MLB Preview Day 26, St. Louis Cardinals

2010 Preview- 86-76, 2nd place NL Central
2010 Triple Crown Leaders- Matt Holliday/Albert Pujols, .312 (t-5th NL), Albert Pujols, 42 HR (1st NL), Albert Pujols (1st NL), Adam Wainwright, 20 Wins (2nd NL), Adam Wainwright, 2.42 ERA (2nd NL), Adam Wainwright, 213 K (4th NL)

Key Additions- Lance Berkman (OF), Gerald Laird (C), Brian Tallet (LHP), Ryan Theriot (2B), Raul Valdes (RHP), Nick Punto (IF)

Key Losses- Pedro Feliz (3B), Blake Hawksworth (RHP), Jason LaRue (C), Mike MacDougal (RHP), Joe Mather (OF), Aaron Miles (3B), Dennys Reyes (LHP), Brendan Ryan (SS), Jeff Suppan (RHP), Randy Winn (OF)

2011 Projected Record- 80-90 wins, 3rd place NL Central
Manager- Tony LaRussa (16th year, 1318-1110)
Best Player- Albert Pujols
Best Pitcher- Chris Carpenter
Biggest Breakout Candidate- Colby Rasmus
Biggest Potential Impact Rookie- Lance Lynn

Projected Lineup/Projected Stats
Skip Schumaker, 2B- .295/6 HR/50 RBI
Colby Rasmus, CF- .280/25 HR/70 RBI
Albert Pujols, 1B- .335/48 HR/145 RBI
Matt Holliday, LF- .310/26 HR/115 RBI
Lance Berkman, RF- .265/18 HR/70 RBI
David Freese, 3B- .285/12 HR/50 RBI
Yadier Molina, C- .270/8 HR/55 RBI
Ryan Theriot, SS- .275/4 HR/45 RBI

Projected Rotation/Projected Stats
Chris Carpenter- 17-6/3.15 ERA/165 K
Jaime Garcia- 14-10/3.55 ERA/155 K
Jake Westbrook- 11-10/4.05 ERA/135 K
Kyle Lohse- 9-13/5.05 ERA/100 K
Kyle McClellan- 4-8/5.50 ERA/45 K
Ryan Franklin- 3.10 ERA/30 Saves

Team Outlook- The Cardinals had the biggest of blows early in Spring Training, with ace Adam Wainwright going down after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.  That hurts their rotation, who really have one dependable starter in Carpenter and possibly Garcia, but behind that looks very suspect.  Offensively they are very good, with a Skip Schumaker leading off at the top of the order after a very good spring, while the heart of the order features Pujols and Holliday, and I think Pujols will win the Triple Crown after challenging the feat many times over his career in a contract year.  They also added Lance Berkman, who should put up respectable numbers despite not being the guy who averaged 37 2B, 33 HR, and 110 RBI between 2001 and 2008.  The Cards will probably have a hard time competing in 2011, and will be right around 3rd or 4th place in the Central.