Melville wrote: ↑28 Apr 2026 20:39 pm
Burleson/Walker/Gorman now at 57 RBI.
Imagine what that RBI total would be for the threesome if Walker & Gorman start hitting like Burly w/RiSP.
Burly
.324 .366 .486 .852
Walker
.212 .341 .394 .735
Gorman
.233 .297 .333 .631
Yeah, those 3 guys rank very high in RISP opportunities. Incredibly high, actually!
Burly - #3 in MLB with 37 ABs
Walker - #12 in MLB with 33 ABs
Gorman - #33 in MLB with 30 ABs
Only 3 other teams have 3+ guys with 30Abs with RISP: Angels, Braves, Cubs. Among those 3 guys for each club:
Braves - RISP RBIs - 49, Total RBIs - 68
Angels - RISP RBIs - 50, Total RBIs - 61
Cardinals - RISP RBIs - 46, Total RBIs - 57
Cubs - RISP RBIs - 39, Total RBIs - 57
Burly, Walker and Gorman have good RBI totals, but not amazing. Here's what they have - OPPORTUNITIES. Credit for that kind of table-setting goes to JJ & Ivan (and also Burly).
Gorman also has 3 SAC FLY RBIs. SAC FLYs are great, but it's not like he's hitting much with RISP. He has 1 HR with RISP and 0 2Bs and a 0.233 AVG and a 0.297 OBP.
I like the RBI stat more than others, but there is a reason why it's not the most important number when comparing players.
IF ANYTHING, you might consider that both Gorman & Walker are BELOW league average with RISP. League average is - 0.255/0.333/0.412/0.745.
Based on the RISP stats, we should be expecting MORE from Walker and Gorman. The opportunities are proping them up in the RBI category.
Not really. Production is production.
Which is why having bats at 3/4/5 who actually drive in runs in large quantities is the basic building block of all good lineups.
One or another may not take advantage of all opportunities - but having multiple bats who can do so is actually the key.
I don't care if it is smoke and mirrors. They are getting the runs driven in. They don't ask how, they ask how many.
Correct.
As long as games are won or lost based on the number of runs scored by each team, production is king.
11WSChamps wrote: ↑01 May 2026 06:52 am
The question is how long can the number one and two hitters keep a combined average of .400 OBP?
Thats the real question.
Herrera's current 25 walks to 22 K's is very impressive, and while hard to imagine he can maintain a .420 OB% which is prime Pujols like territory, I'd project for him to maintain a very good OB%.
Wetherholt with a current .378 OB%, and I don't find that surprising. Think he'll be able to maintain or even possibly increase that rate.
But optimism creeps in when your team is off to a surprising 18-13 start, so forgive me.
Melville wrote: ↑12 Apr 2026 08:41 am
Walker, Gorman, and Burleson have combined for 31 RBI in just 14 games.
Impressive.
It is possible that we are witnessing the emergence of a 3/4/5 middle of the order combination the likes of which the team has not had in the past 10 - 20 years.
Very good things are happening as a result of the organization abandoning its toxic practice of "playing the contract" and instead focusing on allowing talent to play.
Melville wrote: ↑12 Apr 2026 08:41 am
Walker, Gorman, and Burleson have combined for 31 RBI in just 14 games.
Impressive.
It is possible that we are witnessing the emergence of a 3/4/5 middle of the order combination the likes of which the team has not had in the past 10 - 20 years.
Very good things are happening as a result of the organization abandoning its toxic practice of "playing the contract" and instead focusing on allowing talent to play.
What contract are you speaking of?
There were many in the prior 5 years which foolishly dictated playing time.
That problem was finally addressed by Bloom.
Burleson, Walker, and Gorman are 7th, 12th, and 23rd in the NL YTD in RBI.
3 in the top 25 is impressive.
They are just 19th, 31st, and 59th in PA's - making their production all the more remarkable.
The organization may be witnessing a breakthrough the likes of which it has not seen from a middle order trio in 20 years.
And all 3 are home grown within the organization - which is extremely rare.
Now 79.
Walker/Burleson/Gorman are still on pace to deliver well over 300 RBI for the season.
As middle order bats, they are doing something the team has not witnessed in 20 years.
jcgmoi wrote: ↑12 Apr 2026 08:50 am
Wetherholt 359 OBA and Herrera 369 OBA batting first and second helps a lot.
Offense flourishes when batters don't make outs.
Worth noting that Wetherholt has scored 10 runs.
Herrera just 3.
In fact, Herrera has scored a meager 3 runs the entire season despite hitting 2nd.
He is tied for dead last with Pages, among all STL hitters with 30 or more PA's.
In fact, Herrera leads the team in PA's - and is currently the worst at scoring runs.
Reality is, he is NOT helping the Walker, Gorman, and Burleson RBI total.
I can't believe that Herrera has not driven himself in more.
