Starting Pitching Woes Haunt Last Place St. Louis Cardinals

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The St. Louis Cardinals are among the most puzzling teams in Major League Baseball.

At the beginning of play May 11, the Cardinals were last in the National League Central, with a dismal 13-25 record. That places them dead last in the division.

Although the club raised some eyebrows by removing highly priced offseason free agent acquisition Willson Contreras from his catching position, the issues of the Cardinals don’t rest with Contreras’ defense behind the plate.

To this writer, there is much more to the Cardinals story so far this season than Willson Contreras.

Prior to yielding his catching role, Contreras threw out five of 17 players, or 29% of those trying to steal. He had one passed ball. That isn’t bad. Not bad at all in today’s game, with new rules and more teams attempting to steal bases.

Contreras was attempting to follow presumed future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina as the Cardinals primary catcher.

It is unlikely anyone the Cardinals put behind the plate can come close to managing a game, handling a pitching staff, and providing anything close to the defensive prowess Molina showed in his 19-year catching career in St. Louis.

It was unrealistic to think that could happen with Contreras, or anyone else.

The Cardinals signed Contreras as a free agent.

Formerly the top catcher for their division rival Chicago Cubs, Contreras signed a 5-year, $87.5 million contract this offseason. The club holds a 2028 club option on his contract.

It has been reported St. Louis had issues with Contreras’ handling of the Cardinals pitching staff. When he was removed from catching, it was originally deemed he should try his hand in the outfield.

Now, Contreras will be a designated hitter. An expensive one, at that.

But is Willson Contreras a convenient excuse for what ails the underperforming Cardinals?

That question must be asked. Only the Cardinals front office has the answer.

Note: All statistics used below are prior to play May 11.

Cardinals Pitching Issues:

One need look only to the statistics regarding the Cardinals starting pitching to get a good picture of one of the issues troubling St. Louis.

To this observer, starting pitching is Issue No. 1. It must be corrected for the Cardinals to return to the playoffs.

The opposition is hitting a robust .274 against Cardinals pitching. BaseballReference lists the current MLB average batting average to be .247.

MLB.com has a complete list of team pitching statistics.

The Cardinals have a staff ERA of 4.64, or 21st among the 30 MLB teams.

The Cardinals have a 1.49 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched,) or 27th in baseball.

The Cardinals now have veteran Adam Wainwright back in the rotation. He was part of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He had sustained a groin injury prior to the beginning of the season.

Here are Baseball Reference statistics related to the Cardinals most often used starting rotation:

Jordan Montgomery-LHP

8 starts, 46 IP, 4.11 ERA, 1.30 WHIP

Adam Wainwright-RHP

1 start, 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.60 WHIP

Steven Matz-LHP

7 starts, 36.1 IP, 5.70 ERA, 1.59 WHIP

Miles Mikolas-RHP

8 starts, 41.2 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.65 WHIP

Jack Flaherty-RHP

8 starts, 39.1 IP, 6.18 ERA, 1.73 WHIP

Overall, those collective numbers for Cardinals starters aren’t pretty.

According to covers.com, the bullpen has registered a 3.88 ERA, and.1.36 WHIP.

Cardinals Outfield Offense:

Who knew that with more than a week gone in May, Nolan Arenado would be hitting .233 with only three homers? Or that the Cardinals outfield would struggle to produce runs?

Here are the statistics of the Cardinals most commonly used outfielders:

Alec Burleson- 97 plate appearances- .216/.266/.398/.664 with 3 home runs, 8 RBIs, 5 walks, 11 strikeouts

Lars Nootbaar- 104 plate appearances- .289/.433/.422/.854 with 3 home runs, 11 RBIs, 21 walks, 22 strikeouts

Tyler O’Neill-99 plate appearances- .228/.283/.337/.620 with 2 home runs, 6 RBIs, 7 walks, 34 strikeouts

Brendan Donovan-116 plate appearances- .267/.328/.381/.709 with 3 home runs, 10 RBIs, 8 walks, 20 strikeouts

Dylan Carlson-100 plate appearances- .226/.270/..355/.625 with 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, 5 walks, 19 strikeouts

Collectively, those five outfielders have driven in 47 runs in 516 plate appearances. Very telling. And…a problem.

Each of the five have gotten an almost equal number of plate appearances.

Conclusions:

According to Fangraphs, the St. Louis Cardinals have an estimated payroll of $183 million, or $20 million more than last year.

This year, free agent acquisition Willson Contreras consumes $10 million of that total. Starting next year, and for four consecutive seasons, that figure jumps to $18 million per year.

The Cardinals signed Contreras as a catcher. Yet, in early May, the team removed him from his catcher’s role. He is now serving as the team’s designated hitter.

The Cardinals are currently last in the National League Central Division, unfamiliar territory for the storied franchise.

The team’s president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak has announced he will retire after this season.

Mozeliak hired Oliver Marmol, who at 36, is the youngest manager in MLB.

Both Mozeliak and Marmol have been the targets of criticism for a myriad of issues by Cardinals fans.

It remains to be seen if St. Louis can climb out of the basement with improved play as the weather and humidity warm and increase in St. Louis.

For now, however, there are reasons for concern regarding the Cardinals rotation and the lack of production from key players; especially those who patrol the Cardinals outfield.