St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day Roster Prediction 2.0

Lineup vs. right-handed pitching

1. 2B Brendan Donovan 2. RF Lars Nootbaar 3, 1B Paul Goldschmidt 4. 3B Nolan Arenado 5. C Willson Contreras 6. LF Jordan Walker 7. CF Tyler O'Neill 8. DH Nolan Gorman 9. SS Tommy Edman

I mean, come on. How insane of a lineup is that? I spent so much time debating between who would bat second, sixth, seventh, and eighth in this lineup, and I could see that order flip-flop around a ton.

With O'Neill being off to a slower spring, I dropped him in the order to seventh and gave Walker the edge over him. I see an arguement t have either Nootbaar or Gorman bat sixth to get lefty pop in that spot, but for now, I have Nootbaar in the two-hole and Gorman batting eighth. This lineup has power, speed, and on-base skills up and down the order. In most lineups, there seems to be a bit of a "breather" toward the bottom of the order, but every time the Cardinals come up to hit, they should be very dangerous.

Donovan was pretty much penciled in to lead off before Spring Training even began, but his power surge has solidified that spot even further. His on-base skills are some of the best on the team, and now he can do a lot of damage at the plate as well. After Donovan, you basically have seven straight legit power threats ready to score runs, with Goldschmidt, Arenado, and Contreras acting as the anchors in this lineup.

Tommy Edman is an incredible nine-hitter, as he brings an above-league-average bat to the plate and will likely steal upwards of 40 bases this season as well. He will put pressure on opposing pitchers as the lineup turns over, creating even more havoc with this lineup.

The Cardinals have so many ways they can construct this order, both in terms of who plays and who bats where. Their lineup against left-handed pitching is arguably even more deadly.