One of the main problems last season was that the Cardinals were in R&D mode and in budget-aging-vet pitcher mode simultaneously, resulting in negative WAR value output from several players. From the testing of developing players standpoint, a brigade of suck was in effect from enough players that it created a siphoning effect that spoiled the performance of the team. We aren’t talking about just a player or two, but an aggregate of -.1 and -.2 WAR guys, basically replacement-level players on the downturn (Michael Siani, Cesar Prieto, Nolan Gorman, Garret Hampson, Ryan Vilade, Jose Barrero), a -.4 WAR version of Jimmy Crooks, and the failing big prospect that was 2025 Jordan Walker who finished at -1.3 WAR. The siphoning effect of this R&D mode was a negative 2.7 WAR!
On the pitching side there was a total of -1.3 WAR, so theoretically the team could’ve been 4 wins better if they would have just gotten replacement level performances out of 13 roster spots. It was not as fun as it should’ve been.
Then you had the constant reminder that two spots in the rotation would be occupied by guys like Miles Mikolas (a hair above replacement level last season), replacement level Erick Fedde, with up-and-comer Michael McGreevy doing his best. But that’s the past now, and in 2026, Chaim Bloom’s Cardinals roster management is more up to the task.
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Jimmy Crooks will be 25 before the season is over. All of the projection systems like his bat more than Pedro Pages’, and maybe his defense too. According to projections, look to get from .8 to 1 WAR out of Jimmy. Or if his bat surprises, he will be more than an 87 to 101 wRC+ hitter, which covers the range of mainstream projection systems. Could we hope for something like 105-110+? My wishcasting projections articles at the beginning of the season seem less wishy-washy at this point for several players (*I did not know that Jordan Walker was going to do this, though, just to be clear!). With Jimmy Crooks, it sure feels like it’s a main catcher upgraded scenario! Pedro is still there for depth and support, and of course, Ivan Herrera carries on as a DH/C hybrid.
How is Jimmy Crooks actually hitting so far? 83 wRC+ over 35 PA with 1 HR… he’s hitting like Pedro Pages!
After Nolan Gorman was set to soon surpass his -.2 WAR total of last season, the Cardinals decided to stop that situation from happening again. Blaze Jordan was hitting really well at AAA, so the timing was perfect. Blaze Jordan is just 23, but is projected to be about average on 3B defense, maybe a tad less, if anything, but not bad projections there really. But what he was really promoted for was his hitting. A consensus of projections have him at 94 wRC+, but there are a good number of systems projecting him as a league average hitter. And we think he can be better than that, don’t we? Wishcasting again. If nothing else, he should turn the tide at third base and not be negative fWAR. Projections say that Blaze should be worth at least half a WAR. Maybe more if he is mature for his age. Could be… it would be sort of a miracle if the Cardinals get more than 1 WAR from his the rest of the way, but, it also doesn’t sound too far-fetched.
How is Blaze Jordan actually hitting so far? 159 wRC+ over 19 PA! 1 HR and 12 Total Bases ( he already has a home run, triple, double, and singles, well played Blaze).
Nathan Church falls under the same category of stop-gap reinforcement players. I like all three of these guys enough to view the projections as their floor. It’s the same story with Church, he isn’t projected to be league average at hitting, but he is projected as a helluva lot better than Victor Scott II at the plate. He should also be good for half a WAR, instead of minus fWAR. The consensus projection has him at around 88 wRC+.
How is Nathan Church actually hitting so far? 92 wRC+ over 185 PA, right around his projections. But to make it more fun, he’s hit 5 HR! It may be funny to hear that Blaze Jordan is beating Nathan Church in the triples dept.
Which of the three do you think will be the best hitter? The obvious answer is Blaze Jordan, but Jimmy Crooks is probably the best overall prospect of the three. And the darkhorse candidate would be one Nathan Church, he isn’t projected to be too bad at the plate either. Maybe one of them will end up being above league average at hitting! Wouldn’t that be nice. So far we have Jimmy underperforming on offense, Church at projections, and Blaze torching his projections sheet.
