When the St. Louis Cardinals are at their best it is traditionally because of a strong pitching staff. And that was certainly the case last year when the Redbirds ended a three-season drought to get back into the post season. St. Louis won the National League Central Division and made it all the way to the National League Championship Series. The return to glory was something of a surprise in a division that has been dominated by the Chicago Cubs. Now the question is if the Cardinals are here to stay or if the Cubs will roar back under new management. Also, in the hunt is a Milwaukee Brewers team that has made the post season the past two years and a Cincinnati Reds team touted to bust out after years of rebuilding. Offensive production remains the biggest concern in St. Louis. Let’s examine their 2020 prospects.
We’ll have MLB Odds at Bookmaker.eu available for every game of the 2020 MLB season.
2020 St. Louis Cardinals Win Total Odds at Bookmaker.eu: 87.5, +110 over, -145 under
The Cardinals took advantage of an underachieving Cubs team and the Brewers missing superstar Christian Yelich for 32 games to steal the NL Central title. This year St. Louis will not catch anyone off guard and will get everyone’s best shot.
On the Hill
The Cardinals pitching staff was among the best in baseball last season with MLB rankings of fifth for earned run average, seventh for WHIP, seventh for quality starts and fifth for bullpen.
Projected number one starter Jack Flaherty was 11-8 with a 2.75 earned run average last year. He struck out 231 batters in 196.1 innings of work. It was the best season of his career and just his second as a full-time starter.
Dakota Hudson is also impressive as the number two starter. Hudson was 16-7 last year with a 3.35 earned run average and WHIP of 1.41. It was just his first full season as a starting pitcher.
Slated as the third starter is 2018 NL All-Star Miles Mikolas, who dipped a bit last year with a record of 9-14 and 4.16 earned run average with a WHIP of 1.22. In his first season in the rotation, 2018, he was much more impressive at 18-4 with a 2.83 earned run average with a WHIP of 1.07.
Closer is not yet settled but Ryan Helsley is projected to win the job full time after posting a 2.95 earned run average last season.
At the Plate
Despite winning the NL Central the Cardinals ranked only 19th in MLB for run production, 21st for OPS, and 24th for home runs. Of concern is the departure of cleanup hitter Marcell Ozuna.
Last year first baseman Paul Goldschmidt failed to make the NL All-Star team for the first time after six straight seasons. But Goldschmidt was still a productive member of the Cardinals lineup with 97 runs, 25 doubles, 34 home runs, and 97 runs batted in. However, he suffered drops in some important categories from the 2018 season. For example, he went from a batting average of .290 to .260, with a slugging percentage drop of .533 to .476, and an OPS decline of .922 to .821. With Ozuna gone the pressure will be increased on Goldschmidt to return to vintage 2018 form.
2020 St. Louis Cardinals Win Total MLB Betting Odds Pick
Kudos to the Cardinals for being the ultimate opportunists in the 2019 season but its reasonable to question if they can repeat. They are unproven at the plate and at the closer position. Beyond that the Cubs still bring a strong roster and are comeback material. And capable Milwaukee may be underrated while the Reds are seen by many as the team to beat.
2020 St. Louis Cardinals MLB Betting Odds Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals under 87.5 wins
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