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Overreaction 2 - The Cardinals lineup has more problems than we thought
In addition to Nolan Arenado, many of the Cardinals' young exciting hitters are not off to amazing starts. Nolan Gorman has an OPS+ of 50. Jordan Walker has an OPS+ of 19. Is it possible that the lineup that was hyped up by fans and media all offseason isn't as good as we thought?
Well, the Cardinals are playing extremely shorthanded right now. Lars Nootbaar has missed the start of the season. So have Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman. Victor Scott II was an emergency call-up and he's a defense and speed-first outfielder. Alec Burleson is seeing significant playing time in the lineup but would be a bench bat with the team fully healthy. So while health and depth are key parts of having a good offense, we should refrain from judging the Cardinals until they play more games.
Lars Nootbaar's imminent return will give the Cardinals a much-needed boost in the middle of their lineup. Having Noot in the lineup over Burleson will be a much-needed upgrade. Gorman and Walker will come around eventually. Both are still hitting the ball hard, and the results will come in time. Paul Goldschmidt is taking much more competitive at-bats than he was during Spring Training, and he has historically started slowly in April. Moreover, even without the offense performing at its best, the Cardinals are finding scrappy ways to win through baserunning and timely hitting, something they failed to do last year.
The Cardinals are also finding some great offensive production in unexpected places. So far, Masyn Winn has been swinging the bat tremendously and Ivan Herrera has earned himself a lot more playing time next to Willson Contreras. There may not be another offense in baseball with as much depth as the Cardinals. Even with all the injuries, their lineup competes every day, which is a drastic improvement from 2023.