Grading the St. Louis Cardinals at the halfway point of this weird baseball season

Even though they’re way behind in games played because of a team-wide bout with COVID-19, we’re at the halfway point of the abbreviated 2020 Major League Baseball season, so it’s time for mid-term progress reports.

While the Cardinals are middling around the .500 mark with half the lineup struggling to hit .200, there is a lot to be happy about when it comes to the performance of this team.

Cardinals’ Starting Pitching: Grade A+

The heart and soul of this team is the pitching staff and when the starting hurlers have performed, St. Louis wins. Everybody expected Jack Flaherty to take another step toward establishing himself as the team ace. But the young starter, who is 2-0 with a 1.93 earned run average and 0.8 base runners allowed per inning doesn’t have to carry the team on his back because his rotation mates are doing nearly as well. Cardinals ace emeritus Adam Wainwright celebrated his 39th birthday by pitching a complete game for his club, improving his record to 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA. In 34 innings pitched, Wainwright has allowed 22 hits and he’s struck out 25 while walking eight opposing hitters. Dakota Hudson is supposed to be second fiddle to Flaherty, but he isn’t pitching like it so far. Although he’s got a 1-2 record, Hudson has a 2.77 earned run average and has allowed 17 hits in 26 innings. Previously, walks have been a problem for Hudson, but he’s issued only seven free passes and has struck out 23. Carlos Martinez and Miles Mikolas were supposed to round out the rotation but have been unavailable on the injured list. In stepped Korean import Kwang Hyun Kim and rookie Johan Oviedo to fill the void. Kim is 2-0 with an 0.83 ERA while Oviedo has a 4.30 ERA but has allowed only nine hits in 14 2/3 innings. Subtract his most recent inning of work when he was beat up late in his start, and his numbers would be right up there with his more experienced colleagues. Oviedo has shown a lot of composure and poise for a guy who wasn’t supposed to see big league action this year. Hopefully, he’s here to stay.

Comments: The Cardinals will go as far as their rotation takes them in 2020. The starters seem to have hit their stride after a lengthy layoff when more than one-third of the team was laid up with COVID-19. They’ll have to be the key as the Cardinals have multiple doubleheaders to catch up with their opponents in the schedule over the next few weeks.

Cardinals’ Relief Pitching: A

Like the starting rotation, the primary relievers for the Cardinals have been brilliant. Giovanny Gallegos, Austin Gomber, John Gant, Genesis Cabrera, Tyler Webb and Alex Reyes have all contributed valuable innings of work, making up for the loss of both of the team’s closers from last season, Martinez and Jordan Hicks, the latter of which opted out for the season. Kim, the third string closer, was pressed into service in the rotation making Gallegos the closer. He’s dominated the games in which he pitched and is more than capable of doing the job. Reyes, who has spent four years trying to get healthy and establish himself in the big leagues is gaining confidence and earning a more important role in the bullpen.

Comments: Look for the relief troops to be further bolstered as Ryan Helsley and Kodi Whitley return from the injured list. The Cardinals didn’t get the additional bat or two they needed at the trade deadline. So, the plan seems to be to keep the opposing team from scoring ANY runs. This crew just might be up to the task.

Cardinals’ Offense: C-

The Cardinals are absolutely terrible at driving in runs — which is a real shame because they lead MLB in runners in scoring position despite the fact that they’ve played several fewer games than almost every team in the circuit. Kolten Wong has been hot lately. But on balance he hasn’t done the job of setting the table like one would expect from a leadoff hitter. Dexter Fowler, in the fourth of five seasons with St. Louis, is having his best year yet. He might have been ticketed for the top of the batting order until he was shut down for at least two weeks due to sickness. The shining star of the offense has been the guy in the middle. Paul Goldschmidt has put to rest any thoughts that he’s past his prime, putting together a prime season with a batting average of .337 and an on-base percentage of .448. Paul DeJong is back from the COVID-19 list with a batting average over .300 and a grand slam to his credit and ageless catcher Yadier Molina is hitting above .300, too. It’s the Cardinals’ supporting cast that is letting the lineup down. Matt Carpenter, Harrison Bader, Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson are all hitting below the Mendoza Line. Tommy Edman was there with them for a while, but he’s pushed his average up to .273 in a super utility role and Brad Miller is producing with a .333 average and five homers. But Miller is giving up a lot of runs when he plays the field, so he’s limited to the designated hitter role on most days.

Comments: If this team had a legitimate cleanup hitter, it might have won four or five more games than it had — which would put it near the top of the seeding in the National League. It hurts to see Marcell Ozuna, who would have stayed on a one-year contract, lighting up the scoreboard in another uniform. He’s finally the player the Cardinals thought they were getting when they traded for him. Unfortunately, it’s happening somewhere else.

Cardinals’ Defense: C

The Cardinals defense looks brilliant at times — especially when it comes to outfield play with the speedy Bader, Carlson, O’Neill and Edman patrolling the outer pasture. But the infield has been spotty, especially at third base when it comes to the play of Miller and Carpenter. Molina and Goldschmidt have shown their still Gold Glove caliber players. While DeJong is sure-handed, I’m not convinced that he wouldn’t be better at third base with the quicker Edman at short. Wong has also turned in several Gold Glove type plays ... and makes the occasional easy play look tough. All things considered, this team has the ability to be one of the best fielding teams in the Senior Circuit.

Comments: Hopefully, now that the team is getting healthy, the defense will be more consistent and the offense will find a rhythm.

Cardinals’ Overall: C+

Comments: Really, it’s almost a miracle that the Cardinals are over .500 with how many players they’ve had to do without, not to mention that they had to get back up to speed after a long layoff during which they couldn’t even practice together. But the short 2020 season is unforgiving, so there’s no time for the team to pat itself on the back. It needs to gather strength and find a way to win three or five games in Chicago against the Cubs before storming into the second half of its schedule. The bright side is that the Cardinals have the easiest schedule in baseball in the second half with only two teams on its agenda that have a winning record.

If the Cardinals can make it into the postseason when pitching is at a premium, they could surprise some teams. They don’t have the firepower elite teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers can bring to bear. But they do have the hurlers it would take to silence the LA bats. If they can do that, anything can happen.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.