St. Louis Cardinals: Redbird Roundup Week 6

Week 6 Game Results (1-5 in the week, 11-24 overall)

• 5/2: St. Louis Cardinals 1 - Los Angeles Angels 5
• 5/3: St. Louis Cardinals 4 - Los Angeles Angels 6
• 5/4: St. Louis Cardinals 7 - Los Angeles Angels 11
• 5/5: St. Louis Cardinals 4 - Detroit Tigers 5
• 5/6: St. Louis Cardinals 5 - Detroit Tigers 6
• 5/7: St. Louis Cardinals 12 - Detroit Tigers 6

One Paragraph Summary

Here is the hope: when the book is closed on the 2023 season, devoted fans of the St. Louis Cardinals will look back on the first week of May as a true rock bottom. In many ways, the Cardinals were the laughingstock of baseball this week. Aside from a second straight week only winning one game, it felt like the frustrations inside the clubhouse boiled over and became very public. Whether it was Jordan Montgomery's press conference comments following his removal after only 89 pitches or the oddity surrounding Willson Contreras; this week felt like something I had never seen from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cardinals Week 6 MVP: Paul Goldschmidt

Back-to-back Redbird Roundup MVPs for Mr. Goldschmidt! In 6 games played this week, Goldy produced 2 doubles, 3 home runs, and 6 RBIs. He slashed.385 / .429 / 1.314. On Sunday, he played hero ball as the Cardinals avoided a would-be dreadful home sweep from the Detroit Tigers. In that game alone he went 4-5 with 3 HRs and 4 RBIs. Last week I mentioned that it would take consistent MVP-level production from players like Goldy and Arenado if the Cardinals want to right this ship. Goldschmidt listened, let's get Arenado his first Redbird Roundup MVP next week.

NL Central Standings

1. Pittsburgh Pirates (20-15)
2. Milwaukee Brewers (19-15) [0.5 GB]
3. Chicago Cubs (17-17) [2.5 GB]
4. Cincinnati Reds (14-20) [5.5 GB]
5. St. Louis Cardinals (11-24) [9.0 GB]

Division, Pennant, and World Series Odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook)

To win NL Central: +500 ($100 wager wins $500)

To win NL Pennant: +1800 ($100 wager wins $1,800)

To win World Series: +4000 ($100 wager wins $4,000)

Injuries and Transactions

News: OF Tyler O'Neill and RHP Jake Woodford were placed on the IL Friday. The corresponding moves were recalling OF/DH Juan Yepez and RHP James Naile from AAA Memphis. On Saturday, RHP Adam Wainwright was activated off of the 15-day IL, and C Tres Barrera was added to the 40-man roster and selected to join St. Louis. The corresponding moves were designating IF Taylor Motter for assignment and optioning RHP Guillermo Zuniga to AAA Memphis.

10-day / 15-day IL: OF Tyler O'Neill and RHP Jake Woodford

Prospect Watch

• The Cardinals' #2 ranked organizational prospect, Masyn Winn, was on fire this past week. The toolsy SS hit 3 HRs and had 4 multi-hit games in 6 games played.
• LHP Zack Thompson, who was optioned to AAA Memphis on Wednesday, struggled in his first Minor League appearance of the year. The lefty allowed 2 ERs and 2 BBs over only 1.2 innings of work on Sunday. Thompson will reportedly be stretched out to a starter in Memphis.
• OF Moises Gomez had a strong week in Memphis. The Cardinals 13th ranked organizational prospect tallied 8 hits in 22 at-bats including a 2-homer game on Saturday.
• OF Victor Scott II continues to terrorize opponents on the basepaths. The speedy center fielder currently plays for High A Peoria and leads all of baseball with 20 stolen bases on the year (has only been caught stealing one).

The Week Ahead (listed starters are probable)

• Monday May 8th: @ Chicago Cubs (Mikolas vs Stroman)
• Tuesday May 9th: @ Chicago Cubs (Flaherty vs Taillon)
• Wednesday May 10th: @ Chicago Cubs (Montgomery vs Steele)
• Thursday May 11th: Off-Day
• Friday May 12th: @ Boston Red Sox (TBD vs TBD)
• Saturday May 13th: @ Boston Red Sox (TBD vs TBD)
• Sunday May 14th: @ Boston Red Sox (TBD vs TBD)

Week 7 Predictions

I think that there is too much talent and veteran leadership in the Cardinals' clubhouse for this cold streak to persist very far into May. I predict the Cardinals go 4-2 this upcoming week. First, sweeping the Lovable Losers in Wrigley. The starting platoon of Mikolas, Flaherty, and Monty should pitch with some fire and inject life back into the club. After a Thursday off-day (the last off-day until May 31) I think that the Cardinals will lose the first two in Boston before a dominating 15-2 win next Sunday. I don't believe this is too wishful of thinking. We know what this roster is capable of and while it is naive to purely say "things will turn around eventually" the quality of this roster and the leaders within it suggest that things should get on the right track sooner rather than later.

If you have ideas for items that you would like to be included in the weekly Redbird Roundup do not hesitate to reach out! Leave a comment or DM @HenryFitz16 on Twitter - any and all feedback is welcome.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.