The Cardinals may have baseball's most dangerous top half of lineup

JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, and Jordan Walker have been primary reasons for the St. Louis Cardinals success to the start of the season. The team's first four hitters have been well above average at the plate to start the year, and they rival every lineup's top four hitters across the league.

Prior to Saturday's game, each of the Cardinals' first four hitters in the lineup was at least 16% better than the average hitter in Major League Baseball according to wRC+. JJ Wetherholt (116 wC+), Ivan Herrera (132 wRC+), Alec Burleson (138 wRC+), and Jordan Walker (155 wRC+) have all been exceptional offensively.

All of those figures come prior to Saturday's game in which Jordan Walker went 1-5 with a home run and Ivan Herrera went 2-3 with two home runs and a walk.

The first four hitters of the St. Louis Cardinals lineup are the best in Major League Baseball.

Few other lineups can boast a better top half of the batting order than the Cardinals. The Washington Nationals (James Wood 163 wRC+, Luis Garcia Jr. 103 wRC+, Curtis Mead 130 wRC+, and CJ Abrams 148 wRC+) are certainly challengers for this crown.

The Atlanta Braves (Mauricio Dubon 102 wRC+, Michael Harris II 133 wRC+, Matt Olson 146 wRC+, and Ozzie Albies 118 wRC+) have also had strong production from the top half of their lineup. Even their fifth hitter, Dominic Smith, has a 115 wRC+.This current iteration is without one of their best hitters in Ronald Acuna Jr., who is currently out with a hamstring strain.

Mookie Betts (65 wRC+ from the cleanup spot) is bringing the Los Angeles Dodgers down, but Shohei Ohtani (166 wRC+), Andy Pages (129 wRC+), and Freddie Freeman (136 wRC+) are holding their own. Max Muncy, who hits fifth for the Dodgers, has a 142 wRC+.

The New York Yankees also boast one of baseball's best lineups, even without Aaron Judge. Ben Rice (172 wRC+), Cody Bellinger (135 wRC+), and Paul Goldschmidt (144 wRC+) are all hitting in the top half of the lineup and hitting quite well. Judge being in that bunch would help them challenge the Cardinals' top four hitters.

Due to recent promotions, the Cardinals' lineup has become even deeper. Nathan Church and Lars Nootbaar returned from the Injured List. Blaze Jordan and Jimmy Crooks were also promoted recently, and Jordan has made huge contributions to the offense already, while Crooks has been an improvement over Pedro Pages at the dish.

Nootbaar (127 wRC+) and Jordan (192 wRC+) have lengthened the lineup already, and it's paid huge dividends already. Even Jimmy Crooks (84 wRC+) and Nathan Church (88 wRC+) are hitting better than Victor Scott II and Pedro Pages, the former occupants of center field and catcher, respectively.

JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, and Jordan Walker have been well-above-average hitters to start the year. Few other teams can top these first four hitters for the Cardinals. If the offense can continue to produce at the levels it has over the last two series, the Cardinals stand a strong chance of holding on to their playoff spot.

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