Melville wrote: ↑01 May 2026 09:11 am
Burleson, Walker, and Gorman are 7th, 12th, and 23rd in the NL YTD in RBI.
3 in the top 25 is impressive.
They are just 19th, 31st, and 59th in PA's - making their production all the more remarkable.
The organization may be witnessing a breakthrough the likes of which it has not seen from a middle order trio in 20 years.
And all 3 are home grown within the organization - which is extremely rare.
Melville wrote: ↑01 May 2026 09:11 am
Burleson, Walker, and Gorman are 7th, 12th, and 23rd in the NL YTD in RBI.
3 in the top 25 is impressive.
They are just 19th, 31st, and 59th in PA's - making their production all the more remarkable.
The organization may be witnessing a breakthrough the likes of which it has not seen from a middle order trio in 20 years.
And all 3 are home grown within the organization - which is extremely rare.
People still complain about Gorman daily.
You’re probably right. But I think we are stuck watching Gorman and VS2 fail.
Except Mel said Gorman is the most productive third baseman in baseball.
[/quote]
Melville wrote: ↑01 May 2026 09:11 am
Burleson, Walker, and Gorman are 7th, 12th, and 23rd in the NL YTD in RBI.
3 in the top 25 is impressive.
They are just 19th, 31st, and 59th in PA's - making their production all the more remarkable.
The organization may be witnessing a breakthrough the likes of which it has not seen from a middle order trio in 20 years.
And all 3 are home grown within the organization - which is extremely rare.
People still complain about Gorman daily.
You’re probably right. But I think we are stuck watching Gorman and VS2 fail.
Except Mel said Gorman is the most productive third baseman in baseball.
This guy never talks about anything else.
[/quote]
jcgmoi wrote: ↑12 Apr 2026 08:50 am
Wetherholt 359 OBA and Herrera 369 OBA batting first and second helps a lot.
Offense flourishes when batters don't make outs.
Worth noting that Wetherholt has scored 10 runs.
Herrera just 3.
In fact, Herrera has scored a meager 3 runs the entire season despite hitting 2nd.
He is tied for dead last with Pages, among all STL hitters with 30 or more PA's.
In fact, Herrera leads the team in PA's - and is currently the worst at scoring runs.
Reality is, he is NOT helping the Walker, Gorman, and Burleson RBI total.
I can't believe that Herrera has not driven himself in more.
It actually counters the position.
IF a guy has a .414 OBP batting second, directly in front of the best the Cards best 3,4,5
if the past 10-20 years, how has he not scored more frequently? He probably needs a .500 OBP.
jcgmoi wrote: ↑12 Apr 2026 08:50 am
Wetherholt 359 OBA and Herrera 369 OBA batting first and second helps a lot.
Offense flourishes when batters don't make outs.
Worth noting that Wetherholt has scored 10 runs.
Herrera just 3.
In fact, Herrera has scored a meager 3 runs the entire season despite hitting 2nd.
He is tied for dead last with Pages, among all STL hitters with 30 or more PA's.
In fact, Herrera leads the team in PA's - and is currently the worst at scoring runs.
Reality is, he is NOT helping the Walker, Gorman, and Burleson RBI total.
I can't believe that Herrera has not driven himself in more.
It actually counters the position.
IF a guy has a .414 OBP batting second, directly in front of the best the Cards best 3,4,5
if the past 10-20 years, how has he not scored more frequently? He probably needs a .500 OBP.
Theres more to it than just a number.
How often is he getting on 1st with 2 outs? That would highly reduce his chances of scoring a run.
How many times has one of the 3-4-5 homered when Ivan was NOT on base?
You cant just assume that if a guy gets on base, hes certain to score, but over the course of a season, it "should" average itself out.
jcgmoi wrote: ↑12 Apr 2026 08:50 am
Wetherholt 359 OBA and Herrera 369 OBA batting first and second helps a lot.
Offense flourishes when batters don't make outs.
Worth noting that Wetherholt has scored 10 runs.
Herrera just 3.
In fact, Herrera has scored a meager 3 runs the entire season despite hitting 2nd.
He is tied for dead last with Pages, among all STL hitters with 30 or more PA's.
In fact, Herrera leads the team in PA's - and is currently the worst at scoring runs.
Reality is, he is NOT helping the Walker, Gorman, and Burleson RBI total.
I can't believe that Herrera has not driven himself in more.
It actually counters the position.
IF a guy has a .414 OBP batting second, directly in front of the best the Cards best 3,4,5
if the past 10-20 years, how has he not scored more frequently? He probably needs a .500 OBP.
Remember the "Melville wisdom" on these players:
Gorman: “There has never been a power hitting LH 2b like him in MLB history.”
Herrera: “Herrera's problem ... is he just isn't very good.”
Walker: “Walker will lose the starting RF job within the first 100 games.”
Burleson: "Burleson has no significant future in STL - Mo will trade him at some point this year of the coming off-season."
