4. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are one of MLB’s best and brightest franchises. They almost always seem to carry postseason expectations. But this year, it’s hard to get overly excited about St. Louis.
Carlos Martinez is the team’s ace now, but Adam Wainwright will still be an important cog for the Cardinals. Wainwright missed nearly all of 2015 with an injury. He came back in 2016 but had the worst season of his career, posting a 4.62 ERA and 1.404 WHIP. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t be too concerned. The first season back from an injury is frequently a struggle. But Wainwright is 35. We can’t just assume that he’s going to come anywhere close to the ace he’s been for most of his career.
Yadier Molina is another concern. In 2016, Molina slashed at .307/.360/.427 but saw his string of eight straight gold gloves come to an end. Like Wainwright, we’re not saying that Molina can’t be an effective player, but he’s 34. We also can’t rely on him to be a superstar.
Maybe the likely call up of Carson Kelly will negate some of the issues with Molina. But Wainwright is another story.
Lance Lynn missed all of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery. The same surgery will keep Alex Reyes sidelined in 2017. Michael Wacha had a 5.09 ERA and 1.478 WHIP in 2016 while allowing more than 10 hits for every nine innings.
Where’s the run prevention going to come from?
Certainly, the 2017 season has ample potential to be an absolute bust in St. Louis.