First pitch: How concerned should fans be about these 3 superstars?
By Kevin Henry
MLB panic meter: Willson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals
The bells are going off a little louder when it comes to Contreras, not only because of the numbers he has put up in recent games but also the fact that his time in St. Louis has been filled with drama and scrutiny.
Let’s face it, Contreras isn’t the only negative thing happening in St. Louis for the Cardinals, a team that has lost five of its last six games and spent the weekend in Pittsburgh getting swept by the Pirates. However, when Contreras was the biggest move of the offseason for the Cardinals and he isn’t working out so far, his statistics and shortcomings are going to come under the microscope much more than, oh, let’s say, a past season he spent with the Chicago Cubs.
After slashing .264/.350/.402 in his first full month in St. Louis, Contreras started to crater in May (about the same time as questions popped up about his near future behind the plate), with his slash line dipping to .168/.257/.317. He also struck out 31 times in 101 at-bats in May versus 18 whiffs in 87 April at-bats.
He’s 1-for-8 in June, so the turn of the calendar hasn’t helped yet. We’re saying that things aren’t going to get much better until the pressure cooker turns down a little in St. Louis. If Contreras can gain his comfort level with the Cardinals pitching staff and feel like he can just play and not have things swirling around him, his numbers will likely improve. Until then, it’s not going to be pretty under the Gateway Arch.
Panic meter: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, we’ll give it an 8.