St. Louis Cardinals: Christmas Wish List for the 2017 Season

Oct 2, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) salutes the fans after the final game of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 10-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Christmas is quickly approaching and the St. Louis Cardinals are wishing 2017 goes better than 2016. Besides that though, they likely have some other big wishes.

The St. Louis Cardinals had two of their wishes granted this offseason when they signed Brett Cecil and Dexter Fowler. However, there’s plenty more to wish for as Christmas and the 2017 season approaches. Below, is a personalized wish list split into four categories but not in any particular order. Many of these don’t need to happen for a successful 2017 season but they would make things a lot easier.

Field Players

One of the number one wishes for the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans has to be Yadier Molina remaining healthy for an entire season. He’s individually a key for this team to be successful and the players and fans have been able to see that over the past few years when he was on the disabled list and the team struggled. Last year, Molina played in 146 games and batted .307/.360/.427 but what was even more impressive was his second half.

After the All-Star break, when he was full recovered from his 2015 thumb injury, Molina absolutely dominated and posted a .365/.398/.529 slash-line. Now, that definitely isn’t expected for the 2017 season, but if he remains healthy, there’s no reason to believe he can’t post another batting line like 2016. Also, this is all without considering Molina’s defensive value to the team or his value in the clubhouse and dugout.

A big message given by John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason has been that Kolten Wong will in fact be the starting second baseman for the 2017 season. They also expressed that Wong needs to be a part of the everyday lineup because of his defense. However, we’ve heard this all before but with Wong’s inconsistency at the plate, Mike Matheny hasn’t been as patient with him as maybe Mozeliak would have liked.

Now though, Mozeliak has consistently and deliberately made his point clear: Kolten Wong must play a lot. The belief is Wong significantly improves the defense and could potentially be a gold glove second baseman. He has averaged more than 5 defensive runs saved a season and posted an impressive 4.5 ultimate zone rating last year. With this pitching staff, the Cardinals need good defenders in the infield and Wong needs to be out there for their plan to work.

Another message from the St. Louis Cardinals is they didn’t quite love Randal Grichuk in center-field. His defensive capabilities compared to Fowler’s can be debated for hours and hours but the main focus on this wish is his power bat. The Cardinals lost quite a bit of power between Brandon Moss and Matt Holliday and Grichuk has shown he can homer with some of the best. The question is, can he do it at a consistent level?

Like Wong, Grichuk wasn’t given much patience last season as he went through his hot and cold streaks. Despite that, he still managed 24 home runs in 132 games. While Grichuk does strikeout at a high rate and isn’t an OBP type guy, he is a threatening bat in a lineup that severely lacks pop. Another reason for this wish is to truly see what Grichuk is. Give him a full season at the MLB level and that will tell the organization a lot about the outfield going forward.

The biggest headlines for the St. Louis Cardinals this winter was the signing of center fielder and lead off specialist Dexter Fowler. This left a lot of questions as to where Matt Carpenter will be placed in the batting order. For his career at the lead-off spot, Carp has slashed .295/.387/.485 but with the addition of Fowler, the Cardinals believe Carp can be a huge contributor further down in the order.

All signs and speculation lead to him batting 3rd while some (like me) believe he should bat 2nd and then there are those who believe he should bat clean-up. The Cards tried moving him away from lead-off a few times but it hasn’t been for an extended period of time and it wasn’t exactly successful. With that said, the Cardinals and their fans are wishing that Carpenter can become a big-time contributor in the middle of the order. If not, a back-up plan of moving Fowler down may be in order.

Apr 27, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (left) uses a towel to wave air on pitcher Adam Wainwright in the dugout after hitting three run triple in the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Starting Pitchers

This wish would mean more than it seems for the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting on Opening Day has been a traditional honor given to the team’s “ace” or their best pitcher. Carlos Martinez is the best pitcher on this Redbirds staff and he deserves to be given this opportunity and honor. Although, many may claim that Adam Wainwright should be the Opening Day starter after his history with the Cardinals and how he has been the ace of this staff for some time.

But, starting on Opening Day has a bit more meaning behind it. First of all, the Cardinals open their season against the Chicago Cubs so sending out the best pitcher to start the season off right is the only option. Secondly, Martinez, as the ace, should eclipse 200 innings in 2017. He’s yet to do that in his career and got close in 2016 after pitching 195.1 innings. Putting him out on Opening Day solidifies him as the “ace” of the staff and sets the tone for the entire 2017 season.

Lance Lynn has been a huge part of the St. Louis Cardinals success in recent seasons. Last year, he missed the entire season due to Tommy John Surgery and his rehabilitation. The organization filled his rotation spot by signing Mike Leake. Lynn’s absence was incredibly noticeable considering he usually pitches 200 innings and maintains an ERA under 4.00. That would have been a significant upgrade over almost anyone on the team.

Furthermore, Lynn is a “gamer.” He’s competitive, fiery, and has experience in some big moments. The Cardinals seemed to lack a lot of personality last season and his return could help bring that back. Also, with players like Holliday and Moss not returning, there is a lack of veteran leadership which is a void he can help fill. Lynn has been taken for granted by a lot of fans but they’ll realize how much they missed him if he is back to his normal self for 2017.

Many fans were not happy with the Mike Leake signing during the 2016 offseason. Many more fans were not happy after seeing him pitch in 2016. However, there are a lot of reasons to remain hopeful and they all link back to his ground ball rates. Leake is a pitch-to-contact type pitcher and getting ground balls is his bread-and-butter but with a horrendous defense behind him like in 2016, there wasn’t much hope for him being successful.

