5 ways the St. Louis Cardinals should construct their lineup in 2023

The Cardinals can construct their lineup a number of ways in 2023

There are a variety of storylines facing the St. Louis Cardinals as they approach Spring Training in under a month. While there is some reason to be frustrated at their current pitching situation, there should be a lot of excitement surrounding the starting lineup.

Over the last few weeks, the Cardinals have been ranked a top 5 lineup in all of baseball, and the 2023 ZiPS projections are expecting big things from St. Louis this coming season. While some have focused their energy on why the Cardinals would hold onto so many options when they have needs on the pitching side of things, I argued that their hesitancy to move any of this depth at the moment was wise for ensuring the lineup is successful this year.

One of the things that have frustrated Cardinals' fans for years is the lack of options the organization has for the lineup. In recent seasons, especially before the addition of Nolan Arenado, it felt like the club was scratching and clawing just to have 3-4 reliable hitters in their lineup, and often had to field and order full of underperforming bats or streaky hitters, as that was all they had. The best teams have the ability to field a lineup that can do damage on a daily basis, and the elite lineups have the depth to rotate players, whether it is in a platoon or for rest, and still put up runs every day.

For the first time in recent memory, the Cardinals can confidently say they are one of those teams.

In those ZiPS projections, ten different Cardinals have 80th percentile projections to be at least 15% above league average, and that does not even include Jordan Walker or Tommy Edman, who will both factor into the lineup next year and should also join that conversation at the very least. In fact, nine of those ten players, according to those projections, have the ability to be at least 27% above league average, making this lineup extremely dangerous on a daily basis.

With all that being said, there are multiple ways the Cardinals can construct their lineup next season based on matchups, who is hot at the moment, and when they need to rest some of their stars. Here are five different ways the Cardinals can construct their lineup in 2023.

#1 - Opening Day lineup vs. right-handed pitching

I'll start by looking at the likely lineups based on pitch handedness before looking at some unique lineup types.

1. CF Lars Nootbaar 2. 2B Brendan Donovan 3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt 4. 3B Nolan Arenado 5. C Willson Contreras 6. LF Tyler O'Neill 7. DH Juan Yepez 8. RF Jordan Walker 9. SS Tommy Edman

Honestly, there is so much that could change about this lineup, but I am going a bit bold here and predicting a shake-up to the lineup during the season for the Cardinals. While Dylan Carlson could easily be the starting center fielder against right-handed pitching and Nolan Gorman may end up being the DH or at 2nd base, I am predicting Walker makes the Opening Day roster as an everyday player.

While I am a believer that Carlson will bounce back in 2023, his struggles against right-handed pitching were a real thing last year, and managing just a .686 OPS in 933 career plate appearances against them. If Walker impresses enough this spring to make the Opening Day roster, I think Carlson will lose playing time when right-handers are on the mound.

The Cardinals will likely keep their duo of Nootbaar and Donovan at the top of their lineup, who provide a mix of on-base skills and energy in front of their two MVP candidates. Having Contreras, O'Neill, and Yepez following up the MVP duo gives St. Louis a strong middle-of-the-order. Walker and Edman rounding out the lineup improves greatly on their 2022 lineup when one of Molina or Knizner was weighing down the lineup in one of those spots.

Still, the Cardinals have options like Carlson and Gorman who will still see significant time against right-handers as the club rotates its players. Burleson would likely see plenty of time as well if he is on the roster, but it's hard to see a scenario where all of Walker, Burleson, O'Neill, Carlson, Nootbaar, and Yepez make the roster.

#3 - Sandwich the hot-hitter

Something that the Cardinals did in 2021 that unlocked another gear in their lineup that did not work as well in 2022 was sandwiching one of their hitters between Goldschmidt and Arenado, a tactic that could be successful once again in 2023.

1. CF Lars Nootbaar 2. 1B Paul Goldschmidt 3. LF Tyler O'Neill 4. 3B Nolan Arenado 5. C Willson Contreras 6. DH Juan Yepez 7. RF Jordan Walker 8. 2B Brendan Donovan 9. SS Tommy Edman

I used the example of O'Neill as the 3-hole hitter as there is precedent for that trio working in the past, but I could really see any one of Nootbaar, Walker, Yepez, or even Gorman slotting in there if their bat heats up during the season.

Why slot someone in-between one of the best duos in today's game? If their bat is playing well enough to make them worthy of hitting in the middle of the order, it gives St. Louis the ability to get a guy like O'Neill or anyone else even better pitches to see on a more regular basis. With how much Goldy can get on base, and on-base guys like Nootbaar, Donovan, and Edman in front of him, opposing teams will have to go right after hitters in that three spot, not being able to afford to put them on base with Arenado and Contreras following after.

With the length this Cardinals order now has, hitting Goldschmidt second does not "penalize him" with fewer guys on base than normal. The 8-9 hole hitters, depending on the day, would likely be guys like Edman, Donovan, Nootbaar, or Walker, who will provide Goldschmidt opportunities to do damage consistently as well.

Now, this scenario really only works well if the 3-hole hitter is actually hitting - otherwise, you are breaking up a strong duo and giving opposing pitching staffs a "breather" in between them. But if O'Neill returns to form or one of those other guys becomes a great third or fourth bat, it makes a ton of sense to set them up for even more success while maintaining protection for Goldschmidt and Arenado.

The other way this option could work even better than it did in 2021 is if that 5-hole hitter is hitting in a way that teams cannot just give Arenado a free pass. If one of O'Neill, Contreas, Yepez, Nootbaar, or Walker is performing in the 3rd spot in the lineup and one of the others is in the 5th spot, teams will be forced to pick their poison each time through the order. Then the club has scrappy on-base guys at the bottom of the lineup to help set up that dangerous gauntlet once again.

