MLB Season Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals


Last Season's Standings: The St. Louis Cardinals almost blew the Central Division last season because of a brutal 3-7 streak in the final 10 games. Luckily they held off the surging Astros beating them by one game with an 83-78 record (the Astros finished the year 82-80). The Cardinals then got hot and went onto win the World Series over the Detroit Tigers jn five games.

In: C Gary Bennett; CF Jim Edmonds; SP Ryan Franklin (prev. team: Cincinatti Reds); RP Randy Keisler (prev. team: Oakland A's); 2B Adam Kennedy (prev. team: LA Angels); RF Eli Marrero (prev. team: NY Mets); SP Mark Mulder; RP Mike Smith (prev. team: Minnesota Twins); 3B Scott Speizio; RP Russ Springer (prev. team: Houston Astros); SP Kip Wells (prev. team: Texas Rangers); LF Preston Wilson

Out: SP Jason Marquis (new team: Chicago Cubs); C Mike Rose (new team: Cleveland Indians); RP Jorge Sosa (new team: NY Mets); SP Jeff Suppan (new team: Milwaukee Brewers); SP Jeff Weaver (new team: Seattle Mariners)

Starting Pitching: Chris Carpenter heds into the '07 season having signed a contract extension through 2011. This means that the Cardinals have a legitmate ace who will contend for the Cy Young most years and keep his team in the ball game most outings. He did miss four starts last season to a back and thumb injury. However, he still went 15-8, which put him in contention for the Cy Young, while giving up just 3.09 runs a game. His curve is his out pitch and boy is it nasty! Big lefty Mark Mulder is entering the season trying to rebound off a serious shoulder injury where he missed half the season. Look for him to be the #2 starter. Mulder was 6-7 with a brutal 7.14 ERA in just 17 starts (that record alone shows something was off with Mulder). Free agent signing Kip Wells is coming off a frustrating season where he made just nine starts due to a broken foot, a shoulder injury and a sore back. He'll be looking to rebound and to try and pitch at least .500 or better ball, something he has done just once in his seven year career. He needs to get past the 6th inning more consistently, as well as to keep his command through the entire season. FA signing Ryan Franklin will likely enter the season as the 4th starter in the Cardinals rotation. His stamina is a question mark, as he gets hit hard after about 60 pitches. He'll need to be effective for at least 75-80 pitches if the Cardinals are to go anywhere this season. Anthony Reyes heads into the season as likely the 3rd starter. He was 5-8 with a 5.06 ERA in 17 starts last season. He'll need to pitch at least into the 7th to save a bullpen likely to see many innings. Working ahead in the count is key to the success of Reyes. Look for the Cardinals to try and sign at least one more starter.

Bullpen: Who closes out the games depends on the health of Jason Isringhausen, who underwent hip surgery last season. If by some chance he's healthy, Isringhausen will get the ball in the ninth, otherwise Adam Wainwright will get the call after a successful stint last season. Isrinhghausen was 4-8 and had 33 saves last season before going down with the hip injury mid-September. Wainwright notched a further 12 saves, including 9 in the postseason. Either pitcher should be a good candidate for closer. Setting up the closer for the Cardinals should be Braden Looper who had a good season in '06 going 9-3 with a 3.56 ERA in 69 appearances. It's important that his heater is burning, otherwise he gets burned. Russ Springer is another possible option to help set-up, although he could be a middle man. Springer was 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA in 72 games played last season. Lefty Ricardo Rincon missed basically the entire '06 seaso to shoulder surgery. He'll be looking to bounce back and make the squad as a lefty specialist. Rincon had an ugly 10.50 ERA in the 5 appearances he did make last season, could that have been because of the injury? Rincon will be battling Randy Flores for the lefty specialit role. Flores was 1-1 with a 5.62 ERA in 65 appearances last season. Rookie Mike Smith will be looking to prove he's ready fo more steady MLB service after primarily being in the minors. He'll have to make some pretty good appearances to make this deep bullpen. Randy Keisler is another rookie trying to make the squad in the bullpen, likely in middle relief. He's mose likely than Smith to make the squad because he has more games under his belt. John Hancock should make this roster, but in what capacity remains to be seen. He was 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 62 appearances last season and a further 4 appearances in the post-season where he was just blasted (he gave up 12 earned runs in just 4 innings of work). Brad Thompson is a middle relief option likely to appear in the ball game in the 6th or 7th. He's not great when facing more than a couple of batters an outing. Look for La Russa to use him an inning max. per outing. Thompson was 1-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 34 appearances last season. He'll be looking to have his first full season of MLB service. Rounding out the bullpen should be rookie Josh Kinney who will be battling for the last bullpen spot, but will likely start the season in AAA Memphis.

Catcher: Yadier Molina is looking to build on his offensive success in the post-season, where he came up with a few key hits to help the Cards take home the trophy. Molina is a great defense-first catcher who will work well with the Cardinals pitching staff. He's not going to be a stealing threat and he needs to get more consistent with the bat. He'll bat 8th in the line-up and play between 120 and 130 games this season. Molina hit .216 with 6 HR and 49 RBI last season. Backing him up will be veteran Gary Bennett, who is more offensive than Molina but doesn't have the arm strength or accuracy that Molina possesses, thus relegating him to bench warmer most of the time, except for pinch it duties and when the starter gets a day off.