In 2017, the story should change though and Leake should find success with an improved infield. Over the past 3 seasons, Leake has averaged a ground ball rate around 53% and last season he posted a career high at 53.7%. He also posted a career low in BB/9 (1.53) and a career high in K/9 (6.37). If he can maintain a high ground ball rate, he should be able to build off those other improvements and find success. His win-loss rate didn’t show it, but there was a lot to be happy about.

Michael Wacha has been one of the bigger disappointments for the St. Louis Cardinals and many wished that he would be traded but some also wished he would stay. Right now, it looks as though he is going to stay and the wish has to be that he is healthy. Wacha suffers from a shoulder issue that is incredibly difficult to treat and the fix is relatively unknown. Ever since his injury occurred he hasn’t been the same.

Wacha spent most of the offseason attempting to rehabilitate and strengthen his shoulder in order to avoid fatigue among other issues like he did throughout the 2016 season. Hopefully, he strengthens it enough to contribute at least 150 quality innings as a starter. He started the 2016 season with about 50 innings of really good pitching maintaining an ERA right around 4.00 while continuing to get better and better. However, in mid-to-late May, something changed and it all went downhill.

This is more likely a wish for fans rather than the organization itself. Surely the Cardinals would be ecstatic if Reyes can win the RoY award but they aren’t prioritizing that as a goal for the season. But, after Reyes’s 2016 debut, it was hard to not be excited for the young flamethrower. He made 12 appearances including 5 starts and pitched 46 innings with a 1.57 ERA.

Alex Reyes is surely an early candidate for the award and if he remains a candidate down the stretch then that just means he’s having a great season. Although the award is for an individual, it would also be a sign of the team’s success. He will have some tough competition though including players Dansby Swanson and Tyler Glasnow. But how cool would it be if the 22-year old wins it?

Sep 20, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (44) and catcher Yadier Molina (4) celebrate the win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 10-5. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Bullpen

The St. Louis Cardinals have traditionally been built on good pitching including a solid bullpen. That isn’t going to change for the 2017 season considering it’ll be built around guys like Kevin Siegrist, Trevor Rosenthal, Seung-hwan Oh and newcomer Brett Cecil. But, the key to any good bullpen is management and that is something manager Mike Matheny hasn’t been great at. Matheny has done extremely well in managing the bullpen in some spots but then has done awful in others.

John Mozeliak has given him the tools to not make easy mistakes though. No matter who Matheny goes to in high-stress situations there shouldn’t be an issue considering they are all high-quality relievers. The only concern that remains is over-use considering guys like Siegrist were relied on almost every other day. But, if the starting pitching staff improves then that can take some responsibility out of Matheny’s hands.

Now this wish isn’t even that Trevor Rosenthal becomes the St. Louis Cardinals closer again, it’s just that he returns to form. Rosenthal went from one of the best closers/relievers in the league to a guy that couldn’t be trusted in 3-run games. However, we did see Rosenthal flash some brilliance in that extended relief appearance at the end of the season. It was so good that it actually warranted Matheny and Mozeliak to stretch Rosie out this offseason to be a multi-inning pitcher.

In order to bounce back, Rosenthal just needs to find his control. His ERA more than doubled due to his BB/9 going from 3.3 to 6.5 while his H/9 went from 8.1 to 10.7 between the 2015 and 2016 seasons. However, his K/9 increased from 10.9 to 12.5 which is good to see but if he wasn’t striking the batter out, they were likely getting on base. Wishing Rosenthal bounces back is basically wishing he finds his control.

Seung-hwan Oh had an incredible debut season in the major leagues and hopefully he can have a sophomore season without a slump. He was originally signed as a back-end reliever but ended up becoming the full-time closer with Rosenthal’s falling out. Oh was one of the best closers ever in the Korean and Japanese Leagues and he proved he could do it in the States after securing 19 saves in 23 opportunities and having a 1.92 ERA.

2017 will be a different challenge for him though. Teams have seen him in person and can now prepare for him more adequately. There is a reason the “sophomore slump” exists and if Oh experiences one, the rest of the bullpen may not be deep enough to make up for it. Wishing he can maintain positive production is essential for the team’s overall success in 2017.

Sep 24, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter (13) and center fielder Randal Grichuk (15) celebrate the final out of the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Organization

The St. Louis Cardinals used to have the tradition of “High Sock Sunday” where their players would wear their socks up to their knees like Randal Grichuk does in the picture above. However, over the past season or two it seems to have been losing its popularity. Part of this can be attributed to the loss of players like Jon Jay who loved the tradition.

Adam Wainwright, Randal Grichuk, Kolten Wong and Matt Adams seemed to carry on the tradition last season but three of those players either spent significant time on the bench or in the minor leagues. Now everyone except Adams should be starting consistently in 2017 but High Sock Sundays needs more support. Fowler sports high socks so that’s one but he can’t be the only one burdened with bringing fun out onto the field.

The final wish for the 2017 season is simple: make the playoffs. It was incredibly disappointing witnessing a team win 100 games in 2015 only to miss the playoffs in 2016 on the final day of the season. The St. Louis Cardinals is an organization that is built on wins and their fan base is incredibly spoiled because of that. But, that doesn’t change the expectations. Winning is what matters, especially when your division rival who you’ve bullied for a century wins the World Series.

Signing Dexter Fowler and Brett Cecil while trading Jaime Garcia are all meaningless moves unless the purpose is to win. If a team takes one of the best lead-off hitters in the league and decides to move him down in the order in hopes he can be an All-Star bat in the 3-hole, then they better expect to win. This entire wish list is all meaningless and a fan’s false dreams unless the team goes out in 2017 and wins. So please Cardinals, all I want for Christmas is a strong presence in the 2017 playoffs.

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What are your wishes for the St. Louis Cardinals come 2017? Christmas is around the corner and now is the time to really ask for what you want. This list was just some of the wishes I personally had. If you agree or disagree let me know. Or if you have more to add, post them. Thanks.