Countdown to Opening Day #5 St. Louis Cardinals

By Andrew Marcus
Sportswriter for Lansdale Reporter

Follow me on Twitter @amarcus515

#5 St. Louis Cardinals: Home grown Cards to capture crown 

PROJECTED LINEUP
3B Matt Carpenter
C Yadier Molina
LF Matt Holliday
RF Allen Craig
SS Jhonny Perlata
1B Matt Adams
2B Kolten Wong
CF Peter Bourjos

PROJECTED ROTATION
Adam Wainwright
Lance Lynn
Shelby Miller
Michael Wacha
Joe Kelly

PROJECTED BULLPEN

Closer: Trevor Rosenthal

Set-up: Carlos Martinez

Top Prospect: Oscar Tavares (OF)

There has to be some luck involved, but the Cardinals can't miss these days when it comes to home grown talent. When a player gets the call to St. Louis I just assume they are going to immediately contribute. I cannot even remember that last failed prospect. Maybe you can count David Freese, who never put together

Matt Holliday

a full regular season, but he had a pretty good postseason. If you recall he won World Series and NLCS MVP. So, that is as close they have come in recent years to a miss - a World Series MVP they shipped out of town this season.
Up and down the lineup this season are players, young players, ready to help the Cards capture another division title. Their closer, all five projected starters, and five of the eight every day players. Matt Holliday is the one big free agent and he is as solid as they come producing year in and year out now for almost a decade.
Of course Oscar Taveras still waits for his turn in Triple-A. If he can get healthy everyone, as do I, full expects him to crush major league pitching right away. Never count out the Cardinals - they have hidden gems waiting in the wings at all times.

Yadier Molina

CALL ME MR. SUNSHINE - The lineup is full of professional hitters. They get on base and drive runners in when they have the chance. The Cardinals finish with four 100 runs guys in Carpenter, Molina, Holliday, Craig. Molina also does a hell of a job with a pitching staff that is learning as they go and the combination of offense and defense by the backstop is why he is a perennial MVP candidate now.

REAL TALK - Nobody handles an injury like the Cardinals organization. When other teams hopes and dreams go down the drain because of big injuries, the Redbirds always seem to have an answer. My days of doubting this team are long gone. They are eight or nine deep in starting pitchers and while they may not win the World Series every season, they are always giving themselves the best chance to do so.

Breakout: Allen Craig (1B/OF)

Bust: Matt Carpenter (3B)

Fantasy Baseball Sleeper: Joe Kelly (SP)

LAST YEAR'S RECORD: 97-65 (1st in NL Central)

PROJECTED 2013 FINISH: 93-69 (1st in NL Central)

**Check back tomorrow for the Boston Red Sox*