Grading every St. Louis Cardinals player so far: The good, the bad, and the ugly

C - Miles Mikolas, Michael Siani, Pedro Pages, Ivan Herrera, Chris Roycroft, Lance Lynn, Kyle Leahy, Nick Robertson, Nolan Gorman, Matt Carpenter, Brandon Crawford, and Andre Pallante

Miles Mikolas had a dreadful start to the season. But recently, he's been able to adjust and give the Cardinals much-needed quality innings in the rotation. With an ERA under 3 in his last 7 starts, Mikolas bouncing back may be exactly what St. Louis needs to fortify the rotation. Yes, they will need to add a fifth starter, but Mikolas has given them the stability to power through to the trade deadline after a horrendous start to the season.

Michael Siani and Pedro Pages have contributed essentially in the same way this season. Both have been abysmal at the plate, but excellent in the field. Siani is arguably the best defender in all of baseball in OAA (outs above average) and Pages has been a much-needed anchor behind the plate with Contreras on the IL missing 40 games. Neither should be starting, but with the injury situation of the Cardinals, both have stepped up by providing stellar defense.

Ivan Herrera has been the opposite of Pedro Pages. He's been a quality backup catcher from an offensive standpoint, but his defense, specifically his arm, has been lackluster at best. It's unfortunate to have him on the injured list right now, but between him and Pages, it's unclear which is the superior backup to Contreras.

Neither Chris Roycroft nor Kyle Leahy have been spectacular in the bullpen, but they've both provided quality innings when called upon and are great depth options from the Minor Leagues. They'll ride the Memphis shuttle a bunch this year, but those players are always important for a successful team. The same goes for Nick Robertson. He's been better than Leahy and Roycroft, but he just hasn't been as healthy.

While Lance Lynn has given the Cardinals chances to win, his reputation as an "innings eater" is on the line. While partially due to starts cut short by rain, Lynn just hasn't given the Cardinals enough length in the rotation this season. His underlying metrics are also extremely concerning, so he may rank lower on this list at the end of the year.

Nolan Gorman's streakiness is well-noted, but it looks like he's been on the wrong end of those streaks more often than not this year. He did put together an incredible stretch at the end of May, where it looked like he might make an All-Star push, but he's been extremely cold ever since. If the Cardinals make a playoff run, though, and Gorman gets hot, look out!

Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford haven't been much of anything offensively for the Cardinals, but the intangibles they bring to the clubhouse atmosphere have been massive. Fans joke about players who "wanted to be here" or who add "veteran leadership," but both Crawford and Carpenter have been credited with the emergence of Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson, respectively. It's great to have both of them in a Cardinals uniform.

Andre Pallante is definitely more comfortable as a starter than a reliever, but he just hasn't been that good as the fifth option in the rotation. With an ERA hovering around 5, Pallante's inconsistency and inability to provide innings has been quite a problem. He shouldn't be in this spot to begin with, as Matz should be healthy. But the Cardinals definitely need another option. He hasn't been awful, but he also can't be the answer.