The upgrade of Crooks over Pages is probably only a marginal upgrade, but if he can hit MLB pitching, he will be a sizable one. His defense is better, overall, and he could be the catcher of the future for all we know. Maybe we will have three different catchers tailored to different pitchers? Get creative, Cardinals! I know you will.
The upgrade over Gorman will be tough to tell for a while. The projections still like Gorman as much as Blaze Jordan at hitting, and his defense is probably a little better than Jordan’s. But in the abstract, it sure seems like the bleeding has been stopped when it comes to third base offense. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think the projections are right about Gorman.
Nathan Church is obviously an upgrade on offense over Victor Scott II, so that problem is also sort of solved. The defense won’t be quite as good, but it is certainly good enough. It will help a lot if Church ends up a league average hitter or more…
These three players may only be marginal upgrades, but they have made the lineup a lot easier to watch, more balanced, and a lot less lopsided. A bottom of the order of Jimmy Crooks, Blaze Jordan, and Nathan Church is just obviously better than it was earlier in the season, at least watching as a fan so far. The middle of the season is where we are going to find out if Nathan Church is more than a stopgap measure, if Jimmy Crooks is ready to take the reins of the main Cardinals catcher, and if Blaze Jordan has been promoted too soon or right on time!
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Ok so, this comes as a surpise to me, but it could be that Bloom and the Cardinals freaked out a bit because there is another list of negative WAR players this season, and they have already reached -2.4 WAR. Break glass! EXIT!
With a tough month of July coming up, the Cardinals needed reinforcements. By changing the roster so much for the middle third of the season, the Cardinals just may stem the flow of loss through player value. Victor Scott II, Pedro Pages, and Nolan Gorman obviously could not hit 2026 MLB pitching.
One last note: who was even more demotable than Gorman and Victor Scott II? Thomas Saggese at -.4 WAR.
Along Came Noot
While we have turned the tide with rising prospects (hopefully!), we must not forget what may be the biggest upgrade of all: Lars Nootbaar. Noot has come back from a somewhat long healing process from surgery on his heels… and it’s at a next level for him: in 45 PA, Lars has hit 2 HR, 2 doubles, knocked in 6 runs, and scored 7 times. It sure is fun having this guy back on the team, and watching him now as the elder is wonderful!
At 138 wRC+, Nootbaar is hitting at Burly and Herrera levels! I know he won’t be able to keep that up (but hope he does!), but wow, this lineup is stacked with Lars Nootbaar in it! And let’s keep in mind Nootbaar won’t even turn 30 until next year. Not only is the bottom of the order not a huge liability now, there are 5 well above average hitters in the lineup. That’s fantastic!
And it’s not just the ‘Return of Nootbaar’, the ignition of Blaze Jordan, the return of injured Church, and Jimmy Crooks III; the bench is WAY better with Bryan Torres and Nelson Velazquez. Jose Fermin isn’t too shabby either, hitting around league average. That’s some real depth all of a sudden.
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And so ends the baseball portion of this week’s article. And it is time to talk music over the years of my life. After going through COVID this decade I have been listening to a lot of music of the past, but now, I am focusing on each year going back 50 years. I started with 1975, and now I’m up to 1991.
1991
1991 featured an explosion of the evolution of heavy metal, the big grungey debuts of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ and the masterpiece that is ‘Badmotorfinger’ by Soundgarden, several important and absolutely classic shoegaze albums, and the advancement of hiphop into new creative realms. And more! Next week I will be focusing on that huge heavy metal explosion… this week, all that other good stuff.
- My Bloody Valentine – ‘Loveless’ you probably either love it, hate it, or still have never heard of it, but Loveless by My Bloody Valentine of the UK is absolutely incredible and sounds like nothing else before or after. Channeling punk, pop, psychedelia, noise, and even hiphop influences as per the band leader’s interviews, the notoriously over budget, multiple studio warpage of time and space into sonic art is a capture of guitar innovations, gigantic walls of sound generated by actual walls of amplifiers and oozing with effects pedals. Best heard on vinyl with your head between two big speakers with the sound cranked up. I’m not even so sure it’s their best album but it is absolutely memorable and fantastic and stands on its own planet of sound.
