5 Cardinals who've shown great improvement through May, 2 who must improve

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a dramatic improvement in recent days. There's much speculation about what is behind the fire lit under this team, but it's great to see and we hope it continues into June and beyond.

The team is now 23-26 after completing their first sweep of the season over a young Baltimore Orioles squad, who had not been swept since May 2022. They are now closer to .500 baseball and a full game ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates in third place. It seems like the best baseball we've seen from the team in ages—or at least two years ago.

The most improvement has come from a core of young players who will be Cardinal mainstays for years. However, improvement is desperately needed from a couple of players who are signature pieces to this team. Seeing these young stars shine should boost the improvement of veterans.

Masyn Winn has improved

Management received a lot of criticism at the beginning of the season for how they were handling Winn. The team signed veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford to mentor and back up the young star, who has some lower back issues.

As time has gone by this season, Winn has gained more consistent playing time, finally showing some benefit. He hit his second home run of the season in the seventh inning of Wednesday afternoon's game. The home run traveled 375 feet at 99.8 mph on a 78.6 mph slider from Cole Irvin. The hit had a launch angle of 21, which indicates he is not trying to go up into the range where more pop-ups are possible. Winn generally hits with an angle to get fly balls and is getting good results.

On Friday, Winn had a homer travel 402 feet at 102.8 mph on an 83.4 mph sweeper from Cam Booser of the Boston Red Sox. The hit had a launch angle of 28 and was still within flyball range.

With a career-best 13-game hitting streak, he is getting on base more and contributing with his speed. Winn is a good case study for backing off and gaining a launch angle on hits.

Nolan Arenado needs to improve

Arenado is another player for whom fans have high expectations for a successful season. However, much like last season, the talented third baseman needs help getting back on track.

He's hitting .269/.322/.371 with ten doubles, three home runs, 20 runs scored, 21 RBIs and 14 walks. He is averaging a launch angle of 17, so he's getting more line drives. He's never averaged as a fly-ball hitter but has gotten more lift from his swings in the past. When he first joined the Cardinals, he averaged an angle of 20-21.

It's obvious Arenado is working to improve his swing. After experiencing lower back tightness last season, he's making adjustments. Hopefully, Arenado can zero in on the key to getting more production from his swing.

He's still the best when it comes to defense.

Lars Nootbaar has improved

Those aren't boos you're hearing when Nootbaar is at the plate. You're hearing a loud chorus of NOOOOT!

The international superstar started the season off slow after a rib injury set back his start. Something clicked for Nootbaar in May, and the talented youngster is getting hits and making spectacular plays in the outfield, like this play from Wednesday.

Nootbaar is hitting .213/.329/.386 with seven doubles, five home runs, 22 walks, 13 runs scored, 22 RBI and two stolen bases. He is a dynamic player and a fan-favorite clubhouse presence. Hopefully, Nootbaar will keep up the great work and increase his superstar power.

Ivan Herrera has improved

The Cardinals didn't know what to expect when they asked Ivan Herrera to take over everyday catching duties when Willson Contreras suffered a broken arm. Contreras was playing well; seeing him hurt felt like a gut punch. Thankfully, Herrera has played very well in tandem with his backup, Pedro Pages.

Herrera has struggled over the past few seasons to live up to the hope he would become the heir apparent to Yadier Molina. But given plenty of playing time, Herrera is stepping into his own. He's now hitting .280/.351/.380 with ten walks, a double, three home runs, 14 runs scored, and 15 RBIs. Once Contreras returns from the injured list, Herrera will likely still receive plenty of playing time as the two are each valuable designated hitters.

Nolan Gorman has improved

Go-Ahead Gorman is back!

Gorman has picked up the pace over the last week, seemingly not overthinking things at the plate and just hitting. The new approach seems to pay off greatly for the talented young hitter. Check out what he did when the Cardinals came back to play Wednesday to pick up where they left off due to a rain delay:

Gorman is slowly breaking out of a slump that was hampering him from getting a good start on the season. He is now hitting .207/.303/.421 with 20 walks, seven doubles, eight home runs, 18 runs scored, and 21 RBIs. He's also making strides on defense as a second baseman.

He's becoming a player you look forward to seeing at-bat because you could be watching something amazing. Here's hoping Gorman stays on this upward trend.