ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Although we don't yet know when St. Louis Cardinals baseball will begin in 2022, we do know what three birds will be flying around the outfield at Busch Stadium when the season starts: Tyler O'Neill, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson.
KMOX's Kevin Wheeler believes the Cardinals outfield is "set, there's no debate, there's no competition." Those guys listed above currently own those positions and if healthy, will be there this season.
"That was the best thing to come out of last season, as far as building towards this year," Wheeler says. And you can hear his full arguments in the audio at the top of this page. "A part of the team that was a question mark, something that was an unknown, became a known."
First, there's O'Neill. He'll turn just 27 in June and is coming off a legitimate breakout season where he became a genuine 3-4-5 hitter in the Cardinals everyday lineup. He finished 8th in the NL MVP voting – behind his teammate Paul Goldschmidt at No. 6 – leading St. Louis in OPS and slugging, and tied for the lead in home runs with Nolan Arenado.
"We don't know yet that he can string together multiple years of that production level, but at this point, we're coming off a year that he did it. So he gets the benefit of the doubt coming into 2022," Wheeler says.
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Next, in center field, there's Bader. The 27-year-old did miss a decent amount of games, playing in only 103 in 2021. But he significantly improved his offense from years past.
His slugging percentage was fourth-best among Cardinals and everything he does offensively is really just a bonus as he won his first (likely of many) Gold Glove in 2021.
“You’re getting the full package there and we’ve seen enough of him to know that last year is not a fluke," Wheeler says. "All he needs to be is a league average hitter and he’s a positive-plus everyday player. And I think he’s going to be that.”
The youngest of the three is Carlson in right. He won't turn 24 until October and can be expected to become an ever stronger hitter as he grows. He may be a 25-home run guy before long, after hitting 18 in 149 games last season.
These guy also give new manager Oli Marmol a ton of versatility, as they all can play center. Speaking of guys who can play center ...
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The likely fourth outfielder for St. Louis is new fan-favorite Lars Nootbaar.
"We saw that Nootbaar is a quality player. I don't think we know exactly what he is, but I know this. He can run a little bit. He can play all over the outfield and he's got some pop. And he had a big year in the minor leagues last year, he finished strong in the Arizona Fall League, he did a really nice job for the Cardinals down the stretch. I don't think there's a whole lot of concern or doubt about him as your fourth outfielder."
The only real question could be, who's the fifth outfielder for the Cardinals? The answer could be utility man Tommy Edman or possibly prospects like Alec Burleson or Scott Hurst.
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