- Mr Bungle – self titled It was pretty tough not to rank this #1 because this album opened a lot of doors into different genres of music for me, and also acted as a weirdo dark comedic concept album recorded impeccably well. The main aspects of this album is how it’s somehow on a major label, it’s from way back in 1991, and it just gets you ready for hearing heavy metal, funk, jazz, ska, experimental music, and more.
- Soundgarden – ‘Badmotorfinger’ perhaps the best grunge album of all time! this or Dirt by AIC. If there is a sound more unmistakenly 90s, I guess it would have to be something like Nevermind because of it’s uber-popularity (which will be covered further down in the list). Perfect album from start to finish. I have retired all of the first three into my album hall of fame, btw, written in past years! We are getting into my high school stomping ground of music.
- Massive Attack – ‘Blue Lines’ Massive Attack’s debut I would file under the very best of trip-hop releases, and among the band’s best albums. This to me is every bit as good as their mega-release ‘Mezzanine’, it’s just a lot different. (my other favorite by Massive Attack is ‘100th Window’). ‘Blue Lines’ shows the roots of the genre, way back in 1991 there wasn’t much else like this. Another big UK release! But forget all that, I would simply call this an all time classic of any genre!
- PRIMUS – ‘Sailing the Seas of Cheese’ rounding out my top 5 is this super fun, genius level musical experience, complete with claymation cover and videos! The musicianship on display here is both of some of the most tightly crafted and the most bizarre. Super creative, artsy, but also dark and heavy and magnificently twisted. I would rank this higher but I honestly listen to ‘Badmotorfinger’ and ‘Blue Lines’ more often these days. Primus is more of a special, cheesy occasion. But also, super necessary.
- Dogfaced Hermans – ‘Mental Blocks For All Ages’ wow has this band gone from the outer reaches of my brain to one of the favorite bands in a really short period of time! I always remembered hearing the name over the years but never bought an album or saw them live. Well now, consider me a big fan. Really cool post-punk music recorded really well and where have you been all my life.
- The Jesus Lizard – ‘Goat’ the Jesus Lizard get even weirder here, and it was either the first or second album I bought from them, while I was still in high school. I’m sure it warped my mind just as much as anything else! Creepy, weird, and brimming with creative rock and punk vibes. They are at their best here just as they are on all of their first 4 albums. David Yow is the nicest unhinged madman you’ll ever meet. Air-tight Steve Albini recording!
- Talk Talk – ‘Laughing Stock’ shout out to the VEB’rs who recommended this band to me! This so happens to be my favorite album by them. It crosses so many styles of music while sounding natural about it, taking music to new places while keeping it chill. I wasn’t expecting to put it high on the list but this is pretty high!
- Sonny Sharock – ‘Ask The Ages’ another big find that I am still getting accustomed to… for fans of jazz and rock! Sharock did the them for Space Ghost Coast to Coast, in case you hadn’t heard. Very uniquely gifted guitarist and the right band to back him up! Instrumental genius.
- SWANS – ‘White Light From the Mouth of Infinity’ goth rock at its best! there is even a song or two that sounds like, triphop? I think so! This sounds nothing like the Swans of the 80s. Music for a new era. A dark introspective masterpiece.
- Del the Funky Homosapien – ‘I Wish My Brother George Was Here’ Del The Funky Homosapien is one of the most gifted rappers and producers of all time! His wordplay is not to be fucked with. And this album is just a bunch of funky awesomeness from a big year in rap music. I have lost track of the amount of times I’ve listened to this one! Been with me since the late 90s on a used CD.
- Gang Starr – ‘Step In The Arena’ Gang Starr is Guru and DJ Premier. If you know, you know. I wasn’t too into hiphop in high school but I remembered years late that some of my friends were into Gang Starr. One of them is no longer with us. He got a little too into the lifestyle. I ended up buying their best of years later, which made me a fan of Guru’s socially conscious lyrics and the top notch production of DJ Premier.
