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In 2019 there was an X-Factor topic here on TCN.
https://thecardinalnation.com/forums/topic/x-factor-selections-for-2019/
Some good selections… some just didn’t pan out
Its a provocative topic with no right or wrong answer until the season is over. The people that comment here should have an opinion about who will exceed expectations and provide the unforeseen performance that will lead this team to a successful season.
There’s plenty of candidates for a greatly improved ’21 or a breakout season and as you can see in the ’19 comments they vary widely.
CMartinez would be a good choice…. O’Neill? Carlson? DeJong? Williams? Mikolas? Wainwright (again), Gallegos? Reyes? My guy is Reyes. A long-awaited breakout would put the Cards in the competition to take it all.
I would love to hear what all of you see in your crystal balls.
Gomber will cement himself as a solid SP3 rotation member…. oh wait…. that bum we got in return better be worth it!
Carlson is an easy choice and I’ll take him.
A more daring choice for me is Thomas. If they don’t waste his potential starts with Bader he could break out.I shy away from the shiny new toys and the it guys. My choices, in the order in which they will emerge as keys to success are:
1) Webb, durable/predictably serviceable git-r-done guy grinding through 162 is gold.
2) Hicks, early ramp up in load with post T.J. tools hopefully
3) Quezada, before its over, size matters and he’s in the right place now.I’m going to hold off til I see the full roster that starts the season. I hope carlson becomes consistent but I think he’s a big step up from fowler already. I expect bader to perform better overall though I still expect him to struggle against righties. How much he does will decide how much he gets platooned. I’ve personally seen enough of oneil that I think he is what he is but that’s me. Thomas is a wild card but can he stay healthy. Williams I’m not high on at all.
To me the ultimate X factors are O’Neill and Thomas. When Mo says we need to find out what we have in the young OF’s those are the two guys that come to my mind. We know what we have in Bader and we think we know what we will get from Carlson but O’Neill and Thomas are still unknowns.
I think Edman is still an x-factor, and I’m hoping some star power emerges from him this season. I agree that O’Neill and Thomas are x-factors. I see Bader as an x-factor because his offense has been improving. But will it continue to improve, and, if it does, by how much?
Where’s VegasJim at these days? His picks looked best from Nyquist’s glimpse back to the year 2019. I not only have an X factor, but also a Y & Z factor to boot. It could be none other than Mo of course. Players? Edman will be dynamite here in ’21. He won’t flash the leather to Wong’s extent, but he’ll more than compensate with his bat and gamesmanship. Look for Thomas to make a nice rebound from last year and for newcomer, Johan Ramon Quezada, to perform beyond expectations.
I’ll go with Helsley to have significant improvement with whatever role he settles into. I’ve always liked the look of his stuff and think it’s more a matter of staying healthy and having consistent repetitions to put it all together.
I’ve not been a big Carp fan the last couple years, and who has, but believe he’ll do better than many expect in a more limited role with a lower bar to clear.
But let’s not kid ourselves, the biggest turnaround will be none other than Pugsley Addams. We’ll see a return to the glory days of rousing forum play-by-play that we were so accustomed to prior to the crippling effects of covid19. I look for a continuation of game experience innovations such as menu sharing (shout out to CIF and Rat) . . . . . and perhaps a new wrinkle for 2021 that Pugs will inject to keep the turnstiles rotating at a brisk rate.
For me, O’Neill is the x factor on the position side. I feel like we have a general bead on how most of the position players will perform. O’Neill has a big variance. He could be a replacement level player or he could be an All Star.
On the pitching side, Reyes would be it. Another guy who could provide almost nothing, or be a really good pitcher who can be the difference in October.
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