2018 Remarkable! Season Preview – St. Louis Cardinals

by | Mar 8, 2018 | Baseball

 

2017 Record: 83-79 (3rd in NL Central)

The St. Louis Cardinals made a splash in the trade market this offseason when they acquired Marcell Ozuna from the Miami Marlins. While the Cardinals are always competitive, they missed the playoffs last season. Will the acquisition of Ozuna and other added pieces help them reach the postseason in 2018? Check out our Remarkable! season preview.

 

Starting Pitchers

 

Carlos Martinez
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .310 (227 Total Bases / 732 ABs) vs right-handed batters over the last two seasons — 2nd best among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .434.

  • He had an average fastball velocity of 95.5 MPH over the last two seasons — 4th highest among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 91.8.
  • He recorded 134 of his 217 strikeouts (61.8%) with his slider in the 2017 season — 9th highest among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 36.7%.

 

Michael Wacha
  • He threw at least two strikes in his first three pitches to 68.2% (336/493) of opposing batters in the 2017 season — 16th best among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 61.6%.
  • He induced opposing right-handed batters to ground into 12 double plays in 61 opportunities (19.7%) in 2017 — 11th best among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 12.5%.
  • He allowed an OPS of .598 (171 PAs) against the first batter faced in the inning in 2017 — 20th best among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .773.

 

Luke Weaver

  • He had a strikeout rate of 29.6% (69/233) in the second half of the 2017 season — 13th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 20.8%.
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .304 (28 Total Bases / 92 ABs) vs left-handed batters in the second half of 2017 — tied 19th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .440.
  • Opponents had a Well-Hit Avg of .060 (6/100) against Luke Weaver as a starter on non-fastballs in the second half of 2017 — 4th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .135.

 

Adam Wainwright
  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 55.4% (102/184) against Adam Wainwright as a starter on fastballs in the 2017 season — 15th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 43.4%.
  • He threw off-speed pitches 53.3% of the time (1,148/2,155) in 2017 — 10th highest among SPs in MLB; League Avg: 41.8%.
  • Opponents had a Well-Hit Avg of .154 (8/52) against Adam Wainwright on the first pitch of at-bats in 2017 — 7th best among SPs in MLB; League Avg: .241.

 

Miles Mikolas

  • Did not play MLB in 2017

 

Relief Pitchers

 

2017 Bullpen Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .247 16th
OBP .315 T-11th
SLG .401 T-12th
OPS .716 10th
BB% 8.0% T-4th
K% 23.6% 11th
GB% 42.6% 24th

 

Luke Gregerson
  • Opponents had a miss rate of 39.2% (62/158) against Luke Gregerson with two strikes in the 2017 season — 4th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 25.7%.

  • Hitters chased 129 of Luke Gregerson‘s 291 off-speed pitches out of the zone (chase rate of 44.3%) in 2017 — League Avg: 35.9%.
  • Opponents had a line drive rate of 8.8% (5/57) against Luke Gregerson with two strikes in 2017 — 5th best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 20.8%.

 

Tyler Lyons
  • He struck out 34.1% (46/135) of right-handed batters he faced in the 2017 season — 23rd highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 23.8%.
  • He recorded 50 of his 68 strikeouts (73.5%) with his slider in 2017 — 11th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 40.8%.
  • Opponents had a Well-Hit Avg of .061 (3/49) against Tyler Lyons with RISP in 2017 — 14th best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .153.

 

Matt Bowman
  • Right-handed hitters have a groundball rate of 58.8% (57/97) against Matt Bowman in the 2017 season — 25th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 45.3%.
  • He threw his curve/slider down for a strike just 36.7% (22/60) of the time in 2017 — 4th worst among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 55.0%.
  • Opponents had a line drive rate of 16.3% (29/178) against Matt Bowman in 2017 — 22nd best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 21.1%.

 

Brett Cecil
  • He recorded 38 of his 66 strikeouts (57.6%) with his curveball in the 2017 season — 9th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 11.6%.
  • He has not allowed a walk in his last 72 PA’s against a RHH dating back to July 26, 2017 (Pat Neshek has the longest active streak at 140).
  • Right-handed hitters have a chase rate of 41.5% (118/284) against Brett Cecil in 2017 — League Avg: 30.6%.

