those great numbers. A large part of that can be attributed to their performance with runners in scoring position. So far this year, the club ranks 26th in baseball by leaving 3.75 runners in scoring position per game.
I would be shocked if the Cardinals continued to struggle that much at the plate when there are opportunities to score this season. Nolan Gorman has started off the season scorching hot, and while Willson Contreras has heated up lately, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado have been quieter than you'd expect them to be.
It's only a matter of time before this offense gets rolling, and when it does, that itself should put them back into their winning ways. Luckily, there is reason to have some optimism about their pitching as well, even if it won't be a top unit with their current staff.