cards are one serious MOTO bat away from having a pretty good offense

[jbrach]

lots of good complementary hitters...herrera looks like a solid bat...winn,noot,contreras etc....throw a 35 homer 900 OPS into the mix and this might be a dangerous group

[Carp4Cy]

lots of good complementary hitters...herrera looks like a solid bat...winn,noot,contreras etc....throw a 35 homer 900 OPS into the mix and this might be a dangerous group

This is what I've been saying. Ideally they could play OF as well. We have some pretty good hitters, but not one of them is likely to be a starting AllStar. At every position there is someone better, or several someones. Get that MVP threat into the lineup and maybe we win Game 1, and still lead game 2.

[Wattage]

lots of good complementary hitters...herrera looks like a solid bat...winn,noot,contreras etc....throw a 35 homer 900 OPS into the mix and this might be a dangerous group

This is what I've been saying. Ideally they could play OF as well. We have some pretty good hitters, but not one of them is likely to be a starting AllStar. At every position there is someone better, or several someones. Get that MVP threat into the lineup and maybe we win Game 1, and still lead game 2.

Herrera if he didnt miss so much time could have been in contention at catcher

[ramfandan]

Great for wish but where do you find '35 HR type guys '? And the very few that have that ability rarely reach free agency . Alonso was that type and he hit the market .. bit older though and due to his age nobody wanted to give him long term dollars even for the HR's he may hit.

[Carp4Cy]

Great for wish but where do you find '35 HR type guys '? And the very few that have that ability rarely reach free agency . Alonso was that type and he hit the market .. bit older though and due to his age nobody wanted to give him long term dollars even for the HR's he may hit.

Probably via trade:
McGwire
Edmonds
Rolen
Holliday
Goldy
Nado

I guess Berkman and Beltran were FAs but shows that even a 35 yo can contribute quite a bit if they are in good shape.

[Ike Hammett]

lots of good complementary hitters...herrera looks like a solid bat...winn,noot,contreras etc....throw a 35 homer 900 OPS into the mix and this might be a dangerous group

Yeah, Mr. Mo went out and got that guy with a pretty good deal too, he won MVP and everyone just bashed on him for it. Even when they won 93 games and the division.

[jw0595]

I believe they are one TOR starter & one lockdown reliever from being a serious contender. You are much better off having talent up & down the lineup than depending on one guy who can be pitched around or get hurt. The offense is "good enough". If Walker or Gorman or both could get their stuff together, they would be very deep.

This team has a lot of intrigue & is starting to look like a "destiny" type team.

[Futuregm2]

Great for wish but where do you find '35 HR type guys '? And the very few that have that ability rarely reach free agency . Alonso was that type and he hit the market .. bit older though and due to his age nobody wanted to give him long term dollars even for the HR's he may hit.

Probably via trade:
McGwire
Edmonds
Rolen
Holliday
Goldy
Nado

I guess Berkman and Beltran were FAs but shows that even a 35 yo can contribute quite a bit if they are in good shape.

That's great, now show me what corner OF is available like those players. I'll wait.

[Carp4Cy]

Great for wish but where do you find '35 HR type guys '? And the very few that have that ability rarely reach free agency . Alonso was that type and he hit the market .. bit older though and due to his age nobody wanted to give him long term dollars even for the HR's he may hit.

Probably via trade:
McGwire
Edmonds
Rolen
Holliday
Goldy
Nado

I guess Berkman and Beltran were FAs but shows that even a 35 yo can contribute quite a bit if they are in good shape.

That's great, now show me what corner OF is available like those players. I'll wait.

Wonder if the As would trade us Nick Kurtz for JJW plus someone? They were only taken about two slots apart.

[Futuregm2]

Great for wish but where do you find '35 HR type guys '? And the very few that have that ability rarely reach free agency . Alonso was that type and he hit the market .. bit older though and due to his age nobody wanted to give him long term dollars even for the HR's he may hit.

Probably via trade:
McGwire
Edmonds
Rolen
Holliday
Goldy
Nado

I guess Berkman and Beltran were FAs but shows that even a 35 yo can contribute quite a bit if they are in good shape.

That's great, now show me what corner OF is available like those players. I'll wait.

Wonder if the As would trade us Nick Kurtz for JJW plus someone? They were only taken about two slots apart.

If they wanted JJ over Kurtz they would have drafted him. And given he's already in the big leagues, I doubt they would deal him.

About the only player that I've come across that might be available and he's not a proven hitter by any stretch yet, but Kyle Stowers from the Marlins. He's having a really nice year so far, just hit 2 HRs against the Cubs today. HItting .300 with a .946 OPS.

