Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Cardinals

I don't have a lot of 2020 Cardinals for you this year. 

Truth be told, the picture I got of this team from the season was not a clear enough one to base a 'who's the unsung heroes' sort of thing off of. The Cardinals brought up like 20 rookies after losing half their team to COVID, then brought half of them down when they refused to hit because, HEY, THEY'RE STILL YOUNG AND UNTESTED, and once the majority of the team recovered from COVID, made the playoffs with a 30-28 record, even finishing in 2nd in the NL Central.

This team...moved way too quickly for me. I can't even say 'oh, Giovanny Gallegos was a star because he saved 6 games', or 'Dylan Carlson was a rookie standout cause he batted .200 covering for Harrison Bader'. I genuinely don't know what this team was supposed to be. So I'm just doing the starters and stars I couldn't get to during the regular season, which is several, because I couldn't do Cardinals customs for a few weeks because they weren't playing.

Look, man...2020 was a weird damned year. So I apologize if I don't do, like, a Max Schrock custom or a Nabil Crismatt custom. 

Anyway, Kolten Wong, on the last year of his Cardinals contract, did more of his usual schtick. He bat .265 with 48 hits and 16 RBIs, and led in WAR among all players not named Goldschmidt. Wong is still an elite defender, a clever clutch hitter, and a useful tool for any team.

2021 Prediction: I really think a contender's gonna sign him, he's gonna keep his good mojo going and the Cardinals are gonna regret not re-signing him.

But a Cardinals infield without Kolten Wong still has his battery partner, Paul DeJong, who...had a really weak year this year, hitting .250 with 25 RBIs and a club-leading 50 strikeouts in 45 games. After several strong, impressive seasons, it's a major misstep for DeJong, who only could muster a .2 WAR this year.

2021 Prediction: A major improvement, but as I'm guessing the 2021 Cardinals might not be contending, an improvement that makes him popular around July.

After the Cardinals got rid of their first pair of homegrown rookies that couldn't hit for average, Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk, two more grew in their place- Tyler O'Neill and Harrison Bader. While O'Neill had a great year, including his first Gold Glove [despite hitting .173], Bader had a marginally better year at the plate...hitting .226, with 11 RBIs and 4 home runs. Running by these year stats, you probably understand my confusion that this was a playoff team. 

2021 Prediction: Either he improves at the plate or he's trade fodder.

After revitalizing himself last year as a bench player in Philadelphia, former Tampa Bay infielder Brad Miller was the Cardinals' starting DH this year, and occasional third baseman, and he drew a lot of eyes in August, where he hit .281 with 11 RBIs. Granted, his accuracy wore off in September, leading to a leveled .232 average, but he was still a much needed strong lineup presence for a team without much in 2020.

2021 Prediction: Bench work for a low-tier team, perhaps a last place team, that lands him a waiver deal to a World Series contender.

In the fourth season of his five-year deal in St. Louis, Dexter Fowler continued to not live up to his Chicago numbers, but in a fun, endearing way I suppose. Fowler hit .233 with 15 RBIs. .233 is also Fowler's total average across his 4 years in St. Louis, 30 points lower than his average with any other team. 

2021 Prediction: A wild start that gets him traded by July [noticing a theme here?]

 While the bullpen didn't have the stars necessary for me to accurately represent them, Andrew Miller had something of as comeback year on year 2 of his Cardinals deal, with a 2.77 ERA, 16 strikeouts and 4 saves in 13 innings. Hopefully this means peak Miller is returning.

2021 Prediction: Someone signs him to a one-year deal and regrets it when Miller has an outstanding, 30-save year with them.

Coming Tomorrow- The Cubs were big this year, and yet they fell early. How and why?