5 St. Louis Cardinals that could have breakout seasons in 2023

2. Nolan Gorman

The one positive we saw with Nolan Gorman in his first season last year was his prodigious power against right-handed pitching, and the negatives were his defense which we somewhat expected playing an unnatural position at 2nd base, and strikeouts. Looking at the current roster, it would make sense to see Gorman start the season as the DH because the defensive setup in the infield is currently positioned, but Gorman should still get a lot of at-bats in 2023.

What makes me think Gorman will break out this season is the development we've seen just in Spring. As I mentioned before, strikeouts were what held Gorman back last season, specifically on fastballs high and out of the strike zone, he has changed his swing to where he's not beaten with velocity at his eyes as much. He also had some reps facing left-handed pitching, which can get him more at-bats, so I see Gorman with some tweaks to his swing not swinging and missing as much, and breaking out with a 30+ home run season this year.

3. Zack Thompson

The former first-round pick of the Cardinals made his MLB debut last season with St.Louis, mostly in the bullpen and he quietly had a very solid first year. His era sat just a touch over 2 in 34.2 innings pitched and showed a great repertoire of pitches.

One of the biggest questions going into Spring Training this year was who was going to be the left-hander out of the bullpen to get big outs late in games. Thompson impressed again this Spring as he has yet to allow a run, and he along with Packy Naughton will be the 2 lefties coming out of the bullpen, but I expect Thompson to go in more high-leverage situations. I can also see Thompson potentially move into the rotation if the need is there at some point this season, similar to what we saw Andre Pallante do for a small stretch last year. 2023 will be the season I think everyone will realize that Zack Thompson is a stud.

4. Jake Woodford

A lot like Zack Thompson, Jake Woodford flew under the radar last year and was very efficient. In small sample sizes, Woodford's era has gone down by one and a half runs every year in the big leagues from 5.57 in 2020. to 3.99 in 2021, and 2.23 last year. He's a pitcher that distributes weak contact, as he had a 53.3% ground ball rate last season, over 10% above league average.

It appeared that Woodford was competing for a bullpen spot in the spring, then when Adam Wainwright went down with an injury, Woodford impressed the most to replace Waino in the rotation to start the year. What was impressive with Woodford in his appearances in spring was the high K rate despite throwing mainly sinkers. He definitely has the stuff that plays in the rotation or bullpen, I see his steady progress in the MLB will pay off for the Cardinals and for Woodford to have a great season

5. Jordan Walker

Last but not least, the phenom.

Now I don't think it would surprise a whole lot of people if Jordan Walker breaks out this year and has a big rookie campaign, but it's never a guarantee for someone to produce right away. I'm going to go on a limb here however and say he will break out, and be one of the best hitters on the team.

I've seen the comparison to Albert Pujols and how he made his first team. going into spring and literally forcing your way onto the team, bypassing AAA, and going straight to the big leagues, Albert never looked back, and I don't expect Jordan to either. So is Walker going to have 37 home runs and 130 RBI in his rookie year like Pujols did? I doubt it, maybe in a few years from now, but I'm going to predict 20/25 home runs, around 80/90 RBI, and he has 30 stolen bases potential as well.

That would be best case scenario as we have to realize he's only 20 years old, but with his combination of poise, maturity, and pure raw talent, I don't see him taking too long to figure out big-league pitching, he's ready and that's why he's on the Opening Day roster.