8 Cardinals we were wrong about to start the season

The Cardinals have started the season with an 11-24 record. What did fans get so wrong with their expectations before the start of the season?

The Cardinals haven't had a start this disastrous in over 50 years. Fans had high expectations going into this season and now wonder why.

The organization's top prospect, Jordan Walker, made the team out of Spring Training. He subsequently went on a 12-game hitting streak to begin the season before things slowed down. The 20-year-old collected two home runs, two stolen bases, and 11 RBI in 73 at-bats. He was sent to AAA Memphis to work on his launch angle, as he'd been knocking grounders in his last week with the team. When Walker was sent down on April 26, it was said he would be back sooner rather than later.

The starting rotation includes Adam Wainwright, who debuted his final season in the major leagues on Saturday after a groin injury left him sidelined for the first month of the season after participating in the World Baseball Classic. Miles Mikolas signed a two-year extension and has been considered the staff's ace, yet he has a 1-1 record in seven games. Jordan Montgomery has looked great in all seven of his starts but has received the worst luck with a 2-4 record. Jack Flaherty, who fans hoped would return to ace form, is also 2-4. Steven Matz is 0-4 after six games.

With Waino retiring, the only starters signed after this season is Mikolas and Matz, who may be headed to the bullpen. Montgomery and Flaherty are each free agents after this season, and both have expressed interest in returning to the Cardinals if possible. Jake Woodford, now on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, is 1-2 after seven starts. The organization has several young pitchers developing in the minors.

While everything is a mess and the team is losing in ways that baffle the mind, let's discuss other players who fans have been wrong about.

8. Jordan Hicks

He is not the relief pitcher the Cardinals have hoped he would become for them. Hicks is an excellent young man who can throw 103 mph. But that means nothing if he consistently has no control over the pitches he's making.

Hicks has pitched in 14 games this season, accumulating an 0-3 record with an ERA of 7.62 over 13 innings. He has 22 strikeouts for the Cardinals.

He earned the loss for the team in his outing on May 5, only pitching two-thirds of an inning. He gave up one hit, two walks, and three earned runs. He did get one strikeout. It was probably his worst outing since the team had decided to put him in lower-leverage situations. On Friday, he seemingly made a low-leverage case higher.

He's frustrating to watch, as he doesn't seem to make his pitches, instead throwing at 100 mph and above speeds while hoping for the best. Hicks has five seasons in the major leagues and would have to approve a demotion to Memphis, which could adversely affect his service time.

Unless the Cardinals are forced to make a difficult decision, the team is seemingly forced to be patient with Hicks as pitching coach Dusty Blake does his job to get him on the right track. Here's hoping that happens soon.

7. Paul DeJong

Paul DeJong has been unfairly judged by fans who want him traded away. Thankfully, team president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has been patient with DeJong, who is in the final season of a guaranteed six-year contract worth $26 million.

DeJong's numbers have suffered as he's tried to recuperate from injury while getting comfortable again at the plate. The one-time All-Star shortstop had declined after the Covid-19 shortened 2020 season.

DeJong spent this offseason working on a more simplified batting stance that eliminated a leg kick he used to gain power. Now, DeJong depends on balance and using his wrists to force through his swings.

The results have been an improvement so far. Through nine games, he's hitting .333/.389/.576 with 11 hits, two doubles, five runs, and four RBI. He knocked two home runs.

It's unclear if his current rate of play will lead to the Cardinals activating his 2024 club option, but it is nice to see him hitting again.

6. Dylan Carlson

Dylan Carlson is another player that's been received with some frustration, as the once top prospect in the organization has struggled to gain a consistent position in the outfield as well as playing time. While Carlson has been used in all three outfield positions, he's had some of his best results in center field.

While Oli Marmol was fit to put Carlson in left field with Tyler O'Neill, who won Gold Glove awards in left field, played center, the two struggled. Carlson has earned time in the center field and is now hitting with some consistency.

In 24 games, Carlson slashes .234/.286/.364 with 18 hits, four doubles, two home runs, ten runs, and 11 RBI.

With some more consistency, it will be fun to see how Carlson's season continues.

4. Steven Matz

Matz is in the second season of a four-year deal worth $44 million. He was seen as a fourth or fifth spot in the rotation but has mightly struggled this season to the extent he may be shifted to the bullpen.

