Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Breakout Star Called 'Surprise All-Star Candidate'

The Cardinals have a few different players who could be selected to the All-Star Game.
Zach Pressnell|
Jun 5, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jun 5, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan has been quite the pleasant surprise for St. Louis this season. The young star is slashing .310/.379/.440 early on in the season and he's been a huge reason why the Cardinals have been as successful as they've been.

FanSided's Zachary Rotman recently suggested Donovan was the Cardinals' most surprising All-Star candidate early in the season.

"Brendan Donovan has always been a solid player for the St. Louis Cardinals, but did anyone expect him to have the season he's had thus far?" Rotman wrote. "The 28-year-old is breaking out in his fourth season, slashing .310/.379/.440 with four home runs and 26 RBI, primarily hitting third in the order for the surprisingly solid Cardinals and providing his usual strong defensive versatility.

"Donovan leads all qualified National League second basemen by a wide margin with a 133 WRC+ and 2.2 fWAR. Ketel Marte is admittedly the better player, so it's entirely possible that if he continues playing well, he can help voters forget that he missed time due to injury, but for now, Donovan looks like the starting second basemen for the NL team."

Donovan seems like a lock for the All-Star Game, though he likely won't deserve to start if Ketel Marte continues to play as well as he has. Even then, a reserve role on the All-Star team is a huge honor.

Donovan's case for the All-Star Game is made even better when looking at the rest of the St. Louis roster. The Cardinals don't have another star who looks like a lock to be selected, so Donovan could be sent to the All-Star Game as St. Louis' lone representative.

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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