Winn Now?

 

The maddening thing about the Cardinals being a good team is that it's still not a certainty that they're good for the long haul. They may just be good right now. I'm not getting a ton of roster depth that would indicate a deep run, especially pitching-wise. And yet...they're 7 games over .500, have some of the biggest performers of the division, and aren't looking like they'll be selling. Like...they've been linked to Skubal. That's how all-in they are, as of right now. The stats can tell you otherwise, cause the Cardinals only have one guy going to Philly next week [though it arguably should be two], but here they still are as a major player in the NL. It's the kind of run that doesn't make sense, but is fueled by pure momentum and ability.

Getting Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Ivan Herrera and Lars Nootbaar all on the same page, and healthy, the last few years has literally been like herding cats. 2024 was a terrific year for Winn, okay, so that's set, right? No, he struggles a bit in 2025. Jordan Walker has an amazing start to the season in 2024, he's ready, right? No, it takes him another two years to actually become a consistent power hitter in the majors. Ivan Herrera finally finds a niche as a DH, he's good, right? No, he immediately gets hurt. Nootbaar keeps conking out right when things get good as well, and while he's back now he's still trying to catch up. But as it stands, Winn, Walker, Herrera, Burleson and J.J. Wetherholt are all in really nice form. Winn has 37 RBIs so far, and is helping the team that way on account of some rising errors. Walker has 20 homers and leads the league in RBIs with 67. Burleson's got an .818 OPS with 14 homers and 63 RBIs, he's having his fullest season to date. Wetherholt's been so good that people think he should have made the all-star team, and I'm one of them.

What does worry me is that now you're seeing a shelf of non committing prospects beginning to form. Already Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott have been demoted back to Memphis. Blaze Jordan is up with the team, but he's a .246 hitter and not adding much, so Bryan Torres's taking most of the starts at third. Thomas Saggese is once again back in Memphis as well. They brought up Brycen Mautz a couple months ago, longtime pitching prospect, that didn't work either. These guys are beginning to pile up. Tink Hence, Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, Hunter Dobbins, all prized organizational pieces just not progressing as planned. The only promotion so far that HAS worked out, aside from Wetherholt, has been the return of Ryan Fernandez, who's over his 2025 struggles and has been lights-out in relief. But we're gonna need a lot more than that if this team is supposed to be something.

This team just won games against the Cubs, but they've got a LOT of Brewers matches up next, followed by a Braves series. If they want it, they've gotta break even on this series, or else they'll be headed back towards .500 and could be in danger of falling out of the race. This week could decide the direction of the season for the Cardinals, and they need it to turn out positively. 

Coming Tomorrow- For years he struggled to find a place on this team as his colleagues outran him for starting spots. Now, suddenly, he's a power player at last.