Ranking the St. Louis Cardinals who will benefit the most from new rule changes

#4 - Willson Contreras

Willson Contreras was brought in by the Cardinals to be the long-term replacement for Yadier Molina. While Contreras' defense has been under the microscope this offseason and criticized by many, very few are talking about how his strengths behind the plate will actually be utilized even more under these new rules.

Contreras' main weakness behind the plate is related to his receiving skills, which with automatic strike zones potentially coming soon, may not even be a problem for him anymore. But what he does do well behind the plate is throw-out runners.

The 30-year-old has one of the best arms in baseball behind the plate, and grades well amongst other catchers when it comes to commanding the basepaths. With stolen base attempts expected to rise significantly with the various rules changing that help runners, clubs will need players with great arms behind the plate. Contreras is one of those.

It may not seem like he's a big beneficiary on the surface, but his strengths defensively skyrocket under these new rules.

#3 - Lars Nootbaar

During his second-half breakout in 2022, Lars Nootbaar became a force to be reckoned with at the plate, and teams began to shift more against him to account for his pull power.

According to Baseball Savant, Nootbaar had a significantly lower wOBA (.312) against the shift than when teams did not shift against him (.378). Looking at his heat maps of where his batted balls went, there is a hot spot right where the infield shift would be against players of Nootbaar's profile.

Ridding the shift positively impacts a guy like Nootbaar, who does pull the ball, but puts it in play enough for that to matter. Players that strike out a lot will not benefit as much, as they just don't have as many batted balls in play. In the case of Nootbaar, he should see an uptick in production from the shift ban alone.

#2 - Brendan Donovan

The next two guys on this list should see the most benefit from these rule changes, and in multiple facets of the game. Both offensively and defensively, Brendan Donovan should get a boost from these new rules.

Like Nootbaar, Donovan was negatively impacted by the shift (.262 wOBA vs. the shift, .366 wOBA without the shift). Being more of a line drive and ground ball hitter, Donovan will benefit more than others when it comes to gaining hits back.

What may benefit Donovan the most is how much of an advantage he will have over Nolan Gorman defensively now with the new rule changes. Last year, you could hide your second baseman a bit by implementing the shift. It still helped to have a better defensive option out there, but they were not forced to range as much as they will now. While Donovan already has the inside track in terms of playing time, this still is a huge benefit to Donovan's future.

Gorman is still viewed highly by the Cardinals and baseball alike due to his immense power and potential at the plate. Finding any way to get his bat in the lineup is wise for St. Louis, so Donovan will want to continue to prove his value over a guy like Gorman to maintain consistent playing time. Yes, Donovan should see that at multiple positions this year, but being an everyday player will be impacted by Gomran. The shift helps Donovan's case.

#1 - Tommy Edman

Baserunning, hitting, and defensively, Tommy Edman may have benefited the most out of any single player this off-season with the addition of the shift.

After stealing 32 bases in 2022 and 30 in 2021, Edman has established himself as one of the best base stealers in baseball to this point. His elite skills in swiping bags will only be more valuable now, and you could see Edman stealing 40-50 bags this season. Larger bases, timing a pitcher's move to the plate, and only two pick-off throws to first will make Edman's life on the base paths even more successful.

Edman is one who has historically hit worse as a left-handed hitter against right-handed pitching, but that may see a significant improvement as well this year. His .260 wOBA against the shift was significantly lower than his .345 wOBA without the shift on against him, so there is reason to believe he will take strides forward there as well. Also, getting on base more means more opportunities to steal as well.

Lastly, Edman's incredible defense will be valued even more highly than it was before. His range and sure-handedness will come in handy at one of the most difficult defensive positions in the game. Should Masyn Winn come up in the next year or two, Edman could shift back over to second base and easily be the most valuable defensive second baseman in baseball, and perhaps the most valuable second baseman today.

Huge opportunities to improve in all facets of the game should see Edman gain an even higher standing within the game of baseball this year, and cement himself as a core member of this Cardinals team for years to come.