The Cardinals have regularly been a playoff team since their run in 2011. Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina have been the main anchors of all of those teams, but one of the more interesting up-and-comers in in St. Louis since 2011 is probably Matt Carpenter. The guy hasn't absolutely ran away with the team yet, but he's come excruciatingly close.
Carpenter's the kind of guy I'd probably like if he weren't on the Cardinals. He's got the right idea about the game, he plays some great third base, and he can give you a solid 280+ average every year. He's a solid player--not necessarily the guy you'd build a roster around, but a nice guy to have in your repertoire.
The Cardinals' path in 2016 usually would be pretty easy to predict, but thanks to the rise of the Cubs, it's not a sure shot simply saying they're gonna make it to the NL Championship and chicken out, like they usually do.
Last year I admitted, several times, that they didn't have the absolute best roster becoming of a team that ended up first in the NL Central, but more and more people, like Stephen Piscotty, Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham, kept coming up and strengthening the team. Now that Jason Heyward, John Lackey and (temporarily) Jhonny Peralta and Lance Lynn are gone, this is a far smaller team, with a lot less going for it. They're definitely gonna finish above .500, but I'm not sure if they'll pack the punch they used to.
I'm also guessing Carpenter will hit another All Star Game, because he's become very good at nabbing votes there.
Coming Tomorrow- The Braves are planning to tank this year, but here's the one starter they kept around to win some games.
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