Meanwhile, he is slated to start Sunday. This season he is 0-4 in seven games for the Cardinals. He's throwing a 5.70 ERA with 36.1 innings pitched, managing 33 strikeouts.

Last season for the Cardinals, he struggled through injuries but still got a 5-3 record in 15 games. It will be interesting to see if Matz improves this season for the rotation or finds some success in the bullpen. He's another pitcher fans should hope to see Dusty Blake help.

3. Jack Flaherty

Fans have been hoping to see the return of their ace. It was hopeful fans would see Jack Flaherty return to success after he's struggled through injuries since June 2021. Flaherty had worked to get healthy but has struggled to execute his pitches. He, instead, feels like his just throwing.

He's said he's struggling to figure out what to do. Willson Contreras and Andrew Kniziner have each worked with the young arm. While he's had moments of brilliance, he's struggled for consistency. It seems like a given that he should be receiving some help from pitching coach Dusty Blake, but something is not clicking for Flaherty.

Flaherty maintains a mindset that allows him to focus on the moment and get his pitches. Hopefully, he keeps this mindset and gets help from either Blake or his longtime friend and teammate, Adam Wainwright.

Fans can see Flaherty wants a return to form. Here's hoping he gets that and soon.

2. Tyler O'Neill

O'Neill came into this season with high expectations. He spent the offseason adjusting his workouts for more running and plyometrics. The result was to allow him not to get injured as much while running the base path and diving for balls in the outfield.

It was a bit of a head-scratcher when the scrappy athlete was publicly criticized by manager Oli Marmol and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak for not hustling while rounding third base on a play that could have scored a critical run. It was a rainy evening, though, and O'Neill held up to avoid injury - something he'd been working on all offseason.

O'Neill thought the matter should have been discussed less publicly but maintains he works hard to stay healthy and available.

Now, O'Neill must be frustrated as he's landed on the injured list with lower back issues.

When he's healthy, he struggles to find consistency at the place, and as mentioned with Carlson, he's trying to find his place in a crowded outfield. While he's been a Gold Glove winner in left field, the organization attempted to shift him to center field. Over the past couple of weeks, he had switched back to left field, splitting time with Alec Burleson and being the team's designated hitter.

Hopefully, he can reset while on the injured list and come back as the player the team needs. So far this season, he's hitting .228/.283/.337 with an OPS of .620 in 29 games. He's got 21 hits, seven walks, a stolen base, four doubles, two home runs, 12 runs, and six RBI.

The Cardinals need a healthy, confident O'Neill. Here's hoping the team gets him back, and soon.

1. John Mozeliak

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has been successful during his tenure with the Cardinals. He's made some great moves and deals to help this team. But this offseason, he made some decisions that could now be considered questionable.

At the top of that list is his decision not to make any moves to bolster the Cardinals starting rotation or the bullpen. The Cardinals are struggling now because of this decision. And his decision to make Dusty Blake the pitching coach is also proving harmful. The pitching staff is complaining about not being able to execute their pitches. The complaint will blow your mind if you think about it too long. Blake is probably more suited where he was as an analyst that can explain what precisely the analytics show the pitcher should do to execute those pitches. But the team needs a proven coach to coach and teach what needs to be done.

This weekend's announcement that Willson Contreras would, for the time being, take on the role of designated hitter is quite staggering, considering Contreras gets his catching duties stripped from him. Contreras was Mozeliak's big move to replace legendary catcher Yadier Molina, and it was believed he would occasionally be the team's designated hitter. According to reporting from Katie J. Woo of The Athletic, pitchers have had a bit of a learning curve relating to the differences between Molina and Contreras combined with the limitations of the pitching clock. While it seems like a fixed new pitching coach, Dusty Blake should be able to help pitchers and catchers, he has not. Now Contreras will be the team's designated hitter while he works being the catcher the organization expects him to be.

The team will depend on their backup catcher, Andrew Knizer, to fulfill the full-time catching duties. Knizner still has the mindset of a backup catcher. This weekend the team brought up another backup in Tres Barrera, who was outstanding in Spring Training for the Cardinals. Ivan Herrera, who was once believed to be the heir-apparent to Molina, is playing in Memphis, still developing.

For many seasons, fans have trusted Mozeliak's process. The start of this season is making it extremely hard to trust that process. Here's hoping that Mozeliak can right this ship for a successful season.