Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Insider Praises St. Louis' Breakout Outfielder

Lars Nootbaar has been rather good for the Cardinals this season and it's just the tip of the iceberg.
Zach Pressnell|
May 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (21) hits a single during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
May 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (21) hits a single during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have a very talented young core full of star players across the board. While some of these players, like Quinn Mathews and JJ Weatherholt, haven't reached the big leagues yet, others have and are already showing some incredible potential.

Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants recently called Lars Nootbaar the team's fourth most valuable young player and shared some high praise of the breakout star.

"Nootbaar is making a strong case for his first-ever All-Star nod this year, and even if he doesn't get it, just keeping up this kind of production all year long would be sweet confirmation of how good the 27-year-old can be," Jacobs wrote. "Right now, Nootbaar is on pace for 24 home runs, 81 RBI, and 98 runs scored over the course of 150 games, which Nootbaar is currently on track to play in 154.

"While injuries have been a fair criticism of Nootbaar, what I have not understood is why people have felt the need to diminish his ability as a player. When he is on the field, he produces. Yes, he does need to show he can stay on the field consistently for people to take him seriously as a top-end talent, but his 4.5 fWAR pace sure does point to how well he is producing this year."

Nootbaar, 27, is in his fifth year in the big leagues and looks as solid as ever. The outfielder looks to be well on his way to breaking his single season home run mark of 14 homers.

But it feels like we're seeing him at around his ceiling. He's continued to post an OPS in the mid .700s for the last few seasons. Nootbaar may never be a guy who can post an OPS over .800 or .850 with an sort of consistency, but that's not a bad thing.

He's still quite valuable and a very talented young player in St. Louis.

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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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