Baseball season is officially underway. Prior to the first pitch of the season, fans and writers alike were already placing their predictions about the potential of the season.
Just like everyone else, I have my own predictions, specifically concerning the St. Louis Cardinals.
First and foremost, I believe the Cardinals will lose the season series to the Chicago Cubs but will still manage to win the division.
Based on history, the Cubs and Cardinals are a good match up. That may come across as shocking because the game isn’t necessarily the hardest to win, but they do have to put in effort in order to try to secure a victory.
With that said, the Cubs have gained numerous good players this season. The team’s potential is still completely unknown this early on, especially after the Cubs signed veteran lefty Jon Lester.
As the Cubs’ roster is full of young upcoming athletes, they are still a year or two away from being able to fully flourish. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cubs and Cardinals in a head-to-head playoff series in the near future.
The Cardinals will easily claim the division title once again due to their newest additions this off-season. Position Jason Heyward is a key piece. Dominance is something that the Cardinals are good at, especially within their division. They should be able to fend off the Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Second, pitcher Michael Wacha saw no ill effects from the stress reaction in his shoulder.
Wacha’s injury from last season left many at the edge of their seats, but fortunately, his injury was stated as being a precursor to a possible stress fracture. This is very rare for pitchers. The last case of this was seen in the Major Leagues with the Dodger’s Brandon McCarthy.
The Cardinals took precaution with Wacha the past season. He was out for a long stretch of time, relying on rest to help reduce the risk of his injury. It is estimated that this injury will follow Wacha for the rest of his career.
We can’t promise that Wacha won’t have any further problems. Instead, we can hope that with the correct amount of rest and conditioning, he will be able to make a slow comeback this season.
During spring training, he looked strong, showing no signs of hesitation from his stress reaction condition. I predict this will continue throughout the season.
Next, first baseman Matt Adams will find his power stroke and hit 25 home runs.
Adams is already a quintessential power hitter, but I believe the best is yet to come from him.
Last season, he had a .288 batting average with 15 homers and his 25.1 at-bats per home run ranked him 17 out of 20 qualifying MLB first basemen.
As a first baseman, it is important to have a critical power supply. Initially, his skills were predominantly defensive, but with time, Adams has proven to be a savvy hitter.
Lastly, Heyward will be a MVP candidate.
Heyward is a new addition to the Cardinals as their right fielder, but he is one of the best defenders in the MLB
Entering the league at the age of 20, his power has slowly but surely started to diminish. He isn’t necessarily a go-to player that will carry the team in crunch time.
However, the Cardinals see Heyward as a run-producer. If he sees resurgence in his offense output, Heyward could be a five-tool guy. His time away from the Atlanta Braves will help Heyward grow. Heyward is a legitimate 20/20 candidate for MVP.
These might be bold predictions for some, but I believe they will be accurate by the end of this season.
