2020 St. Louis Cardinals Preview: Projected rotation, starting lineup, prospects, win total
SportsLine's John Bollman went 14-1 on his MLB win total bets last season. Here he previews the Cardinals and tells you whether to go Over or Under 85.5 wins.
St. Louis Cardinals
2019 record: 91-71
Record in one-run games: 25-22
O/U win total from Willam Hill: 85.5
Key Additions: Jordan Hicks (injury)
Key Losses: Marcell Ozuna, Michael Wacha
The Cardinals surprisingly didn't make any real moves after a 91-win season and NLCS appearance. They have a daunting pitching staff, and they will get Jordan Hicks back from injury about halfway through the season. Marcell Ozuna is a huge loss, however, and the Cardinals will need someone to step up in his absence.
Projected Rotation
1) Jack Flaherty
2) Daniel Hudson
3) Miles Mikolas
4) Adam Wainwright
5) Carlos Martinez
The Cardinals' rotation was one of the best in the league last season, and they are returning all their starters. You could say Flaherty won't repeat his historic performance last season, but you could also say Miles Mikolas will improve after a season to forget.
Fantasy-relevant relievers
Giovanny Gallegos (projected 19 saves, 2.43 ERA)
Jordan Hicks (projected 15 saves, 3.46 ERA)
Major League-ready prospects
Dylan Carlson (OF), Andrew Knizner (C), Elehuris Montero (3B)
Projected Lineup
1) Kolten Wong
2) Tommy Edman
3) Paul Goldschmidt
4) Yadier Molina
5) Paul Dejong
6) Tyler O'Neill
7) Dexter Fowler
8) Harrison Bader
This lineup scored the 11th-fewest runs in MLB last season, and they lost their cleanup hitter in Marcell Ozuna. Fowler had a miserable season in 2019, and Bader was in the minors at one point. This lineup will need multiple players to over-perform or they will be worse than 11th-worst in scoring runs for the 2020 campaign.
Key bench players
Matt Wieters, Matt Carpenter
Should you go Over or Under on the regular-season win total for the Cardinals? And what are the top win total plays you can make for 2020? ... Join SportsLine right now to see John Bollman's MLB win total picks, all from the former Blue Jays front-office employee who went 14-1 last year!