***Official 2023 STL Cardinals Thread ***
 

2023 thread. Walker makes the roster. I'll update the rosters and opening day lineup when its official

2023 Opening Day Lineup

2022 Opening Day roster.

For the new Cardinal fans that joined the Planet since last year, here are some of the historical threads going back to 2006.

First for fire Mozeliak

I'd like to think that keeping Carlson in CF is a run prevention scheme rather than refusal to admit a sunk cost.

I'd rather see Gorman at DH and Walker in LF against righties, which Manoah is, with O'Neill in center and Carlson on the bench. Given Tyler's fragility, I'm sure there will plenty of starts to go around in the OF.

Noot should be in CF and frankly they should have Gorman in AAA playing LF because he's a butcher on the IF and isn't big enough to play 1b. And I think Walker ends up at 1b in a few years anyway.

Then you have a Burleson/Yepez platoon at DH.

Pretending like Gorman is a 2b is going to derail any chance he has to develop into anything more than a high strikeout hacker who runs into a few hangers.

They face a stiff challenge tomorrow.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two more hits tonight (so far) for Jordan Walker.<br><br>Here&#39;s where the <a href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Cardinals</a>&#39; No. 1 prospect currently ranks among ALL players in Spring Training:<br><br>AVG: .452 (1st)<br>SLG: .839 (1st)<br>OPS: 1.291 (1st)<br>TB: 26 (1st)<br>H: 14 (1st)<br>XBH: 6 (T-1st) <a href="https://t.co/ORZqaxMpwp">pic.twitter.com/ORZqaxMpwp</a></p>&mdash; MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1634358371414319106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Walker could be Hal McRae or Edgar Martinez just be a lifer DH. Nothing wrong with that.

Carlson has no doubt been uninspiring with the bat, but sunk cost is a bit much to describe a 24-year-old.

these two after the game?

Gorman has more potential than that. On a rate basis, nobody in baseball barreled the ball more than he did last year. Only Mike Trout had a lower ground ball rate.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nolan Gorman is *the* post-hype prospect of 2023. Surface struggles overblown as he posted 107 wRC+ and .341 xwOBA as rookie<br><br>Young for his level across MLB/MiLB and will start on strong-side of platoon. 30%~ K doesn’t matter when you hit hard as he does<a href="https://t.co/NdXvnueaJI">pic.twitter.com/NdXvnueaJI</a></p>&mdash; Kev Mahserejian (@RotoSurgeon) <a href="https://twitter.com/RotoSurgeon/status/1641109522872954881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Here it is. Guess Marmol has soured on Carlson. Maybe should have given him up in the trade to get Soto? But, we have Mo.:banghead:

That was 3 weeks ago and fueled by a single massive game that boosted his rate stats due to a small sample size.

Walker ended the spring at about a .790 OPS and per bref his average quality of competition was a roughly average AA pitcher. He also struck out 15 times to only 2 walks.

Personally, I don't think he's ready. He's too aggressive a hitter to produce as little loft as he does. I'd have started him in AAA. There are changes he needs to make to his swing, IMO. And if he's going to remain this aggressive, he's going to get himself out on weak contact a LOT.

That's my fear too. He'll end up either riding the bench and getting no ABs or getting sent back down. Why not just start him there and see how he does?

I don't disagree, but he has things to work on still and if he's doing that while trying to focus on playing 2b, it's going to get in the way of that. Moreover, his body just can't handle it, IMO. He puts too much strain on his back when he swings. His mechanics are pretty violent. You have him swinging like that and then crouched over on the IF grass, you're asking to have a guy who's battling back troubles for big chunks of the year that undermine his ability to take a confident hack. Muncy was a really good example of that last season.

Stop ****ing around with the 2b experiment and just let him play OF and develop as a hitter.

Well damn - I can't even grouse about Marmol's lineup today.

That's about a perfect lineup construction, IMO. I friggen love Donovan/Noot at the top of the order, though having L/L there might make matching up a little too easy later in the game. The good news is that Edman hits lefties well in the 9 spot but he probably doesn't have enough power potential to really scare teams into avoiding putting a lefty against him.

So if you're in the 6th/7th inning and get to the 9 spot, you bring the lefty in to face him, Donovan and Noot, you satisfy your 3-runner rule and bring in a righty for the meat of the order.