Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals. (Picture by Scott Kane/Getty Photographs)
What’s going to the 2023 season seem like for the St. Louis Cardinals? Listed here are 4 bold predictions.
The St. Louis Cardinals stormed to the high of the Nationwide League Central in 2022, then noticed their desires of returning to the World Collection rapidly come crashing down as the eventual NL champion Philadelphia Phillies swept them out of the postseason in the Wild Card spherical.
So what awaits the Cardinals in 2023? Let’s look into the crystal ball to search out out.
St. Louis Cardinals bold prediction: They’ll run away with the NL Central
Whereas some predictions ((*4*)) present the Cardinals in a dogfight for the division crown with the Milwaukee Brewers, that’s simply merely not going to occur in 2023.
St. Louis gained the division by seven video games over the Brewers final season and, whereas the Cardinals might have misplaced of pair of Corridor of Famers in Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, signing Willson Contreras to a long-term deal didn’t simply assist the Cardinals, but in addition damage one in all their division (and most bitter) rivals in Chicago.
It’s not too wild of a thought to suppose that the St. Louis lineup might be higher with Contreras in it, plus rebound seasons from Tyler O’Neill and the debut of heralded prospect Jordan Walker could possibly be sufficient to push the Cardinals into what isn’t solely projected to be the strongest lineup in the division, but in addition one in all the strongest in the Nationwide League.
This season, St. Louis wins the Central by a wider margin that 2022. Let’s say by a nine-game cushion (but it surely gained’t be sufficient to earn a bye with the monsters lurking in the NL West and East. Extra about that in a second).
