Now, I want to settle the outfield decision before getting to the fielder decision. And, hoenstly, he’s been on a tear so why not? Maybe he could get used at DH against right-handers but the Cardinals feel pretty committed to Albert regardless of matchup right now. That’s just not going to be a good situation for Gorman. That means that any at-bats Gorman takes will be against relievers, who, as a group, tend to throw harder than starters. That’s bad enough on it’s own but it gets worse for Gorman. This is what his zone looks like against fastballs. Part of the reason is his inability to hit high heat. And that’s because he had a 47% strikeout rate in September. Gorman got sent down to Triple-A for a reason. I don’t think both of them will make the roster, and I think Yepez is the favorite. The hitter decision comes down to Juan Yepez and Nolan Gorman. Give 1 to a hitter, 1 to a fielder, and 1 to somebody who could start in left field. I guess Juan Yepez could be considered here too but he’s really more of a DH. The outfield options are Alec Burleson and Ben DeLuzio. I expect that to be at least one outfielder and another DH option. Three hitters are needed to fill the final voids. That leaves a very muscular hole in left field and an open roster spot. My assumption is that he won’t be back in time for the first round. He is firmly on the fringes of the roster though. He has a spectacular minor league track record, and is hitting the ball hard (91.8 mph exit velocity) despite having little to show for it. I would prefer to see Alec Burleson over him. Now, when I said I hope I’m wrong, I’m not necessarily saying he shouldn’t be on the roster, just that I don’t think he’s good enough to be a lock.ĭickerson has the worst arm in baseball, a below average bat (98 wRC+), and a below average glove (-4 DRS, 0 OAA). Maybe I’m wrong, and I hope I am, but I don’t see him missing the roster after being a regular starter in September. #Mlb 9 innings 18 combination cards seriesI think Hudson gets the call over Cabrera too, although one blow up in the Wild Card series could cause the team to reevaluate for the next round (if they make it that far).įirst off, I want to point out that I have Dickerson as a lock. I don’t think the Cardinals have enough faith in Woodford, better production or not, to unseat Hudson. The thing is, though, Hudson could get a boost from pitching in the ‘pen. Looking at production, Jake Woodford has the edge. If it’s not Cabrera, then the final spot is really between Dakota Hudson and Jake Woodford. I could see the Cardinals giving him a shot and by keeping him as one of three lefties, they would limit their reliance on him if he struggles. He won’t be left behind if he’s healthy enough to pitch. He has a 4.50 ERA as a reliever, but his 3.06 FIP and 3.20 xFIP are a much better sign of his talent. If Hicks is healthy enough to join the roster, then he will make the Wild Card roster. With that said, let’s take a look at the decision the Cardinals must make.Ĭoming off a strong bullpen session on Friday, RHP Jordan Hicks is expected to rejoin the #STLCards roster next week before the playoffs. I’ve been wrong before but I would be surprised if the Cardinals carried any more than that, especially because the left-handed options aren’t great.Īgainst the Brewers, I could see one or even two more lefties joining the roster. I expect the Phillies to be the opponent which likely means two lefties in the bullpen. Especially if those lefties haven’t been all that good. Carrying a bunch of lefties would play right into their hands. The NL East club has just a 103 wRC+ against righties and a 117 wRC+ against lefties. Against left-handed pitching, that figure drops to 91. If the Cards play the Brewers, my answer would be “all of them”.Īgainst right-handed pitching, the Brewers have a 108 wRC+ as a team. It’s tough to answer this question without knowing who the Cardinals will play. How many LHPs will the team carry and who will they be? The other half will be hitters, and at least 1 of those will be able to play the outfield. With a 26 man roster, that leaves us with 6 players. Outfielders (3): Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar, Corey Dickerson Infielders (7): Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Andrew Knizner Pitchers (10): Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Jose Quintana, Adam Wainwright, Giovanny Gallegos, Ryan Helsley, Andre Pallante, Steven Matz, Chris Stratton With that in mind, I want to look the roster decisions the Cardinals must make prior to Friday. We don’t yet know who the team will play, but it looks likely to be the Phillies. Louis Cardinals have clinched the division and have a meaningless series in Pittsburgh standing between them and the Wild Card round.
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