#4 - When Willson Contreras is not catching

On days when Contreras is not behind the plate for St. Louis, there'll likely be some interesting shakeups to the lineup. I'll show a scenario where Contreras is DHing and when he is sitting, both against right-handed pitching, and then give my opinion on how St. Louis should handle his rest days.

Conteras as the DH - 1. CF Lars Nootbaar 2. 2B Brendan Donovan 3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt 4. 3B Nolan Arenado 5. DH Willson Contreras 6. LF Tyler O'Neill 7. RF Jordan Walker 8. SS Tommy Edman 9. C Andrew Knizner

Contreras resting - 1. CF Lars Nootbaar 2. 2B Brendan Donovan 3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt 4. 3B Nolan Arenado 5. LF Tyler O'Neill 6. DH Juan Yepez 7. RF Jordan Walker 8. SS Tommy Edman 9. C Andrew Knizner

When you look at both of these lineups, they are pretty strong when you consider that the 1-8 spots remain at minimum above league average hitters throughout. If I am being honest though, I would rather the Cardinals not DH Contreras and just let him rest fully when he's not catching, especially if they actually want him to catch close to 120-130 games next season.

My reasoning for this is one, Knizner (or Herrera) will have to play anyways, so you're not negating that by leaving Contreras in the lineup. One of the major reasons why Contreras will be such an impactful addition is that when he catches, this spot in the lineup may be one of the biggest upgrades in all of baseball from what the club's production at catcher was in 2022. The Cardinals should have plenty of DH options this year that need playing time between Gorman, Yepez, Walker, Burleson, and other starters like Goldschmidt and Arenado, so I'd rather just let them have those at-bats.

Second, I know being the DH is not super taxing, but handing out a five-year deal to a catcher is a big commitment. The Cardinals are paying him so that he can be their primary catcher for the duration of the deal, not turn into a mostly DH player by the end of that. Anything they can do right now to save his legs will be greatly appreciated in future seasons.

So, if I were Oli Marmol, I'll let Contreras DH when he's hot at the plate, and taking his bat out of the lineup is a bad idea, but for the most part, I am letting him have the day off whenever he is not behind the plate.

This last lineup I will look at really showcases the depth St. Louis had right now and how that can be a major strength this season.

#5 - Lineup when keys starters have the day off

When it boils down to it, outside of Contreras, there are three guys in the everyday lineup whose absence will shake up the lineup in a major way - Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Tommy Edman. The former two are MVP-caliber players who can carry the lineup and will be missed when they are not playing, and the latter is the club's primary shortstop and where their backup options are the thinnest.

I'll show two lineup constructions once again - both with Edman having the day off. One of the lineups will see Goldschmidt have a rest day, and the other will show what should happen when Arenado is off, both again against right-handed pitching.

When Goldschmidt/Edman rest - 1. RF Lars Nootbaar 2. SS Brendan Donovan 3. 3B Nolan Arenado 4. C Willson Contreras 5. LF Tyler O'Neill 6. 1B Juan Yepez 7. DH Jordan Walker 8. 2B Nolan Gorman 9. CF Dylan Carlson

When Arenado/Edman rest - 1. CF Lars Nootbaar 2. 3B Brendan Donovan 3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt 4. C Willson Contreras 5. LF Tyler O'Neill 6. DH Juan Yepez 7. RF Jordan Walker 8. 2B Nolan Gorman 9. SS Paul DeJong

Let me go a bit into my reasoning before you make too many judgements on these constructions. First, there will be days when Goldschmidt and Arenado need full-off days, but they will definitely see a lot of time at DH this season as well. I do think with the amount of DH options the Cardinals have, if a good chunk of them are hitting, it will incentivise them to let the MVP duo have more full rest days than they did last season.

When Arenado is out of the lineup, it is hard to imagine the Cardinals putting anyone else at third base than Donovan, especially if Edman is sitting as well. Edman appeared to slow down in the second half last year due to the grind of playing shortstop every day with few off days, so it is likely the club will want to protect him more if they can. If both Arenado and Edman are out, the Cardinals will need more defense on the left side of the infield, earning Paul DeJong some playing time. I guess Yepez could play third base, but an infield that features Yepez, Donovan, and Gorman without the shift is asking for trouble.

When Goldschmidt and Edman sit though, the presence of Arenado at third base should allow Donovan to slide in at shortstop and Gorman to fill in at second base that day. It is pretty incredible to see the strength of the lineup even when the Cardinals are sitting an MVP-caliber hitter. Just to flex a little more, look at their lineup on a day when BOTH guys are out of the lineup, which should rarely happen, barring injury, but is a possibility.

1. RF Lars Nootbaar 2. 3B Brendan Donovan 3. C Willson Contreras 4. LF Tyler O'Neill 5. 1B Juan Yepez 6. DH Jordan Walker 7. 2B Nolan Gorman 8. CF Dylan Carlson 9. SS Tommy Edman

Again, is this lineup ideal? No. But on a getaway day against the Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, or Oakland Athletics, this lineup is more than capable of winning. Honestly, it can compete with most lineups in today's game. Would that lineup be favored against the best teams? Again, no, but it shows just how deep this team is when rest is needed or injuries happen. It was not all that long ago that the Cardinals' crop of position players was so thin that even the thought of benching one of their regulars was brutal.

Honestly, I could have come up with so many more lineup combinations. What if certain players perform highly this year? What if others struggle? What will St. Louis do when those injuries do happen? I hope what this story showed is St. Louis has a ton of options going into 2023, and while other teams' lineups may become very thin after a few injuries or underperforming talents, the Cardinals should not be in that boat this year.