Well it’s finally over and on the books for 2026. While the season didn’t end on a very good note, let’s instead talk about what went right. After stripping the roster down to the bolts, old school projections systems and Vegas odds had the Cardinals as one of the worst teams in baseball. Many fans claimed the same, this team just would not be able to compete. Did they compete? Well, sort of. It’s not really easy to describe, but since the season just ended, it seems like the best time to recall all that should be praised about Cardinals baseball 2026 edition.
This is a feel-good Cardinals article.
There are some things we, as fans, should feel good about, so let’s feel good about them. It was in some ways a very entertaining season! I won’t be done complaining about the interim state of this team, especially because of the stale finish and bad aftertaste of losing 4 in a row at the end, but that’s for another time. This is a feel-good sportsball article. Let us praise them.
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The Cardinals lead MLB in three of the four double play categories on fangraphs. That said, Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt were the best middle infield defensive combo in baseball. I had fun watching it all season, when they weren’t out with injuries. According to Baseball Savant, the statcast metric Infield DP shows that JJ Wetherholt was the second best defender in MLB at turning the double play, with Masyn Winn tied for third! That combo beats any other fielding combo. And ok so, big deal, they turn a lot of double plays… they are also The Top 2 middle infielders at Fielding Run Value. Both are among the best at the Range statistic. Only Pete Crow-Armstrong had more FRV! Now that is a valuable middle infield. The Nationals and the White Sox also were really good at turning the DP, but the Cardinals ran away with it here. (Honorable mention to the Brewers, yet another thing they are good at).
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Alec Burleson keeps getting better at hitting every season, and now that he isn’t playing the outfield, he isn’t a liability on defense. Burly has arrived in 2026! Big time. While Burleson’s wRC+ is about the same as the previous season, Burly raised his ISO from .169 to .193 which resulted in 8 more home runs than 2025 and 11 more doubles! This power surge provided RBI, 116 to be exact, enough to lead all of MLB! It’s been a long while since the Cardinals had a RBI leader: the last time it happened was in 1971! While his offensive season was a resounding success, his improvement on defense was perhaps equally as impressive. Burleson is simply better at playing first base than at the outfield, and this helped him not tank his overall value. Alec was not the most rangey first baseman, but the fact that he was not a liability there was huge. He’s an average defender range-wise. Where Burleson truly shined was at fangraphs Scoops statistic, #4 in MLB… while the new statcast statistic 1B Receiving described Burleson as the best in all of baseball. Go Burly! He should get a haul if they trade him, but he appears to be part of the core team for the foreseeable future.
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Jordan Walker went from on the verge of losing his job in St Louis to being one of the 8 players in MLB to reach the 100 RBI milestone in 2026. His 29 HR was within the top 25 in major league baseball! And most impressive, outside of a Home Run Derby Championship that made him a household name… he went from -1.3 fWAR to 2.8! That is an over 4 WAR improvement! I wonder if any other player made that much of a leap this season, congratulations Jordan Walker! Definitely a feel-good story of the year, he may not be exactly what we want him to be just yet, but I cannot think of a much better turnaround than that as a Cardinals fan. He also more than doubled his stolen base total this year! Going from almost being fired or demoted or traded to an All-Star Appearance and a Home Run Derby trophy is rather amazing! But the 100+ RBI makes him part of the future production core.
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JJ Wetherholt’s debut season was so good defensively that he should get rookie of the year. That is not a popular opinion, but since he was able to start hitting MLB pitching from the get go it made his elite defense shine and it was valuable to the team. For much of the season he looked like a well above average hitter, but all in all not bad for a rookie, 101 wRC+ is a hair above league average. I’ll take it, especially when he’s undoubtedly the best defensive second baseman in all of baseball. And it wasn’t even close. If he is robbed of rookie of the year, which he probably will be, he will still be a part of the feel-good story of 2026. It will be a sham if it is not Wetherholt, since the second highest WAR total was that of Carson Benge, and it wasn’t even that close to Wetherholt. The MVP of the Cardinals team, when going by fWAR, & it’s not even close, sorry Burly. And sorry rookie of the year competition! (maybe they should just give it to the pitcher). And oh yeah, not only is he a 100th percentile fielder, JJ is a 91st percentile baserunner. If JJ doesn’t win, the humans deciding the award are pretending that defense doesn’t matter.
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Riley O’Brien was the poor man’s version of Mason Miller, tied for the NL lead in saves. And he didn’t have the most blown saves on the Cardinals! George Soriano shared that title with him, each having 8 BS. Maybe the most apt abbreviation for any stat. But hey, this is all about the praise and Riley O’Brien mostly got the job done! You cannot deny the fact that he is tied with the league lead in saves. I’m not sure that it means anything, but maybe it will help him down the road.
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The 2026 Cardinals were the 8th best team by baserunning value on Baseball Savant! That is a strength and what they were really good at was the timely stolen base… many of their stolen bases lead to runs.
