So...Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter aren't leading this team, as everyone thought. Which is odd.
The St. Louis Cardinals have been going ahead with this youth movement of speedy contact hitters and under-the-radar sneaky pitchers, rather than just doing the easy thing and having Goldschmidt homer their way to the top.
Look, it's guys like Kolten Wong, John Gant and Paul De Jong who are running the stats right now in St. Louis. Which...works, I guess. Yes, Carpenter comes in every once in a while to be the hero, and Molina is still an amazing catcher, but...we're trying some stuff with the kids, and letting Harrison Bader ease his way up the standings.
Hell...oft-unreliable reliever John Brebbia hasn't allowed an earned run yet! So something has definitely changed for the Cards.
The pitching staff is a flip of the script- the two guys who did well last year, Mikolas and Wacha, aren't, and the three guys we could have seen more of, Flaherty, Hudson and Gant, are doing great. Even Adam Wainwright is back to his old tricks. And in a year where veteran presences like Andrew Miller and Dexter Fowler aren't exactly succeeding, a durable veteran like Wainwright is welcome.
The Cardinals do still have to contend with the Brewers, who are hanging on to first at the moment, but it's looking like that might become a two horse race, with the Cubs and Pirates vying to see who gets to attempt interference. And I'm glad they have their priorities in the right place, at least.
Coming Tomorrow- The Angels are overstocked with power-hitters this year, so here's one of them.
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