First Baseman: Albert Pujols is arguably the greatest first baseman today and the undisputed captain of this squad. There's no doubt that he's the clean-up hitter. Pujols hit .331 with 49 HR and 137 RBI in the regular season. He probably would have had a higer average and maybe a few more homers and runs batted in expected he missed 15 games with a torn oblique muscle. In the postseason, Pujols hit .288 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI. Look for Pujols to challenge for the MVP award again this season. He should play between 155-160 games if healthy. Backing him up will be Scott Spiezio. He is a utility infielder who struggles against righties and with runners in scoring position. Look for him to get between 110-120 games backing up both Pujols and Scott Rolen. Spiezio's action will likely be primarily as a pinch hitter and third baseman. Chris Duncan can also play first base, but he's pencilled in as the starting left fielder.

Second Baseman: Free agent signing Adam Kennedy should be a real asset to the Cardinal's ability to turn double plays IF he and Eckstein communicate effectively. He has real soft hands and the range to make tough plays. Because of his impatience at the plate and inability to take a walk, he's likely to bat second in the line-up. Look for Kennedy to play between 125 and 140 games this season. His back-up is utility man Aaron Miles who has a fine glove and is a good contact hitter. He should get around 115 games between starts at 2B, SS and pinch hit duty.

Shortstop. The second half of what is likely to bea fine DP combination is SS David Eckstein who will bat lead-off and make many great plays in the field. Because he plays the game hard and goes all-out, Eckstein is prone to injury because he sometimes puts his body in awkward positions when making throws. His speed and quick bat make him a tough out, but with RISP, he can be overaggressive at the plate. Eckstein will likely get between 110-125 starts this season. Miles will serve as his back-up. Prospect Brendan Ryan has also been invited to camp, but he'll start either in Batvia, Palm Beach County, Swing of the Quad Cities or Johnson City. He should make his major league debut either this season or next season.

Third Baseman: Scott Rolen has a great arm and range and is a very disciplined hitter -- when healthy. Rolen has suffered back injuries and other injuries likey stemming from the back. If he's healthy, Rolen will play between 135 and 145 games this season qith Spiezio serving as his back-up. Rolen will bat 5th in the line-up. He hit .296 with 22 HR and 95 RBI in '06. Prospect Travis Hansen also received an invite to camp but will start the year in the minors at some level, but should make his debut soon.

Left Fielder: Chris Duncan is the most inexperienced of the Cardinals starting outfielders, having yet to play a full season in the majors. He's likely to do so this year getting aroung 115 games. Duncan hit .293 with 22 HR and 95 RBI last season. He'll likely hit 6th in the batting order. The fourth outfield position is pencilled into So Taguchi. Taguchi is a great outfielder who's best suited as a fourth man off the bench. He should get into around 135 games next season. Preston Wilson is another option off the bench and will likely get in as the platoon outfielder. Wilson is a former-all star who is aging. He has no conception of the strike zone and thus strikes out a ton and defensively he's atrocious. He'll get around 135 games as well, but look for him to come in to the game more as a pinch hitter or runner. A third and final option at this position is Larry Bigbie who suffered through a frustrating injury-filled season where he missed all but 17 games with a sports hernia. He'll be looking at this season as somewhat of a comebcak year. Look for him to battle for a final roster spot, but he could wind up in Memphis to start the season.

Center Fielder. Jim Edmonds has had many health problems the past few seasons from a concussion to a sore shoulder, mainly due to his "play hard" attitude. Edmonds has decent power and is great defensively. Jim Edmonds should be the third hitter in the lineup, right behind Pujols, and should get between 120-130 games if healthy. However, he doesn't have a real good eye for the plate and thus strikes out quite a bit (101 times in '06). Also, he doesn't hit well against southpaws. Taguchi and Wilson will get playing time in center field. Prospect Skip Schumaker will also attend training camp but he'll all but certainly start the season in Memphis for more playing time.

Right Fielder: Juan Encarnacion is a decent right fielder who is a very free swinger, and thus he strikes out a lot and walks little. He can hit bad pitches very well though and has speed to burn making him a threat to steal. Encarnacion will bat 6th in the batting order and play between 145 and 155 games if healthy. Taguchi and Wilson will play right field when Encarnacion's not in the line-up. Prospect Rick Ankiel is continuuing his attempt to resurrect his career after his pitching career went down the drain after he couldn't get his command under control. Ankiel will be forever known as the pitcher who threw 3 wild pitches in one game. At this point Ankiel faces a long uphill battle to continue his career and is likely ranked 7th among the outfielders in the Cardinals' organization.

Season Prediction: Manager Tony La Russa took a team that seemed destined to get knocked out of the playoffs after a bad losing streak and won them the championship. This season, pitching is likely a concern, but they should be able to score a number of runs. I believe that this team can take the NL Central title again.