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Jimmy Crooks as much as we were disappointed was really good at a stat called Catcher Framing Runs, in limited playing time he was the 13th best at it. Pages was good at it too but not quite on Jimmy’s level there.
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Cardinals pitching was #3 in MLB regarding ground ball percentage, which fed the middle-infield double play machine. I’m hoping they keep pitching like this if we are to have elite middle infield defense.
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Michael McGreevy was tied for best in NL with Imanaga at controlling the running game.
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Ivan Herrera tied the Cardinals’ all-time record for hit by pitch! Ivan tied a record dating all the way back to 1910, when Steve Evans got hit by the pitch 31 times. Herrera holds the modern day record, one could say. What a painful achievement becoming a part of Cardinals history!
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Joshua Baez debut game at Wrigley Field will be the stuff of legends for decades. For the first time in MLB history, Joshua Baez hit 3 home runs in an MLB debut game! Absolutely insane. Not many had even hit 2 home runs in their debut game. Baez finished the season well above average at 113 wRC+, a rather promising debut over 108 plate appearances. 7 home runs for 2026, almost half of them in one game! The above average hitting powered by a monster .510 SLG%. The K rate was 30.6%, not so bad. That was one of the most exciting games I’ve ever seen.
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Kyle Leahy converting to a starting pitcher deserves a lot of praise; it was a gamble that paid off. Especially needed when trading away Gray and May! Kyle at up 140 innings, not too shabby for a first year starter! Was he just an innings eater? His Fielding Independent Pitching stats agree with this traditional ERA, Leahy was a good starter this season: 3.60 to 3.66. xERA is not as much of a fan, but all in all, Kyle Leahy is a success. Extrapolate his innings out to 180 IP and he’s a 3.3-3.4 fWAR starter! Pretty good!
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Leo Bernal seemed to solve the catching situation at the last minute, with a 124 wRC+ in 24 games with .189 ISO. That’s a strong hitting catcher! The good news is I don’t know why the power would be an illusion. His statcast looks in the red, especially with hard hit percentage. The defense looked good too outside of the errors (good blocking and an especially good pop time, good framing as well in the small sample of play).
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Luis Gastelum had a rough start in MLB but looked like an old pro by the end of the season. As far as standard rate stats, it’s not a big sample, but only xFIP is enamored with him. However, what I do like a LOT is his 10.80 to 2.95 K/BB ratio! 3.66/1 if you prefer to see it that way. His changeup already had a Run Value of 4, and his sinker was pretty good too. As long as he can limit the home runs, he will be a valuable bullpen arm.
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Last but definitely not least, the debut of Quinn Mathews! The pearled one impressed with 49.1 IP 2.3 K/BB ratio, but what was most impressive was the stability of his rate stats across the board: 3.83 ERA and an equal FIP, a 3.84 xERA matching, and a not too bad 4.14 xFIP. Now is the time for Quinn, as he is nearly 26 years old. He seems ready for a rotation stint in 2027.
Well that’s about all the praise I can heap on this sub-.500 team. It was definitely an interesting season, not boring! I don’t really understand some of the moves made, as they half ass tanked towards the end. But I suppose that’s just a team running on fumes. I’m still wondering why Burleson and Wetherholt sat the last game, as it was too late to tank out for a better draft pick. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of my questions really. There will be a companion piece, but I wanted to celebrate despite the bad aftertaste of the end of this season. Some questions were answered, and many more remain. They are certainly forming a long game here. I guess I’ll just keep following along, and hope the story stays interesting!
Postseason Rooting Rights
I will be rooting mostly for the White Sox to beat the Asstros and advance to see what they can do. I will be upset if that doesn’t happen… I don’t expect them to make it very far but I at least want that to happen. They are what I wanted the Cardinals to be, let’s see how they can turn it around. They’re kind of like if we had a top-notch bullpen and some more home run power.
Also, I’d love to see the Cubs lose during the first round, so I’m also heavily rooting for the Padres. So that’s my AL team and my NL team, got a couple of horses in the race. Go White Sox! Go San Diego! Beyond that, I am rooting for the Phillies because I think they have a better chance at knocking out the Dodgers than the Braves do, I’m not sure why I think that but I guess I don’t trust the Braves rotation. I’d root for either over LA though!
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It pains me to root for the Red Sox, but since Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras are over there now, I guess I’ll have to root for them. It’s a little easier since I don’t care if the Yankees win. Should be a good series!
