Betting On The Cardinals?
The St. Louis Cardinals couldn’t quite add another World Series title last year, but they did get to the World Series and they were only one step away.
This continues to be an elite team that is a force to be reckoned with every year. St. Louis won 97 games in the regular season last year. The Cardinals haven’t won less than 86 games in a season since 2007.
Bovada’s Odds to Win
NL Central: -175
NL Pennant: +475
World Series: +1,000
Win Total: 91.5
Team Strengths:
What’s not to love about this team’s starting rotation? Adam Wainwright finished second in the NL CY Young voting last year, and he’s as much of a workhorse as you’ll find in the majors.
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The Cardinals depth behind him is ridiculously impressive as well. Michael Wacha and Shelby Miller are amazing youngsters, and Jaime Garcia is dangerous when healthy.
The Cardinals also have Lance Lynn, Carlos Martinez, and Joe Kelly to compete for starting spots. No shortage of depth here.
Peter Bourjos gives the team an excellent center fielder, and that was one of their few weaknesses last season. The Cardinals will now have a guy who can flag down just about any fly ball that a center fielder could be expected to get near.
Trevor Rosenthal locked down the closer job late last year, and that had been a question mark in the past as well.
Despite not having Carlos Beltran, the Cardinals offense has plenty of balance, and they are going to put up a lot of runs. Carpenter, Holliday, Craig, Adams, and Molina form a very strong #2 through #6 in the order.
Team Weaknesses:
The Cardinals middle relief is probably their biggest weakness heading into the season. The closer role is now filled, but getting from the starter to the closer could be an issue. It was an issue last year, and it cost them quite a few regular season games. Look for some of the guys who don’t make the rotation to try to fill some gaps here.
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St. Louis doesn’t have a ton of guys who are pure power hitters, and losing Carlos Beltran will hurt them in that regard. They’ll need Matt Adams to become more consistent at the plate this year.
Projected Starting Lineup
1. Peter Bourjos CF
2. Matt Carpenter 3B
3. Matt Holliday LF
4. Allen Craig RF
5. Matt Adams 1B
6. Yadier Molina C
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Kolten Wong 2B
Peralta is another newcomer and his bat could help the team at the bottom of the order. Wong didn’t play well last year, but his numbers in the minors suggest he could be a solid option moving forward.
Projected Starting Rotation
1. Adam Wainwright
2. Michael Wacha
3. Shelby Miller
4. Lance Lynn
5. Carlos Martinez
This is where the Cardinals can dominate other teams. This is the best rotation in the National League as far as depth. There is no weak spot here. If someone goes down, there’s another guy behind them to plug right into the rotation.
Closer
Trevor Rosenthal
Rosenthal has the stuff to be a dominating closer, and if he can improve his consistency the Cardinals might have found a real gem.
2014 Cardinals Prediction: Over 91.5 Wins
The Cardinals are going to win a ton of games again this year. This rotation is even better than last year, and the lineup is still very good. The Cardinals should comfortably win the NL Central, and they’ll be a tough team to beat in the postseason. Watch out for the Cardinals in 2014!
