The good news is that the Cardinals are 5-2 in their last 7 games. The bad news is that right now they're playing the Dodgers, a team that basically only Paul Goldschmidt does well against. If I wanted to see everybody but Paul Goldschmidt flounder, I'd have watched literally every other Cardinals series this year.
Things are going better for this Cardinals team, but just because they're doing better doesn't mean they're 'good' yet. Are they better than the Reds, absolutely, even if the standings don't show it. They just have too many highly regarded players not performing at the levels they were anticipated to. Willson Contreras has gotten better in the last few weeks, and he's back to catching again, but this isn't an overwhelming year to put against his Cubs numbers. Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas both have ERAs around 5. Even Adam Wainwright is pitching like a 41-year-old should be pitching. And with an outfield overloaded with homegrown stars, O'Neill and Carlson are hurt, Jordan Walker's back in the minors and the main outfield assets are people like Alec Burleson and Juan Yepez, who aren't exactly known for their defense.
The good news is that this does leave Lars Nootbaar as a starting outfield option, and he's been fantastic in a full season effort after scorching through the WBC alongside Ohtani and Yoshida. Not only his he hitting .287 with 13 RBIs and 5 steals, but his defense is definitely Bader caliber, and having a young guy like that in the outfield, especially with so many outfielders injured, is a plus. I think he'll be a handy guy as the team builds going forward, especially if Walker does figure out MLB consistency.
The sweet spot these Cardinals need to find is balancing the impressive prospects with the big tentpole free agents they can pull. Right now this team belongs to people like Goldschmidt, Arenado and Contreras, and there are performances like Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, Nolan Gorman and Ryan Helsley that are just as impressive but perhaps not as well-heralded. There's also the fear that these guys could be dealt or leave in free agency because of the emphasis on the big deals. I don't think this organization is short-sighted enough for that to happen, but you also never know.
I do think the Cardinals' May will be a better look than their April, but I don't know how long it will be until they're ready to take on the Brewers and Cubs [and Pirates I suppose] for a climb back to the top.
Coming Tonight: He was decent enough for the Twins, was dealt for Emilio Pagan, and somehow ended up on the worst team in baseball. Making the most of it, though.
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