3 surprise players who've dominated at Cardinals Spring Training

These 3 players broke out this spring in a big way for the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have put together one of the best squads in the National League heading into the 2023 season.

Willson Contreras represents the most significant offseason addition for the club and is the perfect replacement for longtime backstop Yadier Molina, who sailed off into the sunset and retired at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

Looking around the rest of the roster, there weren't many areas of need over the offseason. The team is going to look very similar to the one that took the field every day last year, which is a good thing for the Cards.

Most of the usual suspects are playing as advertised in the early goings of Spring Training this year. However, there are a handful of surprise players who have been quietly impressive so far.

Let's break down three surprise Cardinals players who have been dominant in Spring Training.

No. 3: LHP Matthew Liberatore

Liberatore, 23, made his big league debut last year for the Cards, making nine appearances (seven starts) and going 2-2 with a 5.97 ERA, 5.02 FIP, and 65 ERA+. Nothing to write home about.

Entering the upcoming season, he is listed as the No. 6 prospect in the St. Louis farm system per MLB.com's latest prospect rankings and is going to be at or near the top of the list for injury call-ups as the regular season marches on.

The talent has always been there for Liberatore. He is a fairly durable pitcher who strikes guys out at an above-average clip but has yet to dial down the home runs allowed in his professional career. However, he has looked sharp so far in spring for the club.

In three appearances (two starts) in spring, he is 2-0 with a shiny 1.80 ERA in 10 innings. In that time, he struck out nine batters and walked only one. He has shown that he made the necessary adjustments over the offseason to force his way into the conversation for sixth starter/long reliever down the line for the big league club.

No. 3: OF Dylan Carlson

Carlson's inclusion on this list was a tough one because is he really considered a "surprise" at this point? All signs are pointing to him also returning to form in the upcoming season, much like Matz, as he had a down year last year compared to his stats from the year before.

The 24-year-old outfielder is very much still developing and has shown some growing pains in his three seasons in the big leagues. In 2021, he hit 31 doubles and 18 home runs with 65 runs batted in and an OPS+ of 115, finishing third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting as well.

Then, his production dipped a bit in 2022. In 128 games, he hit 30 doubles again, which is nice, but he saw a power outage at the plate. With only eight home runs and 42 driven in, his power seemed to have dipped significantly and he finished the year with an OPS+ of 100, exactly league-average.

Widely considered to be the club's center fielder of the future, Carlson is no longer a lock to start the year in center with Tyler O'Neill leading the race for that position. Roster Resource has Carlson penciled into right field instead, but there will be pressure coming from Jordan Walker, Juan Yepez, and Alec Burleson for playing time in the corner outfield.

In 14 games, Carlson has gone 11-for-40 (.275 average) with a pair of doubles, three home runs, and a whopping 13 RBI. He has typically been a strong performer in spring as evidenced by his numbers from the past few years, but he's never come close to 13 RBI in a single spring, so these numbers are encouraging.

Again, Carlson is still young, but there's certainly going to be a ton of pressure coming in the near future. Let's hope he's uncovered some untapped potential this spring and will finally take a starting outfield gig and run with it.