5 former Cardinals players who have been outstanding this season

Marcell Ozuna has been outstanding this season

Marcell Ozuna's time in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform was complicated. He was a key part of the 2019 Postseason run, but he largely underperformed what was expected after being acquired from the Miami Marlins. Moreover, the two pitching pieces sent to Miami, Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen, were a huge miss from John Mozeliak.

However, once he left St. Louis, he immediately burst onto the scene in Atlanta, leading the league in homers during the pandemic-shortened season. He's had some struggles both on and off the field, but he's had a huge resurgence that started in 2023.

If not for the arrival of Shohei Ohtani in the National League, Marcell Ozuna's resurgence would've garnered much more attention. Ozuna from the Braves has been nothing short of spectacular, clubbing 21 homers with a .314/.390/.596 slashline for a 174 OPS+. The former Cardinals outfielder turned DH has been the second-best bat in the National League by a considerable margin.

While much of the Braves lineup has been disappointing this year with injury and underperformance, Ozuna has carried the weight, leading the league with 65 RBI. Of course, with this great offensive performance, the Cardinals would benefit from Ozuna's bat in the lineup, especially with the massive pitching package they sent to Miami. However, it's not all lost, as letting Ozuna walk in free agency did grant them the ability to draft Alec Burleson, their best hitter so far this year.

While he'll almost certainly lose out to Shohei Ohtani for the starting job at DH for the National League All-Star team, fans will certainly get a glimpse of him at the Midsummer Classic in Arlington in just a few weeks.