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4 St. Louis Cardinals who need to step up before it's too late
The last place Cardinals are running out of time and patience
The Cardinals are stuck in last place in the NL Central. Who on the Cardinals roster must turn things around before it gets too late?
The Cardinals thought they would be in a better position at this time. They are playing the Cubs this weekend in London and look to gain some consistency and scrape back into contention against their rivals.
Consistency has been a consistent issue for the Cardinals lately. It's as if they get comfortable doing the good things they do and then fall out of sync, but it takes forever to get back into the successful rhythm. This goes for the entire roster. The line-up and pitching staff have all fallen to the inconsistency bug. It could just be the ebbs and flows of the game, but it's been incredibly frustrating this season.
Can the Cardinals regain some consistency? Can the Cardinals climb out of last place in the NL Central with the Reds, Brewers, and Pirates battling for the first three spots in the division and the always pesky Cubs fighting for contention? It seems like a daunting task. Certain players must step up before it is too late for the Cards. Let's discuss those players.
4. Nolan Gorman
Gorman got off to a fantastic start for the Cardinals. He began playing like the guy the Cardinals had expected to see when he was called up from AAA Memphis in 2022. But, much like in 2022, Gorman has trended downward in consistency and seems to be struggling at the plate.
In his last seven games, he's hitting .037/.161/.037 with four walks and 11 strikeouts. He has one hit and has scored a run for the Cardinals. That's a pretty terrible week for the potential All-Star. Overall in 2023, he's hitting .232/.317/.468 with an OPS of .785, 29 walks, 81 strikeouts, ten doubles, 15 home runs, 27 runs scored, 46 RBI and four stolen base.
Gorman seems to have fallen into an old habit of striking out. He could benefit from the layoff between games thanks to the travel time to London. He should be able to reset and refocus to get back to playing up to his standard. He has been a tremendous asset to the Cardinals this season as he's taken charge at second base, but he also performed well at third base and as the team's designated hitter.
Here's hoping Gorman can reboot and return to the hitter we have come to enjoy in the Cardinals lineup.
3. Paul DeJong
Since returning to St. Louis from AAA Memphis, DeJong has earned and kept his spot in the line-up with his bat and his glove, playing a top-notch shortstop allowing Tommy Edman to play elsewhere on the field and keep his bat in the line-up.
DeJong has credited his resurgence to a simplified swing he worked on with new assistant hitting coach Daniel Nicolaisen. The improved swing removes his leg kick, allowing him to generate power from his wrists and the ball's velocity. It's worked in his favor so far. He's hitting .231/.300/.457 with an OPS of .757, 40 hits, 28 runs scored, six doubles, 14 walks, 11 home runs, and 23 RBI over 49 games.
DeJong has trended down over the last seven games, hitting .269/.296/.538 with seven hits, five runs scored, two home runs, and three RBI. Unfortunately, he has struck out 11 times during the seven games.
While home runs are great, seeing him get some hits with runners on base would be good. Even getting on base for a batter who's hitting would be great. Getting some men on base and consistently working to bring them in instead of streaky hits would be excellent for the Cards. It would help them build toward the consistency they want to see to start winning more games.
DeJong has made great strides this season. After this season, he will be a free agent if the team does not exercise a club option. DeJong must continue working hard and help the team climb out of the cellar.
2. Dylan Carlson
Carlson has had a rough season battling injury. It seems he gets on a nice steady streak, will get injured, and then struggle some more before getting right. Here's hoping Carlson can stay healthy and endure the remainder of the season unscathed.
Over his last seven games, Carlson is hitting .273/.385/.545 with six hits, three runs, two home runs, one walk, and five RBI. He's had four strikeouts in that time frame. It's good to see him getting on base and producing.
In 43 games, Carlson has been productive where ever he's been placed in the outfield. He does better in center and right field. With Tommy Edman doing well in center field, it's good to see Carlson get his shot in right field.
Carlson is hitting .246/.325/.410 for the season with an OPS of .735. He has 33 hits, five doubles, one triple, five home runs, one stolen base, and 19 RBI. He has 11 walks and 28 strikeouts.
He's not doing poorly at the plate, but it would be nice to see him get more playing time so that he can produce more. The Cardinals do have a glut of outfielders, so getting Carlson consistent playing time so he may stand out has been a struggle. Hopefully, he will use this series in London and July to show out and prove the Cardinals were correct when they considered him their top prospect in 2020.
1. Pitching
Pitching has been a major issue for the Cardinals for many seasons now.
When it was more than apparent this offseason that pitching would be needed to help bolster the staff, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak did nothing to help the pitching staff, which will only have two pitchers signed after this season in Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz, who has been moved to the bullpen.
The Cards are relying on Mikolas and Adam Wainwright, who is in his final season as a baseball player, as their ace. Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery are each in their last arbitration seasons and will be free agents after this season unless the Cardinals sign them. Prospect Matthew Liberatore has made his way to the starting rotation.
The Cardinals have several pitching prospects developing in the minors, including Mike McGreevy, Gordon Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, and Tink Hence.
Their bullpen has needed some work as well. With Ryan Helsley on the injured list, Giovanny Gallegos and Genesis Cabrera have worked to hold down innings along with Andre Pallante, Chris Stratton, and Drew VerHagen. Tink Hence is a prospect that could be the Cardinals' closer in the future. In the meantime, flamethrowing righty Jordan Hicks has stepped up over the last week to close out three games. He finally looks like the relief pitcher the team has hoped to see him become.
Pitching can be highly volatile. The team has had so much turmoil in the pitching department led by a newcomer in pitching coach Dusty Blake. While Blake had previously been a pitching analyst for the Cardinals in previous seasons, he does have pitching coach experience at the collegiate level. It's not MLB experience, so he's been put in a trial-by-fire situation relying on his analytics knowledge to explain what he wants the staff to do. It would be great to have an experienced pitching coach, but Blake is the man in the position, and we must hope for the best.
It would be great to see Cardinals pitching get things together and gain the consistency needed to help keep the team in contention to win ball games for the rest of the season.
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More than any one player, getting the team's pitching staff on track will be vital to getting out of last place. If changes are not made with a veteran source outside the organization, this will continue to be the Cardinals' most frustrating concern.
Next. Cardinals all time lineup. Cardinals' All-Time Lineup based on WAR. dark