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4. St. Louis Cardinals
The Padres were one of the most disappointing teams last year, but the St. Louis Cardinals may have been the biggest letdown of the 2023 season. Surely the Cardinals have to rebound after that awful season, right? Right?!
Like the Padres, the Cardinals have high-end talent in their lineup with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. But their lineup gets the edge over the Padres because it’s more reliable from top to bottom with guys like Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, and Brendan Donovan. Jordan Walker will also be looking to take a leap after an impressive campaign (offensively, at least) last season.
As for their rotation, they added Sonny Gray, who finished second in AL Cy Young voting last season, as well as Kyle Gibson and former (slimmed down) Dodger Lance Lynn. Their rotation has improved from 2023, and with a lineup that solid, it’s just too difficult to imagine a second bad year in a row for the Cardinals.