Walk% of 10.8%
K% a little high at 29.8%
Avg EV 90.5 Mph
Barrel% 19.6%
Hard hit% of 49.6%

He looks like what we'd want Gorman to be.

[Whatashame]

I was watching the game tonight with my son who stopped by. Looking at the Phillies lineup I mentioned to him that what the Cardinals need is a guy like Castellanos. Yeah a Harper would be great. A Guerrero Jr would be great. A Judge would be great but they don’t always come around. An offensive player like Castellanos to play some outfield AND give us quality ABs would fit nicely in the middle of that order.

You can always use a superstar but a guy like Castellanos to give us depth in our order would do wonders.

[ramfandan]

The MOTO designation (middle of the order bat ) is more old-school thinking these days. Have you noticed more and more top hitters higher up in the lineup than years ago .
Here's why ...
Teams want their BEST hitters getting the most AT BATS as possible during a season . Ex. Dodgers with Ohtani Leads off or 2nd

Here is the average number of AB each lineup position will get over a 162 game schedule

1 - 753 2 737 3 718 4 708 5 687 6 669 7 60 8 632 9 611

So you can see if an Ohtani bats 3rd or 4th (MOTO spots ) he will get up to bat 35 times less ( 1st compared to 3rd ) or45 times less than 4th spot .

Now in Cardinals case , they like that Scott batting 9th gets to have Nootbar bat right after him during the evening but over the course or our season our good hitter, biggest base stealing threat will come to the plate 611 times OVER 100 less times than the top of lineup guys.

[ecleme22]

I was watching the game tonight with my son who stopped by. Looking at the Phillies lineup I mentioned to him that what the Cardinals need is a guy like Castellanos. Yeah a Harper would be great. A Guerrero Jr would be great. A Judge would be great but they don’t always come around. An offensive player like Castellanos to play some outfield AND give us quality ABs would fit nicely in the middle of that order.

You can always use a superstar but a guy like Castellanos to give us depth in our order would do wonders.

NC isn’t that good. Especially with Philly.

Offense wise, he’s just slightly better than Arenado.

[AZ_Cardsfan]

Finding 900 OPS guys isn't easy. And yes this team does have an offense. They are 19th in OPS and 7th in runs scored playing in Busch which is not a hitters paradise.

If they can get Gorman and Walker to start performing anywhere near what we hoped for they don't need to add anyone. Just deepen the pitching staff or add a true ace.

[ICCFIM2]

Outside of Walker's spot in the line-up, the Cards are zero hitters away from having a good offense. Usually you need 4 800OPS+ buys and another 3-4 in the 750+ range.

Nootbar 808
Winn 836
Donovan 824
The top 3 guys are already there.
Arenado 731
Contreras 757 after his slow start, he will get to 800OPS+
Herrera 1328 Is he a 900 guy
Pages 648 the back up catcher is over 800...
Walker (nuff said)
Scott 726, his defense, OBP and speed more than offset his power deficit.

They have 5 guys that look like legit 800 OPS guys, a back-up catcher that may be, a superstar CF in the making that is not and a supporting cast of Arenado and Burleson. Who would have thought Arenado would be the supporting cast when we traded for him? Who would have thought the offense would be good if he was supporting cast? The only gaping hole in the line-up is Walker. If they want, they can fill that with Burleson and have another slightly over 700OPS+ guy in the line-up. I suspect if Walker continues to struggle and the Cards continue to contend, that is what will happen.

[Alex Reyes Cy Young]

Outside of Walker's spot in the line-up, the Cards are zero hitters away from having a good offense. Usually you need 4 800OPS+ buys and another 3-4 in the 750+ range.

Nootbar 808
Winn 836
Donovan 824
The top 3 guys are already there.
Arenado 731
Contreras 757 after his slow start, he will get to 800OPS+
Herrera 1328 Is he a 900 guy
Pages 648 the back up catcher is over 800...
Walker (nuff said)
Scott 726, his defense, OBP and speed more than offset his power deficit.

They have 5 guys that look like legit 800 OPS guys, a back-up catcher that may be, a superstar CF in the making that is not and a supporting cast of Arenado and Burleson. Who would have thought Arenado would be the supporting cast when we traded for him? Who would have thought the offense would be good if he was supporting cast? The only gaping hole in the line-up is Walker. If they want, they can fill that with Burleson and have another slightly over 700OPS+ guy in the line-up. I suspect if Walker continues to struggle and the Cards continue to contend, that is what will happen.

100% In fact you could probably trade one from surplus and get back an overpay in the prospects and still continue to soar.