St. Louis Cardinals Biggest 2027 Challenge? Managing Expectations

I think it's safe to say that most of us were pleasantly surprised by the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals. The results of a poll that I shared after the final game of the season seems to back that up as a vast majority gave the team a B grade or better for the 2026 season.

Only 7% of those who voted gave the Cardinals a grade less than C for the 2026 season. Why? I think most of us had a realistic understanding that the roster would be full of young players being given the opportunity to either prove they belong or proving they don't. Along the way, we saw a remarkable comeback season from Jordan Walker including an iconic and unexpected Home Run Derby victory. We also saw JJ Wetherholt establish himself as one of the game's best defensive second basemen with a big potential offensive upside. Alec Burleson muscled up and led the league in RBI's and Joshua Baez had one of the greatest Major League debuts with his 3 home run introduction against the Cubs. The late season appearance of Leo Bernal had many of us believing we were witnessing the new St. Louis Cardinals catcher for years to come.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses, though. Nolan Gorman regressed and may very well be on his way out of the organization. Matthew Liberatore struggled. The bullpen was a train wreck during the second half of the season. While Jordan Walker's season was a positive, there are legitimate concerns about his swing decisions late in the season starting to resemble 2025. However, all things considered I think that most of us felt like the Cardinals season went at least slightly better than we expected. When all was said and done, a 77-85 record wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.