6 Cardinals who have stolen the show so far in Spring Training

The St. Louis Cardinals are 6-7 to begin their Spring Training schedule, and while the past few weeks have been filled with frustrating storylines regarding injuries and their veteran starting pitching additions, there are still a bunch of bright spots to keep an eye on.

At the end of the day, it's Spring Training. I don't take much stock in stats during camp.

Let me repeat. I take very little stock in Spring Training stats.

What I am paying attention to throughout camp and Spring Training contests is storylines, feel, and tangible progress from players. Stats tell a small part of that story, but there are a lot of other things that point to success this time of year.

You'll notice that I left players off this list who had better stats, and that was because I did not necessarily view their output so far as indicative of things to come.

Regular season results are what will tell the real story, but until then, I've got six players who have really stood out to me so far in camp.

Nolan Gorman

Throughout the 2023 season, Nolan Gorman was one of the best hitters on the Cardinals' roster, and with Lars Nootbaar likely missing the beginning of the season, it's even more important that he comes out of the gates swinging.

Posting an .891 OPS in his 19 at-bats so far, Gorman looks to be seeing the ball (and mashing the ball) well. But what I'm really intrigued by is the steps Gorman continues to take defensively.

Gorman saw a massive improvement in his OAA (-12 to -2) and RAA (-9 to -2) from 2022 to 2023, and it looks like he's continued to put in the work on that end going into 2024. Now, I don't expect Gorman to be a plus defender by any means, but average defense at second base with his bat is massive.

Victor Scott II

As the Cardinals are now likely without Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar on Opening Day, the door has opened for Victor Scott II to make the trip to Los Angeles with the team, and his play this spring has backed up that opportunity.

We all already knew about his elite speed and defense, but seeing it in action against major-league talent has been a sight to behold. I caught up with Scott on the Noot News Podcast on Sunday following his 2-4 performance against the Miami Marlins, and it's clear he's on the brink of his big league debut.

Scott has been heating up at the plate as camp has gone on, raising his OPS to .768 and constantly putting pressure on opposing teams. His dynamic skillset is a mixture of a throwback speedster who understands modern technology and developmental strategies.

Entering camp, it felt like a long shot that Scott would make the Opening Day roster, even with how exciting is, Now, he has a real shot to swipe the Opening Day job over the final weeks of spring. The timetable for return from injury for Edman and Nootbaar could impact it, but as things currently, stand, I have a hard time believing the Cardinals can afford to hold him from their roster if he's their best option.

Alec Burleson

Another guy who may benefit from Lars Nootbaar's injury, Alec Burleson has been swinging a hot bat this spring and is looking to carve out a significant role as the season opens here soon.

His .881 OPS so far has been impressive, but anyone who dove into his numbers last year would know that Burleson was due for positive regression. No, I'm not expecting him to be an .880 OPS guy when the season begins, but he was one of the unluckiest players in baseball last year (with only Aaron Judge having a larger regression from his xwOBA to his actual wOBA).

While Dylan Carlson has continued to struggle at the plate as he has stepped into an opportunity to replace an injured starter, Burleson has taken the opportunites and run with them. His defense is still a question mark, but thus far in camp, he does look improved compared to last year.

With Nootbaar being out of the lineup, Gorman and Brendan Donovan present the Cardinals with their only other left-handed impact bats. Having Burleson ready to rock and role come Opening Day and play a significant role can help balance the lineup out a ton, and if Scott ends up patrolling center field, he'll provide major support for Burleson on balls in the gaps.

Once Nootbaar does return from injury though, it's tough to figure out what Burleson's role on this team would be. But for now, he's taking advantage of the at-bats he is being given and seems like a lock to start on Opening Day.

Zack Thompson

While question marks abound with the starting rotation, Zack Thompson is someone who continues to look the part as the Cardinals' "next man up" in their rotation and will likely join that five-man group if Sonny Gray has to begin the season on the injured list.

Posting a 3.38 ERA with seven strikeouts across eight innings thus far, Thompson has done nothing but compete on the mound each time out, and could even carry more upside than other arms in the rotation not named Sonny Gray.

Last year, multiple young arms got opportunities in the Cardinals rotation to prove themselves as future starters. While none of them did enough to warrant them not signing three starters, Thompson was the best of the bunch and brought some swing-and-miss to the St. Louis rotation.

Thompson's role this year is hard to nail down. I have a hard time believing he won't be the next man up in the rotation if needed, but if he's not needed in that role, then I'll be curious to see if he lands in the bullpen or stays stretched out in Memphis.

While a bullpen role would make him a significant piece even when he's not starting, I think what's best for the club right now and ready to start, as I feel a lot better about Thompson early in 2024 than I do their other depth starters.

The Bullpen

This is cheating, but it's hard to single out just a few of the Cardinals relievers. Almost all of them have had strong camps thus far performance wise, and their stuff looks really good as well.

Ryan Helsley is healthy and ready to lockdown games for the Cardinals once again in 2024. Giovanny Gallegos, Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero, and Keynan Middleton figure to form a strong group at the backend of the bullpen to begin the season. But some of the young newcomers have caught eyes as well and it would not be a surprise to see their names rise.

Riley O'Brien has yet to allow a run in Spring Training, and his high velocity mixed with deadly breaking stuff makes him hard to deny a spot to. Rule 5 selection Ryan Fernandez has been really good as well, and figures to make the Opening Day roster as well.

Even some of the returning arms have made major adjustments this winter. Andre Palllante developed a "death ball" this winter and has used it to find success during his outing so far.

The bullpen was a weakness in 2023, and it may end up being a major strength in 2024. If that's the case, mixing a shutdown bullpen with this lineup takes a ton of pressure off of the starting rotation and could create a winning culture for St. Louis.