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

Milwaukee Brewers v St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers v St. Louis Cardinals / Dilip Vishwanat/GettyImages
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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.