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BikeMike – the Cardinals are dead in the middle on strikeouts. I know it seems like a lot. But all players strike out a lot now. Incidentally, the Astros have the lowest team strikeout rate this season and have one of the worst records. St Louis is 16th, but in a virtual tie with the Braves at 15. The Brewers are 21st.
Last year’s team had an 8-3 spurt.
In about 2 weeks we’ll know if this is real or just a false pregnancy.
According to this, we apparently should have no worries now that Carpenter is back! Is anyone else drinking that Kool-Aid (or salsa)?
Turns out Carpenter is the heart and soul of this team. Always has been. #stlcards
— Cardinals Live (@Cardinals_Live) May 14, 2024
Ha!
I guess I should have come to this thread first. But as we were told repeatedly in college, there is a difference between correlation and causality.
One thing Carpenter has going for him right now is that there are no expectations for him. The Cardinals are paying him the league minimum and the fans don’t expect him to do anything so he really has no pressure and can play free. I always thought that big contract extension Mo gave him ruined his on the field performance because of the associated pressure, but I’m sure it was nice for his bank account.
Good point on Carpenter, although he had an extension before that and fared pretty well. I do think that Carpenter is maybe not the most mentally strong Cardinal and his performance was more affected by the mental side of the game than most (Paul Dejong struck me as another one) so maybe it really was too much.
Interesting on us being middle of the pack in Ks. But that stat cannot be looked at in a vacuum. The Braves have a lot more power than us, so they can “afford” to strike out more. We don’t hit a lot of home runs, and thus need to keep the ball in play more than some teams.
I agree BikeMike. If we’re middle of the pack in K’s, then we’d like to be at least middle of the pack in power.
I’m not sure as to which thread this post belongs on. But it’s kind of related to “fixing” the Cardinals. Right now, who are you, as a Cardinals fan, most excited about? Walker, Gorman or Burleson. The way I see it. Burly’s progress is helping “fix” the Cardinals, offensively. Now, Walker and Gorman need to follow suit.
@Shady Long term, Walker and Gorman. They have tools that Burleson doesn’t have. Fans are quick to dismiss prospects who don’t succeed immediately, but Walker is a very young man with sky high potential. Even Jackson Holiday struggled in his initial MLB appearance this year and many other young players such as Julio Rodriquez and Corbin Carroll have as well this year. Walker still has plenty of time to put it together and has been taking much better ABs, striking out less, and getting more hits in AAA albeit with the power lagging behind. I’m not too worried about that as he needs to work on his approach and the power will come.
Gorman has a really interesting skill set. He has 40 HR power potential while playing average-ish to slightly below average 2B defense. I think he will always be streaky with the K’s, but his upside is a multiple time All-Star. His walk rates will also lead to him getting on base at a league average rate I suspect despite him likely always running league average or below BA.
No disrespect to Burly though. Burly has been playing very well and I am excited to see him hitting for more power. His upside isn’t what Walker and Gorman have though as he will always be a below average base runner, below average fielder, his walk rates are very low, and his power likely won’t ever be plus. He can compensate for the walk rate a little potentially with a really good BA. I see him as being a solid role piece though.
ATM, that’s a decent analysis. I’m curious as to Burleson’s home run potential if would try to pull the ball more. It looks to me like he’s doing that a little more, recently, at least early in the count. Then he often seems to just try to hit the ball where it’s pitched later in the count. Especially, with two strikes. Actually, I kind of like that hitting approach for Burleson.
ATM, that’s a decent analysis. I’m curious as to Burleson’s home run potential if would try to pull the ball more.
Yeah this is something I had pointed out in a gameday thread the other day. Burly does have a profile where he would hit more HRs if he pulled the ball more instead of splitting evenly on pull, center, and oppo. I don’t think he has to make a drastic change, but if he can focus on hitting more inside pitches and pulling them in the air he will find himself hitting more HRs. Isaac Paredes is a great example of how average raw power can turn into above average in game results if you pull the ball in the air.
ATM, I remember that post regarding Burleson’s splits and him possibly pulling the ball more. Well done. One way or the other, The future is, potentially, very bright, offensively, with Winn, Walker, Gorman, Donovan, Herrera, Saggese and Burly in the lineup for the foreseeable future. I wish I could add Carlson to that list. But, he’s kind of a question mark.
RBK, are you referring to Walker and Gorman in addition to Burleson. Right now, I like the path Burleson is on. Don’t you?
Just a few weeks ago, you authoritatively stated that no one should draw any conclusions about Burleson based on 450 PAs. Now, you’re apparently perfectly fine drawing all sorts of conclusions based on a tiny fraction of that sample, compiled over a period of time that just happens to coincide with a Burleson mini-heater (purely a coincidence, I’m sure). Seems rather inconsistent, no? Shouldn’t what’s good for the gander also be good for the goose?
Not to mention literally just a few days ago, you expressed profound “disappointment with Burleson’s development as a hitter.” Somehow his entire profile and outlook has changed in just four games. Remarkable.
I dont get the fascination with the long ball. I get picking your spots and trying to pull the ball but a guy who hits the ball everywhere as opposed to always pulling should be applauded. Many a good hitter has been ruined following the bad advice of going for more homers than what naturally comes. Even great ones can succumb to it, pujols did.
Burleson’s now played in 159 games in which he’s accumulated 513 PA’s. That’s a full season’s worth of looks. In my view the single most impressive number on the back of his card is that he’s K’d only 74 times. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t generated much power. Slap hitter?
RBK, sorry, that must have been another poster regarding this. “Just a few weeks ago, you authoritatively stated that no one should draw any conclusions about Burleson based on 450 PAs”. I did post a whil back that I was disappointed in Burleson at the time. He’s picked it up since then. And my attitude has changed. Am I not allowed to change? Some past anti Burleson folks, like you, never seem to want to change. Though, many others seem to be coming around.
Burleson has looked better with regular reps, but it should be noted that his BA went up 25 pts during the Oakland series, so we shouldn’t get carried away. It will almost certainly return to what it was with PAs vs legit teams.
blingboy, “It will almost certainly return to what it was with PAs vs legit teams”. I’m not sure about that. Yeh, he could drift back to the .250 range. But the way he’s hitting, he could make a run at .300. At least the .290 range. I guess we’ll find out. Either way, Burly has given the team a much needed lift since Contreras was injured.
Re: reply #252437
“The future is very bright…”
That list of hitters needs to start w/Nootbaar, for me. Then I’d put Donovan in front of Winn, and go with your list as is.
Burly got to a high and inside fastball, which is a hole in many batters swings. I don’t know Burlys history vs high and tight, but if that’s repeatable, he’ll have something.
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