The defending National League champion St. Louis Cardinals entered spring training with very few position battles. Manager Mike Matheny has a lineup full of consistent, proven players at almost every position.
Predicting the lineup for the team is not entirely difficult, though there are a few positions that will remain in flux. Players may fill a few different lineup spots depending on other starters that day or the opponent’s starting pitcher. It is a popular subject this time of year, as evidenced by the United Cardinal Bloggers and their recent responses to a roundtable question posed by Ben Chambers of The View From Here asking them to predict the lineup themselves.
Ultimately, the lineup will not vary greatly. The impressive part may be just how solid the lineup is every day.
The best way to look at the lineup may be to break it down into pieces. The leadoff spot, the “two-hole”, the middle of the order and the bottom of the order. Looking at each one individually will give a good examination of just what the Cardinals have to offer in 2014.
All statistics are from Baseball-Reference unless otherwise noted.