MLB Playoff Preview: St. Louis Cardinals
2013 NL Central Champions – Current Record 96 – 65
Offense
Without a doubt in my opinion the best offense in the national league is the St. Louis Cardinals. This is illustrated by 779 runs scored which is best in the NL and third in MLB, they are second in batting average in the NL with a .269 batting average, fourth best overall in Baseball. The Cardinals also lead the NL in .OBP with .332 and are second in the NL with a .733 OPS.
One of the key things to know about the Cardinals offense is it is a line up where almost everybody contributes. Yadier Molina has 12 home runs and 80 RBIs on the year with a .319 batting average while also doing a great job guiding the Cardinals pitching rotation.
Carlos Beltran (24) and Matt Holliday (22) have both hit more than 20 home runs, and have also driven in 84 RBIs and 94 RBIs respectively.
The biggest surprise of the season for Cardinals offensively is probably Matt Carpenter. Carpenter leads the Cardinals in batting average with .320, OBP with an extremely impressive .394 and also leads the team in doubles with 55. He has made the leadoff spot as well as second base his own this season.
Allen Craig who was batting a very excellent .454 with runners in scoring position and also led the team in RBIs with 97 has also been on the disabled list since September 4th and will not be returning for the NLDS. Matt Adams has done a good job filling in for Craig. Adam’s currently holds a .281 batting average and is slugging .500.
Key Hitter: Yadier Molina is the leader of the Cardinals in so many ways. Although it is a lineup of many parts Molina is a key cog in the machine. His patient hitting and solid presence at the plate as well as his heady stats are the perfect example of the St.Louis Cardinals hitting philosophy.
Starting Pitching
At the beginning of the year it looked very likely that Chris Carpenter could be missing a lot of time. Then Jaime Garcia was lost to left shoulder surgery which means he may be out for the season.
Despite missing those two key pitchers, the St. Louis pitching rotation has thrived. The Cardinals starters are third in MLB in cumulative ERA with an excellent 3.42. They also lead Baseball in wins with 77.
Ace Adam Wainwright has found the form that made him a perennial Cy Young contender a few years ago with a 19-9 record, 2.94 ERA, 241 and two-thirds innings pitched and 219 strikeouts.
Young phenom Shelby Miller has been outstanding in his first full season of Baseball. Miller boasts a 15-9 record, 3.06 ERA as well as an outstanding 169 strikeouts in 173 and a third innings. In another year he would probably have a great case for rookie of the year, but there will be no shame in finishing behind Jose Fernandez and Yasiel Puig.
Michael Wacha also showed his great potential putting together a 4-1 record in 9 games started with an impressive 2.78 ERA. He also has shown a penchant for strikeouts accruing 65 victims in just 64 and two-thirds innings. Wacha also came within one out of also pitching a no-hitter just a few days ago.
Somewhat lost in the mix has been Joe Kelly who has arguably had the best second half of the Cardinals young guns, although he’s a not so young 25 compared to Wacha (21) and Miller (22). He has started 15 games accruing a 9-5 record with a tiny 2.81 ERA
Key Pitcher: Experience is always key in the playoffs which is why I can’t look past Adam Wainwright. The younger starters behind him, will aim to follow the example that he will set.
Bullpen
The Cardinals cumulative relief ERA stands at a rather average 3.50 which is 13th in MLB.
Earlier in the season, Jason Motte was lost to injury for the whole season. After Mitchell Boggs underperformed as closer, the Cardinals eventually went to Edward Mujica to close. Mujica has done well in the role, saving 37 games while only blowing 4 saves. He has pitched to a 2.78 ERA.
Flamethrower Trevor Rosenthal who can throw 100miles per hour has been a revelation this year in the bullpen, to the point that some analysts and Cardinals fans have called for him to be the closer in the playoffs. Rosenthal has pitched to a 2.63 ERA and also very impressively struck out 108 hitters in just 75 and a third innings.
Seth Maness (2.32), Kevin Siegrist (0.47), Randy Choate (2.34) and John Axford (1.74) all possess ERA’s of 2.34 or lower are all also likely to feature in the red birds playoff bullpen.
Key Pitcher: In the postseason, one game, one inning, one strikeout can make a pitcher immortal. Whether he is the 8th inning setup guy, or the closer Trevor Rosenthal will be a key player of the Cardinals bullpen, and should the Cardinals win the world series, he maybe the reliever that history remembers.
Predictions
The Cardinals may just be the most complete team of both the NL and AL in the playoffs.
They have a lineup that top to bottom, can get on base and hit in the clutch.
The redbirds also have a pitching rotation which has four legitimate starters who can not only pitch deep into ball games, but put up impressive numbers too.
The only weak link in the bullpen could be Fernando Salas (4.50ERA), but given the strength of the rest of the bullpen, this should not cause St. Louis any serious problems.
For all the reasons above, I have to rank the St. Louis Cardinals as my number one ranked NL team in the playoffs. They might also be the most solid and deep team in both the NL and AL.