Hoping for a random, super underdog World Series! White Sox vs Padres
1997 Heavy Metal Edition
I continue my ramblings about each year of music in my life, revealing some rather insane heavy metal releases from 1997 now… similar to 1995, I feel like the number of quality metal albums went down, and I’m not surprised since the late 90s is probably the least popular time for heavy metal. Anywho, let’s dive right in to this mire of heavy sounds…
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Düreforsög – ‘Knee’ absolute wild genius out of Norway! Complex compositions that blend heavy metal with cartoony fun and a variety of genres. The band is absolutely airtight and super talented, almost seeming like they could play this stuff blindfolded. If you like creative heavy music, this one’s for you! It’s more on the fun side of heavy metal, not quite so dark sounding as the other metal bands of this time period. If you are a fan of bands like Mr Bungle, you’ll need to hear this. However, the unseriousness of this band may drive many away, even though it’s seriously good music. (Norway)
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Fu Manchu – ‘The Action Is Go’ perhaps the polar opposite of the last albums frenetic schizophrenic pace that is about as far removed from Black Sabbath as you can get… FU MANCHU is Orange County’s answer to Black Sabbath sounds. Blend in a heaping dose of skate punk and the ultra thick Sabbath style riffs and sound… An all time classic! If you like 70s rock you might actually like this a lot. Or maybe it’ll be too 90s, you’ll just have to hear it for yourself. Bought this just after I moved to Chicago so it’s a big part of my college soundtrack! You’ll even get some Star Wars references in addition to the muscle car and weed ones. (Southern California)
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Today Is The Day – ‘Temple of the Morning Star’ this band was on a long run of genre-defying creative opuses, and this was their highest peak in popularity. If you want to hear what a legit insane-sounding person sounds like, this is your ticket to rock. This particular album is one of the band’s darkest and heaviest-sounding ones of all. Love it or hate it, you’ll never forget it. The band’s first six albums are among my favorite heavy albums of all time, and this is the first one that I bought. Underground cult classic. (Nashville)
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Fredrik Thorendal’s Special Defects If you are a Meshuggah fan, you need this album to complete your collection. If you haven’t heard it yet, it’ll feel like the lost Meshuggah album. A little less heavy and a little more jazzy, though! This one never gets old. Once you hear it though, you’ll be like, that’s so Meshuggah. If you don’t know the legendary Swedish technical death metal or “djent” band, they sound like alien robots with an angry bald guy screaming at you while everyone is on shrooms. (Sweden)
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Orange Goblin – ‘Frequencies From Planet Ten’ what they call “stoner rock” and this is one of the best albums in the genre! This is another Sabbath worship album, but maybe a little more psychedelic with somewhat leaner guitar sounds. They definitely have that 70’s vibe, though! This album could have been released in many different decades. Perhaps that’s why the followup is called Time Travelin’ Blues! Later albums from Orange Goblin sound more heavy metal, but this one is my favorite of theirs. (England)
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Shrüm – ‘Red Devils And Purple Ringers’ uncovered a hidden gem here! the original bassist of Acid Bath’s first band, it’s equally as creative but features a different vocalist and a slightly different sound as well. Still heavy, but more of a psychedelia thing happening here. I just found this but liked it a lot upon first listen, had to share, not much to say about it other than I’m glad I found it, and a must hear for Acid Bath fans. RIP Audie Pitre the talented bassist at the center of both bands. What made this band truly unique is that they were two bassists and a drummer! (Louisiana)
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Sadistik Exekution – ‘KAOS’ the extremest of extreme metal! Like an absolute storm of shit, being inside a possessed tornado, wondering if the tempo somehow got sped up to infinity, etc. Some guy is screaming at you while you’re having a nightmare inside a spinning tornado house. Probably won’t even sound like music. (Australia)
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Emperor – ‘Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk’ I’m more into the other subgenres of extreme metal, but I know my black metal too, and this is one of the genre’s best albums. With Halloween coming up, it is a good time to start listening to this. Epic winter-at-night fantasy music. (Norway)
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Electric Wizard – ‘Come My Fanatics’ I’m not a huge Electric Wizard fan, but this album has a certain sound about it that is almost as heavy as a black hole as you struggle not to enter its event horizon… but from that first riff, this whole album pulls you in. And there’s an interesting enough variety of sounds here to make it a good full album listening experience. Another 1997 album that sounds more than a bit 1970’s Sabbath! In a good way. (England)
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Assück – ‘Misery Index’ a band name that makes me chuckle every time I see it and wonder why, butt anyway, this is a grindcore/crust punk masterpiece full of succinct ripper tracks averaging only a minute or two. Exemplary of the genre. And probably inspired the band Misery Index! (Florida, duh)
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Subarachnoid Space – ‘Almost Invisible’ this was a 90’s psyche rock band that later turned into a metal band, so this should have been listed in last week’s 1997 list… but I remember buying it not long after moving to chicago and playing it every night when I went to sleep… its droney space rock vibes were always an easy way to fade into slumber, coating the city sounds outside in comforting organic guitar goodness. Almost Invisible also would be a good soundtrack for a nice inner voyage… a staycation in an album. (San Francisco)
1997 Music Playlist (heavy metal) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3MuC2Zpu_k&si=NfLy0pk_FjXH7zCD
1997 Music Playlist (from last week, no heavy metal) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLahubbY3Et4Q&si=FqTfNehr4Gm56JW0
Thanks for reading! and listening! Next week, the critique… and a look at some projections from this spring! Go Southside.
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