- Organized Konfusion – self titled with Del the funky homosapien, hiphop began to branch out into an “alt hiphop” direction. Organized Konfusion I would throw under the same umbrella with A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul occupying that new territory as well. Organized Konfusion ended up being around for a while, never quite cracking into the mainstream, but they were too cool for that. To sum it up: this is just a damn good party album! An exciting, really fun listen, that if I gave it more of a chance, might move up several spots on this list.
- Main Source – ‘Breaking Atoms’ along the same lines as Organized Konfusion, if you like fun early 1990s hiphop, you need this in your library. Still new to me, and obviously sort of obscure, but I love it.
- Public Enemy – ‘Apocalypse 91… the Enemy Strikes Black’ running out of time here, but Public Enemy and the Bombsquad were still in their prime here! Classic hiphop.
- MC Solaar – ‘MC Solaar – “Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo when I worked at an ad agency my department (the scanning and imaging dept) used to play this album and the one after it all the time! That’s how I got into French rapper MC Solaar. I don’t know French but this music is really freakin cool.
- Nirvana – ‘Nevermind’ and yes I do love this album, and it’s very important along the musical timeline of history… but it’s not my favorite of theirs like at all. It’s a perfect album don’t get me wrong, and it deserves a lot of its legacy, and yep, ahead of its time. But yeah, I liked Bleach and In Utero and maybe even Incesticide more. I think it just may be one of those classic albums I’ve heard too many times, but it’s still good.
- Fishbone – ‘Reality of My Surroundings’ this album was on my bench for when I was sick of hearing everything else. It’s a really really good 90s album, I would recommend it to anyone looking to hear the sound of 1991. I should listen to this one more often, reminds me of being in high school and learning about a bunch of musical styles. Fantastic album, the opening track “Fight The Youth” is THE song to hear. Lots of funk and ska going on here, but mostly it just rocks in an alternative fashion.
- Chapterhouse – ‘Whirlpool’ obviously my 2nd favorite shoegaze album from the important year of 1991. It sounds like a cross between My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, sort of, but they are contemporaries and just didn’t get as famous. This album is truly fantastic, and good! If you like the genre, it’s a must have.
- Dinosaur Jr – ‘Green Mind’ total 90s classic rock here, and put Dinosaur Jr on the map around the country! They toned down their sound a bit here, but to good ends. The songs end up more memorable than previous albums, as good as they were.
- Slowdive – ‘Just For A Day’ another defining shoegazer classic! For those who don’t know the genre: it’s named because of a journalist coining the term, as a lot of the bands would stare at the floor and their pedalboards. It’s at times noisy, psychedelic, post-punk, but Slowdive pushed forward the dreampop nature of it, and this is them at their early stages, already nailing the sound.
- Nomeansno – ‘0+2=1’ oh man this is so good! Punk rock at its best! Maybe this should be higher. It’s growing on me.
- Swervedriver – ‘Deep Seat’ 1990s classic shoegaze album from the big year of 1991! My favorite song is “Rave Down”, getting goosebumps hearing it right now. Driving alt rock of the highest order.
- Rabih Abou-Khalil – ‘Al-Jadida’ as it turns out Middle Eastern jazz is really fucking cool! I would induct this into my jazz hall of fame in a heartbeat.
- Mercury Rev – ‘Yerself is Steam’ I have never given this album enough of a chance but whenever I heard it I recognize its place in music history as a very unique form of art and a very 1991 entry into the psychedelic rock lexicon. Very alternative.
- Honorable Mentions: Ween – ‘The Pod’ I don’t even know what to say about this but, it’s gotta be heard to be believed. The ultimate fucked up stupid drug music, or total genius bedroom recording masterpiece? You decide. De La Soul – ‘De La Soul Is Dead’ one more 1991 classic hiphop masterpiece! A Tribe Called Quest – ‘Low End Theory’ and how could I forget this top tier 1991 hiphop album for the ages! I almost did! wth
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The Cardinals play an afternoon game today. At 1:15pm Kyle Leahy defends his home turf vs the Padres and Griffin Canning (what a name!) who isn’t doing so well this season. Fangraphs gives the Cardinals a 55.4% chance of winning.
