Cardinals Have Everything to Gain From Harsh Preseason Projections

This offense can be a lot better than expected

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt (77) during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

In some ways, it's liberating to enter a season with low expectations, especially for a young team like the St. Louis Cardinals.

It's become clear in the lead-up to this new campaign that not many national predictors and pundits believe in this Cardinals team to challenge for a playoff spot. That's fair -- the Cardinals told us to expect as much by trading away their four most accomplished veterans this winter.

However, it's gotten to a point where the national baseball consensus is so low on the Cardinals that everyone might be surprised if this team is even close to average. And particularly on offense, the formula is there to blow some preseason expectations out of the water.

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Cardinals get brutal ranking from Bleacher Report

Sep 6, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker (18, left) and St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) celebrate their 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants after Walker doubled to left, scoring Winn and teammate St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Garrett Hampson (not shown) in the bottom of the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

For example, on Wednesday, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter ranked the Cardinals 28th out of the 30 offenses in Major League Baseball this season, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals.

"After trading away Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras, the Cardinals lineup is now anchored by Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera and Masyn Winn," wrote Reuter.

"It could be a make-or-break season for former top prospects Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II, while rookie JJ Wetherholt has the upside to be the team's best hitter by this time next year. This lineup reads like a rebuilding team in transition before a youth movement."

It's not just Bleacher Report projecting a rough season for St. Louis. Fangraphs has the Cardinals 27th in its projected runs scored metric, and their 75 projected wins are tied for fourth fewest in the league.

Wetherholt has the raw talent to make the Cardinals a top 25 offense by himself if he comes close to his ceiling in year one. The same can almost be said of Gorman and Walker, who have shown flashes of becoming impact major league hitters, but run into serious slumps in their early 20s. Let's not forget, either, that Walker is only 101 days older than Wetherholt.

There may not be an obvious superstar on this offense, but there are talented bats from top to bottom that just haven't proven themselves yet. If a few click, this Cardinals offense will be much better than the 28th-best in the majors.