The St. Louis Cardinals have quietly turned the page on a disappointing era—and the early returns suggest this rebuild might actually be working. After missing the playoffs for three straight seasons and posting a losing record in two of them, the Cardinals made the tough call last winter to trade away veteran stars like Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, and Sonny Gray. The result? The second-youngest lineup and fourth-youngest pitching staff in baseball, and a surprising 25-18 start that has them winning 11 of their last 16 games.
This weekend, they host the Kansas City Royals (19-25) at Busch Stadium in a battle of two clubs heading in very different directions. The Royals are averaging 4.11 runs per game (25th in MLB) while allowing 4.57 (19th), while the Cardinals are scoring 4.63 runs per game (9th) and giving up 4.58 (20th). On paper, these teams look nearly identical offensively—both are hitting around .240/.321/.390 as a unit.
But the Cardinals have found some bright spots. Rookie infielder JJ Wetherholt is an early Rookie of the Year contender, though he's struggled this month with a .213/.327/.277 slash line. Still, his defensive metrics—particularly Outs Above Average—have been elite. Meanwhile, former top prospect Jordan Walker has finally turned a corner, ranking seventh in baseball with a 166 wRC+. Shortstop Masyn Winn is crushing left-handed pitching at a .343/.400/.457 clip, while Victor Scott II is hitting just .125 in 85 plate appearances against righties.
On the mound, the series opener features a familiar face: Michael Wacha, who was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round back in 2012. He's never lost to his former team, boasting a perfect 4-0 record with a 2.76 ERA in five career starts against St. Louis. The Cardinals will counter with Dustin May, who signed last winter and has settled in nicely after two rough outings to start the year—posting a 2.55 ERA over his last six starts. Opponents are hitting .302 against his 97 mph fastball, but his sweeper has a 31.4 percent whiff rate that keeps hitters guessing.
Noah Cameron has struggled recently, allowing 20 runs over 25 innings in his last five starts. Kyle Leahy, who made 61 relief appearances for the Cardinals last year with a 3.07 ERA, tossed five shutout innings in his last start against the Padres—though he walked four batters. Andre Pallante, who had a 5.31 ERA in 31 starts last season (fourth-highest among qualified starters), rounds out the rotation and relies heavily on his ground ball tendencies.
The Cardinals' rebuild is still in its early stages, but the energy in St. Louis is unmistakable. Whether they can sustain this momentum against a division rival will tell us a lot about how real this turnaround really is.