9 Cardinals who have been on fire the first month of the 2024 season, 9 who are cold

Ice-cold: Paul Goldschmidt

It's been a rough start to the season for the 2022 National League Most Valuable Player, and although there is plenty of time for him to turn things around, Paul Goldschmidt has been one of the biggest reasons the club is not in a better position at this point in the season.

Goldschmidt has hit a bit better in recent games, and even so, his OPS is still just .641, with just two home runs and three doubles through the first month of the year. The Cardinals need more from their second-highest player and a key pillar of their lineup.

For much of the season, Goldschmidt has been hitting second in the Cardinals lineup, like we've grown accustomed to in recent years. Well, his struggles, and even more so the team's struggles, have caused manager Oli Marmol to bump Goldschmidt down to fifth in the order, and if things do not head up for him in the coming weeks, I don't think Marmol will hesitate to drop him further.

Cold starts are not uncommon for Goldschmidt though, so I wouldn't be quick to write him off. In fact, during his MVP season in 2022, Goldschmidt was even worse at the plate than he's been in 2024.

No one is expecting Goldschmidt to go on an MVP campaign the rest of the year, but it would be shocking if he did not get back to being a very productive bat in the very near future.