ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
LAST SEASON: 83-79; third in NL Central.
HITTING: St. Louis needed to add a big bat to bolster its effort to overtake the Chicago
Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and get back to the playoffs. They did it by taking advantage of Derek Jeter’s salary-dumping moves in Miami. They made a strong push for Giancarlo Stanton, but he refused to waive his no-trade clause. So they grabbed Stanton’s former teammate Marcell Ozuna, 27, who last year hit .312 with 37 home runs and 124 runs batted in
(third most in the NL). It was a career year in which he won both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger. In five seasons, all with the Marlins, Ozuna has a career .277 average with 96 home runs and 361 RBIs.
Ozuna joins a lineup that already has some outfield power in Tommy Pham, the only left fielder with a higher OPS than Ozuna in 2017 (.931 to .934), who will likely move to center field. Pham hit .306 with 23 homers and 73 RBIs last year. Dexter Fowler (.264/18/64) is likely to move from center field to right. If catcher Yadier Molina can provide another solid season behind the plate and with his bat and shortstop Paul DeJong — second in NL Rookie of Year voting after slugging 26 home runs and driving in 80 runs — can build on his success, scoring runs will not be an issue.
PITCHING: Carlos Martinez, 26, who last year became the youngest pitcher to start on opening day for the Cardinals since Joe Magrane in 1989, returns to anchor the staff. To help his development the Cardinals hired highly regarded pitching coach Mike Maddux in the offseason. Martinez (12-11 with a 3.64 ERA in 2017) will be joined by Adam Wainwright, Luke Weaver, Miles Mikolas and Michael Wacha. Wainwright, the former staff ace, went 12-5 last season at age 35 but had a 5.11 ERA and his WHIP (walks and hits per nine innings) of 1.50 was the highest since his rookie season. The Cardinals bolstered their bullpen in the offseason, adding Bud Norris, Luke Gregerson and Dominic Leone. Gregerson is expected to start the season as the closer.
PROSPECTS: The Cardinals used their deep farm system to make trades over the offseason, but they still have five players — right-handed pitchers Alex Reyes and Jack Flaherty, catcher Carson Kelly and outfielders Harrison Bader and Tyler O’Neil — listed among MLB’s top 100 prospects. Check them out this spring before they make it to The Show.
PREDICTION: The Cubs are the clear favorites in the NL Central, but with the additions of Ozuna, the bullpen arms and Maddux, the Cardinals will challenge for a wild-card spot.