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St. Louis Cardinals Season Predictions | 2013 Season Betting Preview

2013 MLB Team Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals played well last season and their offense did not miss a beat even with the departure of Albert Pujols. They made the playoffs, beat the Braves in the Wild Card round, and lost to the eventual champion Giants in the NL championship.

Odds to Win National League Pennant: 12.00
Odds to Win World Series: 23.00

Key Additions:

Randy Choate (0-0, 1 SV (with Marlins), 20 HLD, 0 BLSV, 3.03 ERA, 1.216 WHIP), Ronny Cedeno (2012- .259/.410/.741), Ty Wiggington (2012- .259/.410/.741)

Key Subtractions:

Kyle Lohse, Lance Berkman, Chris Carpenter

In the off-season they lost Lance Berkman and SP Kyle Lhose, but they did lock up Adam Wainright to a long term deal. The loss of Lhose may hurt and Chris Carpenter is out for the season with another arm injury.

Let`s take a look at the Cardinals’ offense.  

Projected batting order

C: Yadier Molina
1B: Allen Craig
2B: Matt Carpenter
3B: David Freese
SS: Rafael Furcal
LF: Matt Holliday
RF: Carlos Beltran
CF: Jon Jay

With a healthy David Freese, Allen Craig and Carlos Beltran along with Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina the Cardinals should still have one of the best offenses in the National League. CF John Jay won in the Gold Glove talk last season and he is a career .300 hitter and he may move up in the lineup. Rafael Furcal needs to have another good season and stay healthy and Holliday is coming off another 100+ RBI season. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

Let`s take a look at the Cardinals’ pitching.  

Projected rotation

1. Adam Wainwright (14-13, 3.94 ERA, 198.2 IP, 184 Ks, 1.051 WHIP)
2. Jaime Garcia (7-7, 3.92 ERA, 121.2 IP, 98 Ks, 1.364 WHIP)
3. Lance Lynn (18-7, 3.78 ERA, 176 IP, 180 Ks, 1.318 WHIP)
4. Jake Westbrook (13-11, 3.97 ERA, 174 IP, 106 Ks, 1.391 WHIP)
5. Shelby Miller (1-0, 1.32 ERA, 13.2 IP, 16 Ks, 0.951 WHIP)
6. Joe Kelly (if needed) (0-2, 2.78 ERA, 0.926 WHIP)
7. Trevor Rosenthal (if needed) (0-2, 2.78 ERA, 0.926 WHIP)

Projected bullpen

Closer: Jason Motte (R) (4-5, 42 SV, 7 BLSV, 2.75 ERA, 0.917 WHIP)
Setup: Mitchell Boggs (R) (4-1, 34 HLD, 3 BLSV, 2.21 ERA, 1.050 WHIP)
Edward Mujica (R) (0-3, 2 SV (with Marlins), 3.03 ERA, 1.041 WHIP)
Randy Choate (L) (0-0, 1 SV (with Marlins), 20 HLD, 0 BLSV, 3.03 ERA, 1.216 WHIP)
Marc Rzepczynski (L) (1-3, 4.24 ERA, 1.350 WHIP)
Joe Kelly, Jr. (R) (5-7, 3.53 ERA, 1.383 WHIP)
Trevor Rosenthal (R) (0-2, 2.78 ERA, 0.926 WHIP)
Fernando Salas (R) (1-4, 4.30 ERA, 1.415 WHIP)
Sam Freeman (L) (0-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.350 WHIP)

The loss of Lhose will hurt and there are a couple of big questions for a Cardinals’ pitching staff that ranked a respectable 8th in team ERA last season. In taking over in the rotation for Carpenter Lance Lynn had a great season with 18 wins, but can he repeat that performance? The other question will be can Jamie Garcia stay healthy. If he can stay off the DL the Cardinals have a much better rotation with 3 solid starters.

The bullpen has not changed much and that is a good thing since they were solid last season. Jason Motte had 42 saves last season and he is no longer an unknown and he will have to repeat what he did last season as a closer.

2013 St. Louis Cardinals Prediction:

The Cardinals are one of the favorites to win the NL Central, but the Brewers will look good and not so good to the Cardinals since Lhose is now in Milwaukee. The offense should not be a problem, but the issues are with the pitching staff.

Wainright needs to perform like an Ace with the HUGE contract he got and Lynn needs to prove that last season was not a fluke. Still, with the issues the other teams in the division have I think the Red Birds will win the division.

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By Jason Green

Jason Green is back with Cappers Picks again to give out his free sports plays. As always he's hoping the Braves and Redskins can win a championship since their last one in the 90’s was long ago. He’s starting to know the pain of Cubs fans.