Cardinals, Pirates and Red Sox: 3 preseason predictions we wish we made

Closing in on a quarter of the way through the 2023 season, there have been as many surprises as disappointments across MLB. Yes, a quarter sample size over a 162-game regular season is not a lot, but it is still telling.

Before every season begins, there are predictions made, and even some bold ones for the upcoming season. Of course, you’re either going to hit on some of them and look good, or fail miserably and set yourself up for some failure. That’s the fun of making predictions.

As the league closes in on the season’s quarter-point, here are three bold predictions we wished we made before the first pitch was thrown on March 28.

MLB prediction do-over: St. Louis Cardinals under 89 wins

Talk about hitting rock bottom. The St. Louis Cardinals have gone from a potential playoff team to being buried in the National League Central Division standings in less than a quarter of the season.

In fact not only do they have the least amount of wins in the National League, but only the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics have fewer wins. That’s not the company you want to be joining early in the season. They just avoided a sweep by the Detroit Tigers by recording a seven-run sixth inning in Sunday’s 12-6 win for win No. 11 on the season in 35 games.

Pitching has not been good, the offense has struggled at times, and the loss of Yadier Molina is evident. Behind the plate after 19 consecutive years is being felt with the pitching staff. Offensively, they are hitting just .259 as a team and their pitching has a team ERA of 4.59. Not a good combination and two stats you’re not used to seeing with the Cardinals.

There is still plenty of time for St. Louis to turn things around, but reaching 89 wins is almost out of the question without a crazy winning streak or two mixed in. Is it possible? Yes, but unlikely. The first step should be finding a way past the Cincinnati Reds in the division. Baby steps.

MLB prediction do-over: Pittsburgh Pirates win over 67.5 games

Who saw this start coming for the Pittsburgh Pirates? Outside of the steel city, not many, if any, but despite their recent seven-game losing streak, these Pirates are well on their way to eclipsing their preseason win projection and we’re still three weeks from Memorial Day.

Pittsburgh can beat you in different ways, something that could have been said in previous seasons. They can hit for power, and play small ball, their pitching has been good and their offense, which has struggled during their losing streak, has produced in clutch situations for the most part. They are neck-and-neck with the Milwaukee Brewers atop the National League Central standings as both teams have hit the skids. Their bullpen ERA is the third-best in the majors and if they can sustain that all season long, that’s a recipe for a lot of wins.

Their recent losing streak, which all teams are bound to go through during a long season, has been losses to two of the top two American League East powers, the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. Let’s not overlook their three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the first week of April. At the time it looked like a sweep of the bottom feeder in the AL East, but not now with them climbing out of past place.

Are the Pirates a postseason team? Who knows, but it looks like it’s going to be a fun summer in Pittsburgh for their fans. Barring an unforeseen breakdown, they will easily go flying by their projected win total from the start of the season.