Cards' depth, vets will need to shine in '21

The Cardinals will need to wait until April 8 to fully brandish their Nolan Arenado-filled lineup in front of fans at Busch Stadium. But the next era of St. Louis baseball will begin Thursday in Cincinnati, where the club kicks off a six-game road trip against the Reds and Marlin to begin the year.

A new season brings about renewed hope for the Cardinals, with a third consecutive postseason appearance on the wish list -- and that’s just the start.

Bit by the injury bug in spring, the Cardinals will have their depth tested at the outset of the season. This year, though, the club is as confident as ever in that depth. With opportunities popping up, some stars may arise.

All this in mind, here’s a look at the state of the Cardinals heading into the start of the year, including looks at who may win team awards, some bold predictions and more:

What needs to go right?
The basics: scoring runs … and preventing ’em.

St. Louis has put an emphasis on its offense this spring, knowing its mark as the third-worst-scoring lineup last season won’t cut it across a full 162-game slate in 2021. There have been some positive signs, with Tyler O'Neill and Dylan Carlson breeding confidence in an outfield that was thought to be an offensive question mark. If some of their projected starters hit their marks, the Cardinals could be potent at the plate.

But the pitching, too, needs to step up. The rotation -- one which already carries some question marks when fully healthy -- is ailing to start the season. The bullpen will be air-tight, but the magnitude of innings it has to cover, depending on starter durability and quality, could prove to be a formidable hurdle to start the year. At the very least, the club retains a bevy of Gold Glove winners across the field.

Great unknown: Matt Carpenter
The Cardinals entered camp with the hope that Carpenter could potentially play his way into a starting role, which would have been at second base. That did not happen. Carpenter went just 2-for-37 with 13 strikeouts against eight walks. He’ll start the year on the bench, making spot starts at second -- primarily against righties -- with Tommy Edman sliding to the outfield.

But it’s a conundrum: How do the Cardinals put out their best nightly lineup, not wanting to take a hit from a lack of production from Carpenter, and get him the at-bats to light a spark?

Team MVP will be ...
Paul Goldschmidt. Truth be told, Goldschmidt was the club’s MVP in 2020. Add the bat of Arenado behind him and that’s going to simply elevate his contributions after getting pitched around plenty last season. Goldschmidt has been anointed a dark horse for National League MVP honors this season. Why’s there any reason to believe he won’t do the same for the Cardinals on top of that?

Team Cy Young will be ...
Alex Reyes. The safe (and more likely) option is Flaherty, but let’s have some fun, since Reyes could be some sort of secret weapon for the Cards. The 26-year-old entered camp with rotation hopes, but the club is limiting him to 80-100 innings this year due to his injury history and low workload in recent years, eyeing a starting role in 2022. He could close, he could pitch multiple innings out of the ’pen and he could make spot starts. Regardless, he will strike a lot of guys out. Reyes is going to be a fascinating watch.

Bold prediction: Adam Wainwright gets Cy Young votes
So yes, Reyes might be the team’s sporty Cy Young pick, and Flaherty may be the team’s likely Cy Young pick. But don’t discount Wainwright, who’s set to turn 40 in August but is pitching like he’s approaching 30. After each Cardinals starter failed to get out of the first inning in their first spring start, it was Wainwright who pitched two perfect innings in his Grapefruit League debut. It’s Wainwright who had 21 strikeouts this spring compared to just four walks. And it’s Wainwright who led the club through its roller-coaster of a 2020 season with a 3.15 ERA. The 15-year Cardinal says he feels physically better than maybe at any point in his career.