Developed Teams 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

The first postseason meeting between longtime rivals Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals turned out to be the only 2015 Division Series that didn't go the full five games. And that small misstep by the Cardinals makes 2015's only 100-game winning team the next franchise to be profiled for my developed teams project:

Let's start at the top of the order because that's where we'll find the lineup's leading point scorer. Matt Carpenter doesn't profile as a typical leadoff hitter, but he started hitting for more power when he moved to the #1 spot, so I see no reason to change things. If Carpenter and Albert Pujols are the offensive leaders of this team, Yadier Molina is its spiritual leader, providing excellent defense and setting a great example in the clubhouse. Some young players who could benefit from this example (Kolten Wong, Stephen Piscotty, Tommy Pham) will likely be important parts of the Cardinals' real-life lineup for the foreseeable future, even if none of them project as superstars.

In fact, outside those three above-mentioned veterans, there's not a whole lot of star power in this lineup; despite Colby Rasmus's breakout postseason as the Astros' cleanup hitter, for which he'll collect a tidy sum in free agency. But the unspectacular lineup is offset by a consistently strong pitching staff. Each starter, one through five, has ace potential given the right circumstances, but none are without their significant question marks. Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez both led the real-life Cardinals at points this season, but both also missed time with injuries. Jaime Garcia had the best 2015 of the group, but his inability to stay on the field is well documented. Shelby Miller had a dominant first half with the Braves but faded significantly down the stretch; maybe his lack of run support all season eventually took its toll.

But if (when some of the big names gst injured, there are solid backup options. Whether or not Dan Haren decides to strap on his glove for another year, and despite his propensity for giving up home runs, he's a great option for long relief / spot starter duty for our purposes. Then in the minors behind Joe Kelly (back from the Red Sox) is St. Louis's top actual spot starting option Tyler Lyons. I see a lot of similarities between this pitching staff and the one the Mets are using this postseason in that they have multiple starters available for quality work out of the pen.

These startets only make St. Louis's cadre of capable full time relievers all the more impressive. Very few closers in the game match up favorably against Trevor Rosenthal, including slider specialist Luke Gregerson (who spent the brunt of his minor league seasoning in the Cardinals system before making his debut with San Diego), but that's fine as he's also proved himself a dominant setup man in his career. The rest of the bullpen includes former closer Jason Motte (who rejuvenated his career with the Cubs) and future closer Adam Ottavino (once he gets back to action with the Rockies.) Even lefty setup man Kevin Siegrist closed a few games this year, in addition to leading the league with 81 appearances. I don't foresee a lot of lost leads for this club.