Ranking the St. Louis Cardinals' 10 most important young players and prospects

#5 - Lars Nootbaar

I don't blame Cardinals fans for getting a little bit annoyed at this point with the Lars Nootbaar hype from myself and others who see the potential in his game, but frankly, it's alive and well, but it just comes with more question marks now because of the constant injuries.

When Nootbaar is healthy and consistently playing, he mashes. Just go back and look at every season he's played since the beginning of the 2022 season. When he's in the lineup for a prolonged stretch, he catches fire and becomes one of the most impactful players on this roster. But the cycle seems to be once he hits that stride, he finds his way onto the injured list, then returns with a bit of a slow start, and once he gets it going again, he's injured once more.

Nootbaar has been worth 1 WAR in just 39 games played and was close to being a 20% above league-average hitter on the season before hitting the injured list once again. Nootbaar's well-above-average defense in the outfield paired with his high on-base skills and raw power make him a dangerous player when he gets going, and we've seen him put it all together so many different times now.

While some are starting to compare Nootbaar to former Cardinals outfielder Tyler O'Neill, I see these situations are two completely different stories, even if Nootbaar ends up being just as injury-prone as O'Neill was here in St. Louis. O'Neill, outside of the 2021 campaign, has not been able to recapture his star form for more than a month in 2024. Nootbaar in every season since he finally got consistent playing time in 2022 has found a way to go on a star-like run each and every time before returning to the injured list. Nootbaar has not struggled with production as a big leaguer, it's merely been a case of staying on the field. The same cannot be said of O'Neill.

But the injuries are a real concern, there is no doubt about that. Sure, he can still be a very valuable player even if he only plays about 120 games a year, but it severely limits his potential, and that is a hard place to be for a club when you never know if one of your key cogs will stay on the field or not.

Nootbaar should not be cast aside by fans, but it's fair to wonder if that part of his game will ever get figured out. The talent is there, his drive is there, and if he remains on the field, he can bump his way up this list. For now, though, there are some other young talents in this organization that have surpassed him, and it has more to do with their star potential than any knocks against Nootbaar.