Revisiting Redbird Rants' writers' preseason predictions

Prior to the season, some of the writers here at Redbird Rants made some predictions led by site expert Josh Jacobs. You can read (ridicule?) these predictions here. There were 5 topics that the writers had to provide responses to. These are the 5 categories:

Team MVP, breakout hitter, breakout pitcher, one bold prediction, and a two-sentence summary of how the season will go for the Cardinals.

The first three categories featured a name of a player while the last two were more open-ended. As one may expect with most preseason predictions, they didn't go well. I'll break down the predictions and discuss some of the most interesting responses to the open-ended questions.

Most Accurate Writers

As of now, this award is split between three people: Kareem Haq, J.T. Buchheit, and Greg Simons. Each of these writers has 2 predictions that are accurate. Kareem and Greg listed Willson Contreras as the team MVP, and they both pegged the Cardinals as a Wild Card team with somewhere between 82 and 86 wins. The team is currently on pace to win 84-85 games.

J.T. listed Alec Burleson as the organization's breakout hitter, and his bold prediction was that Burly would become a regular starter by the end of the season. As the lone Burleson truther (aside from yours truly), J.T. was able to push himself into the most accurate conversation. He pegged the Cardinals for 87 wins and a division title, and both are near misses thus far.

Andrew and I had Andre Pallante listed as a breakout pitcher, so that would give both of us 2 accurate predictions. If you view a fifth starter who is pitched adequately but was supposed to be a bullpen arm as accurate, so be it. Otherwise, Andrew and I are stuck with 1 correct prediction.

Least Accurate Writer

There is only one contributor on the entire site who is currently missing every one of his or her predictions, and that's site editor Josh Jacobs. Josh listed Nolan Arenado as the team MVP, Jordan Walker as the breakout hitter, Zack Thompson as the breakout pitcher, he posited the team would have a top-3 offense, and he also predicted a division crown for the Cardinals.

Editors' Note: If you're reading this Thomas, thanks for calling me out to all of our readers ;)
- Josh

Arenado has not been himself this year, Jordan Walker is toiling in Memphis at the moment, Zack Thompson was demoted after struggling in the bullpen, the Cardinals rank 16th in baseball according to wRC+, and they are 5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the division title. Sorry, Josh.

Most Accurate Category

The most accurate category was the 2-sentence summary section. Here, most writers took to predicting the team's record and playoff potential. 6 writers pegged the Cardinals for somewhere between 82 and 86 wins with either a Wild Card birth or a near miss in the playoffs. Those predictions are within the margin of error for the remainder of the season.

Least Accurate Category

Breakout pitcher was by far the least accurately predicted category. Only one person, Miranda Remaklus, had an accurate prediction with her choice of Sonny Gray. Other names listed included Riley O'Brien (Injured List), Zack Thompson (demoted to AAA), Tink Hence (still in Double-A and possibly injured), Andre Pallante (5th starter, so close!), and Nick Robertson (12.1 IP, 4.38 ERA). These are all flops as predictions.

Unsettled Predictions

There are still some predictions that have yet to be settled. Kareem Haq listed Ivan Herrera as the breakout hitter, and this was certainly true for a time, but a back injury has limited his playing time in June, his best month so far. If he returns and continues to hit well as a designated hitter or backup catcher, this prediction could come true.

Cliff Williams believed that Paul Goldschmidt would be traded this year at some point. The trade deadline is near, and Goldy could still be moved. It may be unlikely given the team's playoff push, Goldschmidt's underperformance, and his contract situation, however.

Once again, depending on Pallante's performance as a fifth starter for the rest of the year and your opinions on depth pitchers in general, Andre Pallante could actually be the team's breakout pitcher of sorts this year. We'll have to see what comes of the fifth rotation spot at the upcoming trade deadline.