5 important things we've learned about the Cardinals at the season's 30% mark

The St. Louis Cardinals are 30% of the way through the 2024 season, and it's been a roller coaster ride, to say the least.

The lows have been frequent and more drastic than the highs to this point, but the Cardinals are playing better baseball as of late, quieting the noise for now on a potential retool or rebuild and right back in the thick of the NL Wild Card and NL Central races. The majority of the season is still ahead of this team, but it's fair to say that it is no longer "early" anymore.

So what have we learned about this club through their first 50 games? While there are still a variety of things that remain uncertain about this Cardinals team, I think it's fair to make these five declarations about them thus far.

The bullpen is the the Cardinals' biggest strength

Coming into the season, there was a feeling that this Cardinals bullpen could end up being a real strength of the club. While the offense was supposed to be their calling card, I was one of a growing group of voices saying this bullpen could be among the top 10 in all of baseball.

So far, so good.

Ryan Helsley, JoJo Romero, and Andrew Kittredge have been as good of a trio as you could ask for so far this season. Every time they enter the game, you believe they will get the job done, and if the Cardinals can hand them the ball with a lead, good things happen.

Last year, the rotation put the Cardinals behind in most games, but the bullpen was just as unreliable. St. Louis had the 10th most blown saves in baseball, and it felt like, throughout the season, they only had one or two relievers they felt confident in at any given time. The stress of having to cover a lot of innings for the rotation was real, but it was so deflating when the team would have a lead just to see the bullpen surrender it.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for their ascent this season as a whole is their dramatic improvement when it comes to swings and misses. Last year, the Cardinals' bullpen ranked 26th in baseball in K/9 and were 18th in FIP as well. So far this year, their relievers rank 12th in K/9 and 6th in FIP among all bullpens.

Outside of the big three I mentioned earlier, guys like Matthew Liberatore, Ryan Fernandez, John King, and Nick Robertson have provided the Cardinals with further depth in their bullpen that allows them to hold down leads even when their best guys are not available. They are expecting to add free-agent addition Keynan Middleton to that group soon as well, and we could see a number of other arms factor into the mix later as well.

Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado cannot carry the Cardinals anymore

I personally hope we can come back to this observation at the end of June and say we were dead wrong, but so far, it looks like Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are past the days where they can carry not just an offense, but an entire team, to success in the regular season.

Back in 2022, both Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado finished top 3 in MVP voting with their elite bats and top-end defense at the corner infield spots. They were one of the best duos in all of baseball, and they were the key cogs for a team that won the National League Central. Now, neither of them is anywhere close to being an All-Star-level contributor.

The signs of decline for both aging stars were there in 2023. Paul Goldschmidt still finished the year with solid numbers, his power had fallen off significantly in the second half and he just was not the same guy at the end of the season as he was earlier in the year.

Nolan Arenado saw a similar drop-off. He was an All-Star in the first half but had a dreadful second half that many (including myself) attributed to his back injury, leading to his worst year at the plate outside of the 2020 pandemic season. Arenado has also seemingly lost his power, although he's been able to hit for average in a way that Goldschmidt has been unable to this year.

I'm writing this piece before the start of the Cubs series on Friday, May 24th, and to this point, Goldschmidt and Arenado have combined for just 7 home runs this year. Goldschmidt's OPS sits below .600. Both of them have slugging percentages lower than .400. Things are very troublesome when it comes to the Cardinals' stars, as their performance comes nowhere near the title of star at this point.

While I would not be shocked to see either or both of them turn things around and produce 15%-20% above league average at the plate from here on out, the fact that it is the end of May and neither guy has turned it on is a major red flag. Even if the pair can turn things around, it is unlikely either of them can help carry a team anymore. They need the Cardinals' other bats to rise to the occasion.

The rotation is improved but is still a concern

Last year, the Cardinals' rotation put the club in a hole early and often. By the end of May, it was clear the Cardinals were going to be unable to overcome this flawed group, and it became priority number one for John Mozeliak and the Cardinals front office heading into 2024.

So far this year, the Cardinals ranked 20th in quality starts, 20th in FIP, and 21st in ERA. It has been improvement, and when the offense is producing it is good enough to compete for the playoffs, but there are still concerns that need to be addressed at some point this summer.

Sonny Gray has been the ace the Cardinals hoped he would be. His 2.87 ERA in his 8 starts thus far has given fans confidence every time Gray gets on the rubber. While Jordan Montgomery had a hot stretch in June and July before being dealt, Gray can be that steady, reliable ace all year long.

Free-agent additions Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn have outperformed expectations after an offseason filled with frustration over their signings. Gibson has a 3.81 ERA on the year and has covered at least six innings every time he has taken the ball until a rain delay ruined his last start where he had shut out the Orioles through four innings of work.

Lynn has had his fair share of starts cut short by rain as well, but his 3.68 ERA has helped keep opponents in check and provide the Cardinals with more stability to their rotation than they had last year.

That's the biggest difference this year - stability. Outside of Montgomery once he got into a groove, every other starter on the Cardinals could not be relied upon every fifth. All of them struggled with performance, and some struggled with injuries as well. Now the Cardinals feel good about three of their guys, which is an improvement.

Miles Mikolas and that fifth-starter spot have been a different story though. Mikolas' struggles from 2023 have continued this season and it is unclear if he'll be able to stabilize that production at any point. The even bigger issue is their lack of a fifth starter right now. Steven Matz is once again on the injured list, Zack Thompson and Andre Pallante are still stretching out in Memphis, and the Cardinals' best pitching prospects are not ready to go. This has forced Matthew Liberatore, one of their better relievers this year, to try and cover innings in the rotation.

Have the Cardinals improved their rotation? Yes. But they need to add more from outside the organization or see a few young arms rise to the occasion in order to stay in the race through September. They really need a second starter to pair with Gray as well if they are going to have any chance of winning games in October.

The addition of the third Wild Card allows the Cardinals plenty of time to figure things out

Some people are already looking at the addition of the third Wild Card as hurting the game of baseball, and while I'm not fully there yet, I can see why.

Even with how awful the Cardinals have been this year, they are just two games out of the third Wild Card before their first game of the Cubs series. The two teams ahead of them in the Wild Card standings right now, the Giants and the Diamondbacks, are both below .500 as well. In fact, even the Reds, who are 20-30, are just 5.5 games back from securing that spot.

This is crazy! If this was before 2012, when MLB added the second Wild Card, the Cardinals would be 6.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for that first Wild Card spot. Now, the National League has been pretty top-heavy this year, which is part of the issue, but we saw last season the bar got lowered significantly to enter the playoffs, and it's allowing teams like the Cardinals to make a push, even if some do not believe they should.

Now, this entire conversation can change in a matter of weeks if the Padres (who hold the third Wild Card) or any of the teams behind them catch fire and create a gap in the race. But honestly, teams have now started to build their rosters knowing they can sneak in with a low 80s win team. Teams who feel like they can make a run at the deadline may add enough talent to separate themselves, but there is a good chance we have a congested race at least until the middle or end of August.

What does this mean for the Cardinals? They have time. As long as the National League continues to not take a firm hold of that third Wild Card, the Cardinals are within striking distance of a playoff spot. Frankly, they are only 5 games back of the division right now as well. With 70% of the season still remaining, this club has time to figure things out.

The question remains, will they? I can't answer that question for you today, but I feel pretty confident in those five defining characteristics of the Cardinals so far this season.