St. Louis needs to adjust to life without coach Tony La Russa, who opted to step down, and Albert Pujols, arguably the best batter in the sport, who agreed to a free agent contract with the LA Angels. The Cardinals managed to sign veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran though. Here is the projected batting order for St. Louis in 2012. Check out our other MLB predictions to find more previews of teams.
Projected Lineup
Yadier Molina (Catcher) - Molina's been recognized defensively for years , but it feels like he can also be depended upon to be a threat on offense also. Molina's .305 batting average, 32 doubles, 14 HRs, and 65 RBI in 2011 were all career highs.
Lance Berkman (First Base) - The Cardinals signed Berkman to a contract after an unpleasant year where he hit just .248 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI in 2010. Well, he blew away all expectancies by hitting .301 with 31 home runs and 94 RBI in 145 games, putting him seventh in NL MVP voting. With Berkman panning out for the Cardinals, he has turned into a good fill in for the Pujols at first base.
Skip Schumaker (2nd Base) - Schumaker has not got a lot of power as he hit just 22 home runs in 703 career games, his .290 career average is what the Cardinals will depend on. With the arrival of 25-year-old Daniel Descalso though, he could see himself lose some valuable playing time.
Rafael Furcal (Shortstop) - Furcal has plenty of potential to be big contributor for St. Louis this season, but he must remain healthy in order to do it. He has played in 100 games just once in the past four years. He has batted .231 with seven HRs and 16 RBI in 50 games with St. Louis, but his solid stats would be for naught if he is unable to remain in the lineup for over 1/2 the year.
David Freese (Third Base) - Freese came up huge in the playoffs putting up huge numbers of .397 with 5 homers and 21 RBI, but it is hard to work out if he will be able to maintain that production over the course of a full year. He batted .297 with 10 homers and 55 RBI during the regular year, but once more wounds limited him to play in just 97 starts.
Matt Holliday (Left Field) - One of the more consistent players in the Cardinals lineup is Matt Holliday. He is still just 32-years of age, so he has lots left in the tank. He played in just 124 games last year, but he managed to hit .296 with 22 home runs and 75 RBI. If he stays healthy, look for him to extend his production to around .315 with 25 home runs and 100 RBI in 2012.
Jon Jay (Center Field) - He has shown enough in his first two years in the league to warrant a full-time job. He batted .297 with 22 homers and 37 RBI in 455 at-bats last season. The 27-years-old is still young enough to improve , but don't expect him to have a massive jump in production.
Carlos Beltran (Right Field) - After an injury plagued season in both 2009 and 2010, the 34-year-old vet bounced back to hit .300 with 22 home runs and 84 RBI with the Mets and Giants last year. While he might no longer be a threat on the bases, there is still some juice left in his game.
Projected Lineup
Yadier Molina (Catcher) - Molina's been recognized defensively for years , but it feels like he can also be depended upon to be a threat on offense also. Molina's .305 batting average, 32 doubles, 14 HRs, and 65 RBI in 2011 were all career highs.
Lance Berkman (First Base) - The Cardinals signed Berkman to a contract after an unpleasant year where he hit just .248 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI in 2010. Well, he blew away all expectancies by hitting .301 with 31 home runs and 94 RBI in 145 games, putting him seventh in NL MVP voting. With Berkman panning out for the Cardinals, he has turned into a good fill in for the Pujols at first base.
Skip Schumaker (2nd Base) - Schumaker has not got a lot of power as he hit just 22 home runs in 703 career games, his .290 career average is what the Cardinals will depend on. With the arrival of 25-year-old Daniel Descalso though, he could see himself lose some valuable playing time.
Rafael Furcal (Shortstop) - Furcal has plenty of potential to be big contributor for St. Louis this season, but he must remain healthy in order to do it. He has played in 100 games just once in the past four years. He has batted .231 with seven HRs and 16 RBI in 50 games with St. Louis, but his solid stats would be for naught if he is unable to remain in the lineup for over 1/2 the year.
David Freese (Third Base) - Freese came up huge in the playoffs putting up huge numbers of .397 with 5 homers and 21 RBI, but it is hard to work out if he will be able to maintain that production over the course of a full year. He batted .297 with 10 homers and 55 RBI during the regular year, but once more wounds limited him to play in just 97 starts.
Matt Holliday (Left Field) - One of the more consistent players in the Cardinals lineup is Matt Holliday. He is still just 32-years of age, so he has lots left in the tank. He played in just 124 games last year, but he managed to hit .296 with 22 home runs and 75 RBI. If he stays healthy, look for him to extend his production to around .315 with 25 home runs and 100 RBI in 2012.
Jon Jay (Center Field) - He has shown enough in his first two years in the league to warrant a full-time job. He batted .297 with 22 homers and 37 RBI in 455 at-bats last season. The 27-years-old is still young enough to improve , but don't expect him to have a massive jump in production.
Carlos Beltran (Right Field) - After an injury plagued season in both 2009 and 2010, the 34-year-old vet bounced back to hit .300 with 22 home runs and 84 RBI with the Mets and Giants last year. While he might no longer be a threat on the bases, there is still some juice left in his game.
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