6 encouraging statistics from the Cardinals so far this year

Stat #4 - 31-20, 27-25, 24-27, 31-21, 24-27

Kind of a weird set of numbers right? Well, let's look at who each of these records belongs to this year.

1. 31-20: Atlanta Braves
2. 27-25: New York Mets
3. 24-27: Philadelphia Phillies
4. 31-21: Los Angeles Dodgers
5. 24-27: San Diego Padres

These are the five teams that many thought the Cardinals were lagging behind in the National League coming into the year. Obviously, the Braves and Dodgers are doing very well this year, but the Mets, Phillies, and Padres have all been more vulnerable than people thought they would be this year. The Cardinals are just two games back of the Phillies and Padres at the moment, and 4.5 games back of the Mets in the Wild Card standings.

Even for how good the Braves have looked this year, the Cardinals are only eight games off their current pace, which seems like a miracle considering how bad the Cardinals started. I'm not trying to argue that the Cardinals can finish with the best record in the National League, but what I do think this is showing is that the National League is pretty wide open outside of the Braves and the Dodgers.

And even with those two teams, but have experienced significant injuries with their pitching, especially the Dodgers. Not only did the Cardinals just take three out of four against Los Angeles this past weekend, but the Dodgers are now down Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Michael Grove, Julio Urias, and other arms that were supposed to make a major impact for them this year. If you compare the Dodgers and Cardinals lineups, the Cardinals are the clear winner in the battle.

There is still a long way to go this season, but if the Cardinals are truly turning things around, they look like a team that can at least compete with the top clubs in the National League. And according to front office executives around baseball, they have the assets to improve their roster.