 

Bud Norris
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .219 (21 Total Bases / 96 ABs) vs left-handed batters in the 2017 season — League Avg: .400.
  • He threw his breaking pitches for a strike 68.1% (139/204) of the time in the 2017 season — 18th highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 61.5%.

 

Dominic Leone
  • He allowed an OBP of .233 (20/86) with RISP in the 2017 season — 12th best among RPs in MLB; League Avg: .346.
  • Hitters chased 134 of Dominic Leone‘s 316 breaking balls out of the zone (chase rate of 42.4%) in 2017 — 21st highest among RPs in MLB; League Avg: 32.8%.

 

Hitters

 

2017 Offense Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .256 14th
OBP .334 T-6th
SLG .426 17th
OPS .760 12th
BB% 9.5% T-5th
K% 21.7% 17th
QAB 2706 5th
wOBA .332 T-10th

 

Marcell Ozuna
  • He slugged .748 (80 total bases in 107 ABs) on inside fastballs in the 2017 season — 3rd best in MLB; League Avg: .483.

  • He had an OPS of 1.443 (142 PAs) when the pitcher is behind in the count in 2017 — 15th best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 1.119.
  • He had a groundball batting average of .341 (76 GB hits out of 223 GBs) in 2017 — tied 6th best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .249.

 

Tommy Pham
  • He had an OPS of 1.042 (284 PAs) on the road in the 2017 season — 2nd best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .733.

  • He had a swing rate of just 45.5% (266/585) with two strikes in 2017 — lowest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 60.6%.
  • He chased 17.9% of pitches out of the zone (191/1,068) in 2017 — 2nd lowest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 29.2%.

 

Dexter Fowler
  • He had an OPS of 1.021 (129 PAs) with RISP in the 2017 season — 9th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .773.
  • He averaged 4.43 Pitches per Plate Appearance (673/152) when leading off an inning in 2017 — 12th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 3.9.
  • He slugged .643 (63 total bases in 98 ABs) on low fastballs in 2017 — 17th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .444.

 

Paul DeJong
  • He slugged .613 (49 total bases in 80 ABs) versus LHP in the 2017 season — 10th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .419.
  • He had a groundball rate of just 31.7% (77/243) versus RHP in 2017 — 7th lowest in MLB among hitters with at least 243 PAs; League Avg: 44.8%.

  • He had 25 HRs in 417 ABs (16.7 AB/HR) in 2017 — 19th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 27.1.

 

Kolten Wong
  • He has not struck out in his last 33 PA’s against a RHP dating back to September 12, 2017 (this is the longest active streak).
  • He batted .281 (39-for-139) on non-fastballs in 2017 — League Avg: .224.
  • He grounded into 4 double plays in 80 opportunities (5.0%) in 2017 — tied 19th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 11.1%.

 

Matt Carpenter
  • He averaged 4.44 Pitches per Plate Appearance (2,764/622) in the 2017 season — 3rd best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 3.9.
  • He chased 15.7% of pitches out of the zone (226/1,436) in 2017 — lowest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 29.2%.
  • He hit just .144 (28-for-195) on non-fastballs in 2017 — 2nd worst among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .224.

 

Jedd Gyorko
  • He had an OPS of .975 (113 PAs) versus LHP in the 2017 season — 13th best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .745.
  • 15.2% of Jedd Gyorko‘s plate appearances have lasted only one pitch (73/481 PAs) in 2017 — 15th highest among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 10.8%.

 

Yadier Molina
  • He struck out 12 times in 120 PAs (10.0%) versus LHP in the 2017 season — 5th lowest among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: 21.5%.
  • He slugged .746 (47 total bases in 63 ABs) against pitchers who have reached at least 80 pitches in a game this season — 5th best among qualified hitters in MLB; League Avg: .445.

 

Jose Martinez
  • He had an OPS of 1.340 (69 PAs) versus LHP this season — 2nd best among part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .745.

  • He has a 27-game streak of reaching base safely, starting on August 30, 2017 (Joey Votto has the longest active streak at 32).

 

 

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