STL Cardinals: 4 bold predictions for 2023 Opening Day

St. Louis Cardinals bold prediction: A win in the postseason

Yes, the Cards will win the National League Central. No, the wins won’t be enough to catch the San Diego Padres in the National League West or New York Mets in the National League East to earn one of the first-round byes in the NL postseason bracket.

Unfortunately for Cardinals fans, that means the team will once again have to go through the Wild Card round in order to get to the Fall Classic for the first time since 2013. However, unlike last season, the Cardinals will escape the Wild Card round in 2023, posting their first postseason series win since downing the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS in 2019.

As we predicted here long before spring training began, the Cardinals will once again match up with the Phillies in St. Louis in the Wild Card round. However, Philadelphia won’t get the best of them this time as Arenado shows exactly why he is the league’s MVP during a St. Louis sweep of the Phillies.

From there, the Cardinals will have to show that they can overcome the massive amounts of money spent in New York and San Diego this offseason in the NLDS. While St. Louis will bring plenty of firepower, it won’t be enough to make it into the NLCS, with the Mets and Padres both advancing to see who will represent the NL in the World Series.

Sure, it’s a disappointing prediction to end the season, but there are plenty of positives in store for the Cardinals in 2023 according to our crystal ball.