Lance Lynn Shares Important Insight on Cardinals' Hot Start

Lance Lynn shared some important information.

Sep 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are 13-9 through their first 22 games of the 2026 season. They just 1 1/2 games back of first place in the crowded National League Central and in a three-way tie for second place behind the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cardinals are looking a lot better this season despite shipping Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado away to contending teams. The start is certainly encouraging for a fanbase that has been on edge for the past several years.

However, former World Series champion Lance Lynn shared some important insight on the team and that it's still unclear what their true identity is.

"When you get to June and you're above .500, you kind of have a little bit of a better idea of who you are," Lynn said. "You've played more teams and teams have gotten in the flow of things. Right now, it's great, everything is going about as smooth as it can even though there are some areas of improvement, I think, which is going to be fun to see those grow as the year goes on. They've done a very good job with the schedule they've had so far and winning the games that they've been able to come back and win, so I would say give it another month."

Cardinals' identity still unclear

Apr 20, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael McGreevy (36) pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Cardinals still haven't fully proven themselves. They were not expected to be a contender this season after making so many trades, but they are playing much better than expected.

It remains to be seen if it will last. But there is still a lot of time left in the season for things to change. Chaim Bloom has made it clear that the Cardinals are thinking long term. They're playing well right now, but there is a lot more to a team that just its first month of play.

In the month of May, they'll have a much tougher schedule and be facing teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Reds and Chicago Cubs, so that may be more of a test to see what they are truly made of.

But if they can get through the month of May relatively unscathed, then they will have put themselves in a good position to try and make a push later in the season. It will be interesting to see where the Cardinals are in a few months.