The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the more interesting teams in the league this season. They seemingly resigned themselves to a rebuild in the offseason following a few decisions regarding some veteran free agents: St. Louis opted to let veterans like Paul Goldschmidt and Lance Lynn walk in free agency without doing much of anything to replace them.
Despite this, the Cardinals have gotten off to quite a fast start this season, all things considered. Many expected them to be at the bottom of the National League Central, but they're one of the better teams in the division as of now, just a game back of the Chicago Cubs amid an eight-game winning streak.
With such a roller coaster of a year, it's no surprise that the team has managed to generate some wild overreactions in every direction. But how do we separate the signal from the noise? Here are a few early-season takes that haven't stood the test of time already.
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Overreaction: Jordan Walker is a lost cause
Of all the reactions surrounding the Cardinals, it's the crowd that's ready to give up on former top prospect Jordan Walker that's the most shocking. Some are ready for the Cardinals to part ways with the talented young star in a trade, or have even suggested he has no spot in the future of the organization.
Walker is 22 years old, set to turn 23 in about two weeks. He's still incredibly young in his life and in his baseball career. Sixteen of baseball's top 100 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, are 23 years old or older. Another 24 of the top 100 are the same age as Walker. Most of Minor League baseball is made up of guys Walker's age, yet there are people in the media suggesting he's a lost cause for the Cardinals.
Yes, he's struggled this season (and every season that he's been in the big leagues), but he's still so young and has so much untapped potential. The Cardinals could send him down to Triple-A if they wanted to; honestly, that might be the best route to take with the struggling outfielder. He could gain a lot of valuable experience as an everyday player, but it's completely laughable to say he's a lost cause or should be traded.
Overreaction: The Cardinals shouldn't sell at the trade deadline
The Cardinals were viewed as obvious sellers at the trade deadline just a few weeks ago. But after winning eight straight games, some are suggesting the Cardinals may not pull the plug after all.
When looking at St. Louis' roster, there are four main guys who jump out as trade candidates: Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Nolan Arenado and Ryan Helsley. And those four can be broken down into two groups, the expiring contracts (Fedde and Helsley) and the expensive long-term deals (Gray and Arenado).
For the two expiring contracts, there's next to zero reason why the Cardinals should look to keep these players. It's unlikely they'll bring either guy back in free agency in a few months and the Cardinals aren't built to win a World Series, despite their recent success. Keeping Fedde and Helsley would be a waste of an opportunity to stack up on prospects.
For Gray and Arenado, it completely depends on the trade market. Both are on massive contracts, so it would be hard to blame the Cardinals for cutting ties with them, but if they don't land the right deal, it would be very easy to hold onto the pair.
Either way, the Cardinals shouldn't totally tear things down, but they also need to sell. Keeping Fedde and Helsley would be a waste.
Overreaction: The Cardinals should call up Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence
The last overreaction revolves around the team's top two pitching prospects, Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence. Because the Cardinals were seemingly ready to rebuild this season, many have been calling for the duo to be brought up to the big leagues. But this doesn't make sense for a few reasons.
The first reason is that the Cardinals are winning right now, and their rotation is a large reason why. Their starting five, including Gray and Fedde, have been one of the better units in baseball over the last few weeks. Calling up Mathews or Hence wouldn't make much sense right now.
The other reason is that neither guy is ready for the big leagues right now. Mathews has struggled in just over 10 innings at Triple-A this year. His command issues have been quite worrisome, as he's already walked 15 hitters over that span. Hence is on the 60-day IL, so he's still months away from a potential big league debut.