St. Louis Cardinals 2016 Year in Review

What Went Right?

Though they ultimately fell short of their goal, there were several things to feel good about as a St. Louis Cardinals fan in 2016. The team boasted one of the league’s most productive offenses, ranking fourth in runs scored (779), second in home runs (225) and fifth in OPS (.768).

Fueling that home run total, the roster featured six players that hit at least 20 round-trippers. Leading the group was newcomer Jedd Gyorko with 30, who was sent to St. Louis in the offseason trade that shipped Jon Jay to the San Diego Padres. Brandon Moss added 28 in his second season (and first full campaign) with the Cardinals.

Matt Carpenter led the squad with an .885 OPS while also logging at least 40 appearances at three different positions (1B, 2B, 3B). He earned the third All-Star nod of his career as well.

The Redbirds also saw some great contributions from their younger players. Chief among them was rookie shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who slashed an impressive .300/.369/.510 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI. Unfortunately, he missed all of August and nearly half of September with a thumb injury, limiting his season to 111 games. It was a common problem for the Cards this year. (More on that later.)

25-year-old outfielders Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk acquitted themselves fairly well in their second and third big league seasons, respectively. Grichuk posted a .769 OPS with 24 homers, while Piscotty managed an .800 OPS and connected on 22 long balls.

Perhaps the most unexpectedly pleasant surprise was Seung-hwan Oh in the bullpen. The Cardinals didn’t really know what they were going to get in the 34-year-old Korean reliever, but by July he was their closer. Oh converted 19 of 23 save opportunities in place of the deposed Trevor Rosenthal while putting up a 1.92 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 5.72 K/BB ratio over 79.2 innings. With a $2.75 option for next year already vested, he should be among the league’s best values in 2017.

Next: The Bad