2020 ST LOUIS CARDINALS PREVIEW
2019 STATISTICS
RECORD – 94 wins / 77 losses (includes playoffs)
OVERALL MONEY -$120 (based on $100 wagered per game)
RETURN ON INVESTMENT +0.5%
HOME RECORD – 51 wins / 34 losses (+$320)
ROAD RECORD – 42 wins / 42 losses (-$200)
RECORD AS FAVORITE – 62 wins / 41 losses (-$40)
RECORD AS UNDERDOG – 32 wins / 36 losses (+$160)
OVER/UNDER RECORD – 74 Overs / 87 Unders / 10 Ties
2019 OFFENSIVE STATS
BATTING AVERAGE – .245 (23rd in the Majors)
OPS (on base + slugging) – .737 (21st)
HOME RUNS – 210 (24th)
RUNS PER GAME – 4.72 (19th)
2019 PITCHING STATS
ERA – 3.80 (5th)
FIP (fielding independent pitching) – 4.27 (11th)
WHIP (walk + hits allowed per inning) – 1.26 (7th)
STRIKEOUT to WALK RATIO – 2.57 (17th)
RUNS ALLOWED PER GAME – 4.09 (5th)
ASA ST LOUIS ANALYSIS – The Cards reclaimed their spot at the top of the NL Central last season winning their 4th division title in the last 7 years. Their pitching carried them last season as the offense ranked in the bottom third of the league in many statistics. They entered the playoffs last season having scored the fewest runs of any of the post season teams. Despite that, they topped Atlanta 3 games to 2 in the first round of the playoffs before getting swept by eventual World Series Champion Washington Nationals. They will need to replace one of their better power hitters as Marcell Ozuna (29 HR’s and 89 RBI) left in free agency. Other than that, their starting line up returns in tact. Their pitching staff is arguably one of the best in the National League. They bring back 4 of their 5 starting pitchers and their lone loss, Michael Wacha, was their weakest link. One of the best “unknown” starters in MLB is Cardinal ace Jack Flaherty. He was much better than his 11-8 record might suggest with a season ERA of 2.75 and a WHIP of less than 1.00. He was nearly unhittable down the stretch allowing just 8 earned runs over his final 12 starts spanning August & September. Their plan was to possibly move closer Carlos Martinez into the starting rotation which could leave a void late in games. Even without Martinez closing out games, we expect their bullpen, which allowed a league low .219 batting average, to still be very solid. Our guess is that the St Louis line up will be much more productive this year. They have some solid hitters that simply didn’t hit well last year. If the pitching continues on their path from last season, the Cards will be fighting for another division title.
