Preseason 2015 MLB Playoff predictions
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals (92-70)
2014 finish: 1st in NL Central (90-72), out in NLCS.
The playoffs are basically a staple for the St. Louis Cardinals who have been in the playoffs 11 times in the last 15 years. The Cardinals won the NL Central the last two seasons, but lost in the World Series in 2013 and lost in the NLCS in 2014 to the Giants. The Cardinals were solid last season, but were still 24th in hitting and 11th in pitching in the MLB.
1B Matt Adams led the Cardinals in batting average hitting for .288, and shockingly it was SS Jhonny Peralta who led the team in homers with 21. OF Matt Holiday led the team with 90 RBIs and 3B Matt Carpenter led with 162 hits.
Adam Wainwright led a solid Cardinals pitching staff last season going 20-9 with a 2.38 ERA. Wainwright has finished in the top 3 that past two seasons in Cy Young voting. Lance Lynn was also a solid pitcher for the Cards, leading in strikeouts with 181 and he had a stellar 2.74 ERA. John Lackey, Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez will wrap up the rotation.
In the offseason, St. Louis added a great young player in Jason Heyward, but lost some good pitchers as well.
Key additions: OF Jason Heyward, 1B/3B Mark Reynolds, RHP Matt Belisle, RHP Jordan Walden, RHP Carlos Villanueva.
Key losses: RHP Justin Masterson, RHP Shelby Miller, RHP Jason Motte, RHP Pat Neshek, C A.J. Pierzynski.
Shelby Miller has been great for the Cardinals the past two seasons, but they needed an outfielder, especially one like Jason Heyward, so he was traded away. The Cardinals got rid of Justin Masterson after he was awful after the Cardinals acquired him midway through the 2014 season.The Cardinals also lost reliever Pat Nesek who was great for the team with his 1.87 ERA, but he struggled in the playoffs for St. Louis. Carlos Villanueva and Matt Belisle don’t come to the Cardinals off of good seasons. Both pitched over a 4.00 ERA last season. Jordan Walden was solid with a 2.88 ERA last year with the Braves.
In order for St. Louis to win the NL Central, they’ll have to continue their stellar pitching, and hope to find some power hitting in players other than Jhonny Peralta. Matt Adams needs to step up as well as Matt Carpenter, Matt Holiday and Jason Heyward. 2B Kolten Wong came in third in the Rookie of the Year voting last season and had 100 hits in 113 games last year. Hopefully the 24-year-old can continue to build on his potential this year. The Cardinals also have the best defensive catcher in the MLB in Yadier Molina who has been an All-Star the last six seasons and won the Gold Glove the last seven seasons. Molina batted in the .300’s in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and in 2014 he batted .282 and will hope to get back to .300 this season.
2015 team batting MVP: 1B Matt Adams
2015 team pitching MVP: SP Adam Wainwright
2015 key under the radar player: 2B Kolten Wong
The Cardinals will battle with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the NL Central title but their strength both in their lineup and rotation will overpower the NL Central in the regular season and they’ll come out on top for the third straight year. The Cardinals will miss out on the World Series for the second straight year, losing in the NLCS.