Still have room to improve with pitching
The last reason the club still has a strong chnace to win the NL Central has to do with the improvements they still are able to make to their team.
On the surface, saying one of the Cardinals' problems is a reason to believe in them doesn't makes sense. How could terrible pitching needing to be improved play in their favor?
Well, it's obvious that if the Cardinals' can stabilize their rotation, they could be a very scary team down the stretch for a lot of teams. While it feels like teams like the Brewers, Pirates, and Cubs kind of "maxed out" their ceiling already and don't have much further they could go this year, the Cardinals have the opportunity to take even bigger steps forward than they already have when they improve their pitching.
Internally, better performances from all of their rotation would help big time. The club also has options down in Memphis, like Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, and Zack Thompson who could be options soon if the rotation continues to falter.
And, of course, the Cardinals have the ability to go out and make a move for starting pitching once the right move presents itself. There could be some lower-level starters they could acquire in the nearer future if they are desperate enough but closer to the deadline, they could go after that big fish, the front-line starter they badly need.