{"id":656701,"date":"2026-04-01T13:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/656701\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T13:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:58:14","slug":"st-louis-cardinals-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/656701\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Louis Cardinals Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> enter the 2026 MLB <\/a>season in unfamiliar territory and are rebuilding to become a good playoff contender in the years to come after more than two decades of consistent contention. Last season, the Cardinals finished 78-84 (4th in the NL Central), with the front office, now led by president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom<\/a>, making drastic changes this offseason. The Cardinals veterans, like 3B Nolan Arenado<\/a>, SP Sonny Gray<\/a>, C Willson Contreras<\/a>, INF Brendan Donovan<\/a>, and closer Ryan Helsley<\/a>, were traded away, netting a haul of young pitching prospects, outfielders, and draft picks They added modestly on the free-agent side, signing RHP Dustin May<\/a> (one-year deal) to bolster the rotation and RHP Ryne Stanek<\/a> for bullpen depth. The farm system remains strong, stocked with high-upside arms and position players acquired or developed internally.<\/p>\n

These changes are not a complete teardown of the team, but a pivot towards finding youth talent and developmental and foundational pieces for future playoff contention. Manager Oliver Marmol<\/a> has emphasized small-ball fundamentals, elite defense, and situational hitting over waiting for power outbursts. The team\u2019s strong suit is its youth; it focuses on internal growth rather than making the MLB playoffs in 2026. <\/p>\n

Projected Lineup and Position Players<\/p>\n

The lineup leans heavily on homegrown talent and recent call-ups. Expect speed, defense, and contact over mash\u2014though power pockets exist in spots like 1B and 3B.<\/p>\n

Masyn Winn<\/a> (SS) \u2014 Gold Glove-caliber defender with improving offensive skills <\/p>\n

JJ Wetherholt<\/a> (2B) \u2014 Top Cardinals prospect with elite plate discipline, on-base skills, a future star, and potential leadoff <\/p>\n

Ivan Herrera<\/a> (DH\/C) \u2014 Emerging offensive force with good plate discipline who could anchor the middle of the order.<\/p>\n

Alec Burleson <\/a>(1B) \u2014 Coming off a solid 2025 campaign, look for consistent contact and gap power as a reliable piece in the lineup <\/p>\n

Nolan Gorman<\/a> (3B) \u2014 Power potential but needs to improve plate discipline with contact and consistency. If he improves that, he will definitely fit long-term<\/p>\n

Jordan Walker<\/a> (RF) \u2014 High-upside athleticism and power; with development upside in the future <\/p>\n

Nathan Church<\/a> (LF) \u2014 Depth and defense with developmental upside<\/p>\n

Pedro Pag\u00e9s<\/a> (C) \u2014 Defense-first catcher; platoon or shared duties with Herrera.<\/p>\n

Victor Scott II<\/a> (CF) \u2014 Speed demon who can impact games on the bases and in the field.<\/p>\n

Other contributors: Ram\u00f3n Ur\u00edas<\/a>, Jos\u00e9 Ferm\u00edn<\/a>, Thomas Saggese<\/a> for infield depth; potential for Nelson Vel\u00e1zquez <\/a>or prospects like Joshua Baez <\/a>to earn at-bats. The outfield and middle infield should be defensively strong, helping compensate for any offensive growing pains.<\/p>\n

Starting Rotation and Bullpen<\/p>\n

Pitching is the biggest uncertainty. With Gray and others gone, the rotation relies on young arms and one notable addition:<\/p>\n

Matthew Liberatore <\/a>(LHP) \u2014 Likely starter; showed promise and could emerge as a reliable #1.<\/p>\n

Dustin May (RHP) \u2014 High-upside arm with swing-and-miss stuff; health and command will be critical.<\/p>\n

Michael McGreevy<\/a> (RHP) \u2014 Solid mid-rotation potential.<\/p>\n

Andre Pallante<\/a> \/ Kyle Leahy<\/a> (RHPs) \u2014 Depth options with experience.<\/p>\n

Other pitchers within the rotation that could see more time, considering the lack of aces, will be relying on depth from Triple-A Liam Doyle<\/a> and Quinn Mathews<\/a> that can help later on in the season. Other pitchers to keep an eye on this season are JoJo Romero<\/a> (L), Riley O\u2019Brien<\/a>, Matt Svanson<\/a>, and Ryne Stanek. Expect a focus on run prevention through defense and pitching rather than overpowering stuff.<\/p>\n

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Bold Predictions<\/p>\n

Strengths: Elite defense up the middle, young athleticism, strong farm system depth, and a small-ball approach that could keep games competitive.<\/p>\n

Weaknesses: Unproven rotation depth, potential offensive inconsistency from a young group, and limited veteran leadership after the trades. Low floor if key prospects struggle.<\/p>\n

What Success Looks Like in 2026<\/p>\n

Wins matter less than progress. Cardinals fans and evaluators will watch:<\/p>\n

Breakthroughs from Wetherholt, Walker, Gorman, and Liberatore.<\/p>\n

How prospects like Jurrangelo Cijntje and others integrate.<\/p>\n

Whether Bloom\u2019s acquired pieces accelerate the timeline.<\/p>\n

Marmol\u2019s ability to maximize a young roster.<\/p>\n

Busch Stadium will still host exciting baseball\u2014speed on the bases, highlight-reel defense, and the debut of exciting young talent. The Cardinals aren\u2019t contending for the division yet, but they\u2019re planting seeds for a return to their traditional winning ways.<\/p>\n

My prediction: 75-87, 4th or 5th in the NL Central. A transitional year focused on the future with individual growth that can set up for a quick rebound <\/p>\n

The rebuild is underway, and in St. Louis, that\u2019s often when the most interesting stories begin.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The St. Louis Cardinals enter the 2026 MLB season in unfamiliar territory and are rebuilding to become a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2403],"tags":[5,160,4,673,67,4311,4310],"class_list":{"0":"post-656701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-louis-cardinals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cardinals","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-st-louis","12":"tag-st-louis-cardinals","13":"tag-stlouis","14":"tag-stlouiscardinals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116329808220139371","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}