Jordan Hicks of the St. Louis Cardinals (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten off to a rocky start to begin the 2023. Which three players are most to blame for the Cards slow start to the season?
Oh my, weren’t the
St. Louis Cardinals
supposed to be the class of the National League Central Division this season? In a division that’s home to the rebuilding Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cards are dead-last.
But how can that be? After all, it’s not like the NL Central is filled with world-beaters. Sure, the Milwaukee Brewers have some top-notch pitching, but so do the Cardinals, right? Right?
Eh, not so fast. In fact, the pitching staff is easily one of the biggest reasons for the team’s shortcomings thus far. While Jack Flaherty didn’t make the list, somehow the right-hander owns a 1.80 ERA despite issuing 13 walks through 10 innings pitched. That is not sustainable, and neither are St. Louis’s hopes for division title if these players continue to struggle.
3. Cardinals pitcher Jordan Hicks deserves some blame for St. Louis’ slow start
Jordan Hicks has a dynamic fastball, but it’s not worth a hill of beans if you can’t throw it for strikes. The St. Louis Cardinals reliever has more walks (6) than punchouts (5) this season and owns an ERA of 10.80.
Opposing batters have also been teeing off on Hicks. His batting average-against is sitting at .364 while his WHIP is hovering around 2.80. It’s still early, but those are not the type of numbers that Cards fans expected to see from a key member of their bullpen.
Jordan Hicks has also blown the only save opportunity he’s had on the season. In five games, Hicks has allowed six runs on eight hits including a round-tripper. If the
St. Louis Cardinals
hope to win in the now-competitive NL Central, Hicks has got to get back to the pitcher he was last season. Opponents were only hitting .210 off the 26-year-old a year ago.
St. Louis Cardinals</a> supposed to be the class of the National League Central Division this season? In a division that’s home to the rebuilding Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cards are dead-last.</p>
<p>But how can that be? After all, it’s not like the NL Central is filled with world-beaters. Sure, the Milwaukee Brewers have some top-notch pitching, but so do the Cardinals, right? Right?</p>
<p>Eh, not so fast. In fact, the pitching staff is easily one of the biggest reasons for the team’s shortcomings thus far. While Jack Flaherty didn’t make the list, somehow the right-hander owns a 1.80 ERA despite issuing 13 walks through 10 innings pitched. That is not sustainable, and neither are St. Louis’s hopes for division title if these players continue to struggle.</p>
<h2>3. Cardinals pitcher Jordan Hicks deserves some blame for St. Louis’ slow start</h2>
<p>Jordan Hicks has a dynamic fastball, but it’s not worth a hill of beans if you can’t throw it for strikes. The St. Louis Cardinals reliever has more walks (6) than punchouts (5) this season and owns an ERA of 10.80.</p>
<p>Opposing batters have also been teeing off on Hicks. His batting average-against is sitting at .364 while his WHIP is hovering around 2.80. It’s still early, but those are not the type of numbers that Cards fans expected to see from a key member of their bullpen.</p>
<p>Jordan Hicks has also blown the only save opportunity he’s had on the season. In five games, Hicks has allowed six runs on eight hits including a round-tripper. If the <a href=https://fansided.com/2023/04/11/stl-cardinals-blame-slow-start-2023-season/"https://fansided.com/2023/04/08/cardinals-rumors-3-players-may-1/">St. Louis Cardinals</a> hope to win in the now-competitive NL Central, Hicks has got to get back to the pitcher he was last season. Opponents were only hitting .210 off the 26-year-old a year ago.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #58595b" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://fansided.com/2023/04/11/stl-cardinals-blame-slow-start-2023-season/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 2: Willson Contreras </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-2403389" src=https://fansided.com/2023/04/11/stl-cardinals-blame-slow-start-2023-season/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Ffansided.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1250755095.jpeg" alt="St. Louis Cardinals" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://fansided.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1250755095.jpeg 1600w, https://fansided.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1250755095-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">ST LOUIS, MO – APRIL 03: Willson Contreras #40 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after throwing a runner out against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Busch Stadium on April 3, 2023 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>2. Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras deserves some blame for St. Louis’ slow start</h2>
<p>There were bound to be some problems for the St. Louis Cardinals after waving goodbye to longtime catcher Yadier Molina. The heart and soul of the Cards for nearly two decades, the 2022 season was Molina’s last.</p>
<p>Of course, St. Louis made a splash in the offseason by signing former Chicago Cubs backstop <a href=https://fansided.com/2023/04/11/stl-cardinals-blame-slow-start-2023-season/"https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/contrwi01.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Willson Contreras</a> to a massive contract. If the Cards were going to replace Molina, they were going to go big.</p>
<p>Well right now, it looks like a big swing and miss; which is exactly what Contreras is doing at the dish. The Cards biggest free agent acquisition has been a virtual no-show in the batters’ box. Contreras is 7-for-31 (.226) and has six strikeouts to just one free pass.</p>
<p>Only one of Contreras’ seven base knocks has gone for extra bases. Contreras’ OPS is sitting at a paltry .568. Furthermore, it’s not as if the Cardinals signed Contreras for his defense behind the plate. Contreras has always been known as a below-average defender. He only caught 72 games behind the plate for the Cubbies last season.</p>
<p>With Andrew Knizner hitting just .100, it’s not as if St. Louis has a backup plan. If the Cards are looking to move up in the standings, Willson Contreras has got to start producing.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #58595b" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://fansided.com/2023/04/11/stl-cardinals-blame-slow-start-2023-season/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 1: Miles Mikolas </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-2403392" src=https://fansided.com/2023/04/11/stl-cardinals-blame-slow-start-2023-season/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Ffansided.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1250795773.jpeg" alt="St. Louis Cardinals" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://fansided.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1250795773.jpeg 1600w, https://fansided.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1250795773-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">ST LOUIS, MO – APRIL 05: Miles Mikolas #39 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Busch Stadium on April 5, 2023 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>1. Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas deserves some blame for St. Louis’ slow start</h2>
<p>The St. Louis Cardinals may be reconsidering serving up all that cash to Miles Mikolas prior to the start of the 2023 season. The Cards front office didn’t sign up for their frontline starter to post a 9.64 ERA despite giving up just one walk.</p>
<p>The St. Louis rotation as a whole has been, well, not good. Jack Flaherty has sub-2.00 ERA but has walked 13 batters in two starts, Steven Matz has an ERA north of 8.00, Adam Wainwright is on the Injured List, and Mikolas has looked horrific.</p>
<p>It’s not that Mikolas isn’t getting his punchouts — he is. The right-hander has 12 strikeouts in 9.1 innings of work. But Mikolas is getting lit up like a Christmas tree. He’s surrendered 19 base hits in his first two starts and allowed 10 runs to dent the plate while only giving up one home run.</p>
<p>It’s not the long ball that has been Mikolas’ undoing. But batters are just putting the ball where the defense isn’t able to get it, which is quite the feat taking into consideration how good the Cards defense is.</p>
<p>If Miles Mikolas doesn’t get the kinks worked, the St. Louis Cardinals have no shot. Their rotation is shaky at best, but if Mikolas can’t right the ship, it’s going to be a long season for the relief corp.</p>
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