Cardinals have one surprising bright spot breaking them out of rough start

The St. Louis Cardinals hoped to rebound from their brutal 71-win season in 2023, but they got off to a rough start. They entered Wednesday's game with a 22-26 record, which is good for fourth place in the NL West.

Their offense, which was supposed to be among the National League's best, has struggled mightily, scoring fewer runs and hitting fewer home runs than any National League team. Their rotation has remained underwhelming, as their 4.64 starting pitcher ERA is good for 25th in the majors. Oh yeah, Oli Marmol is still there too.

For all of the bad Cardinals fans have endured, there has been one big bright spot. That's come from the play of Masyn Winn, who is showing that he's the Cardinals' shortstop of the future.

Masyn Winn is emerging at the perfect time for the Cardinals

The Cardinals' average age of 30.3 is the second-oldest in the majors only behind the New York Mets. Having the second-oldest roster and being four games under .500 is not where a team wants to be. Thankfully, they do have 22-year-old Masyn Winn who is breaking out as we speak.

The former second-round pick is known mostly for his rocket of an arm at the shortstop position, but he's been really solid with the bat. In fact, his offensive resurgence has had Marmol try him at the leadoff spot against left-handed pitching, and with how well he has swung the bat there's an argument that could be made that he should be their full-time.

Winn has one of the highest line drive rates in the National League, sandwiched in between Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman. That has helped him slash .291/.347/.403 this season and post a 116 OPS+. Outside of Willson Contreras, he's been their most consistent hitter, which is crazy to say on a team with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt.

He hasn't hit for much power yet, but Winn hitting around .300 while hitting line drives at an elite level has to have Cardinals fans elated. Winn didn't do much at all with his chances last season, but he looks like their shortstop of the future and one of the few building blocks for the organization.