Nolan Arenado's concerning streak has Cardinals fans panicking already

The St. Louis Cardinals' season is off to a predictably rough start. With Sonny Gray on the IL and the roster plagued by low expectations, St. Louis opened the campaign with a four-game series against the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers. The result is a 1-3 record, with the Cardinals fanbase already panicking about the output of key players.

One such source of panic is Nolan Arenado. The talented third baseman has been less than stellar out of the gate, registering exactly one RBI single, one hit-by-pitch, and one sacrifice fly across 18 plate appearances. Despite only one strikeout, Arenado has been virtually silent at the plate.

That is obviously cause for concern in St. Louis, as there's little hope of success if their eight-time All-Star and perennial MVP candidate hits a wall. One could argue that it's too early to panic — we're four games into the season — but Arenado's Opening Week slump is part of a broader trend.

Nolan Arenado continues worrying slump at the plate for Cardinals

Arenado has not homered since August 19 of last season, which is 117 at-bats and 30 games since his last dinger, per Kyle Reis of Birds on the Black. That was followed up with more context from 101 ESPN's Brandon Kiley, who revealed that Arenado now has three stretches of 20+ games without a home run since 2014. Two of those stretches have come since the start of last season.

The consistency we're accustomed to seeing from Arenado is starting to wane. It feels that way, at least. Maybe it's a bit unfair to count 26 games from last season and four games from 2024 as "consecutive" games. Arenado probably deserves more than four games of a fresh season before we hit the panic button and officially announce his decline. Still, it's a worrying trend. Arenado went through multiple uncharacteristic HR droughts last season, and now he's ice-cold to start the new campaign.

At 32 years old, Arenado should still have plenty in the tank. He was an All-Star last season, his eighth bid, slashing .266/.315/.459 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI. Those are more than suitable numbers in the cleanup spot. If Arenado can return to that level by midseason, we can safely pump the brakes on the spiral of concern from the St. Louis fanbase. At least as far as Arenado is concerned.

Still, this is an increasingly "real" issue, and it's one worth monitoring as the Cards move on to face weaker competition. The Dodgers are a talent outlier, of course, with several aces in the bullpen. But, as Arenado ages beyond his prime, we cannot forget the Coors Field effect. He's not in Denver anymore, and he won't get the natural numbers boost that comes with playing at high elevation.

We have seen Arenado dominate at the plate for St. Louis, but those days could soon be behind us if he doesn't relocate his swing.