St. Louis Cardinals 2016 Season Preview

Offseason Additions: Brayan Pena, Jedd Gyorko, Mike Leake, Seung-Hwan Oh, Jayson Aquino, Jeremy Hefner, Deck McGuire, J. C. Sulbaran, Juan González, Carlos Peguero, Eric Fryer

Offseason Subtractions: Jason Heyward, Jon Jay, Peter Bourjos, Mark Reynolds, Pete Kozma, Tony Cruz, John Lackey, Matt Belisle, Steve Cishek, Carlos Villanueva

Point team prediction: 90-95 wins, 1st place.  Last season they won 100 games, that was with lots of injuries, including Adam Wainwright missing a lot of the season. At times you wonder why they won 100 games, if you look at how many injuries they had. A lot of it was because they had depth, which they still have. Are they a better team that last season? That's debatable. A lot because the team is similar to last season, with a few upgrades. Stephen Piscotty replaces Heyward in right field, he could put up the same numbers or better with less of a salary. Bench should have more power than last season's bench did.  

Starting rotation: Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Mike Leake, Carlos Martinez, Jaime Garcia

Bullpen: Trevor Rosenthal, Seung-Hwan Oh, Jonathan Broxton, Jordan Walden, Seth Maness, Kevin Siegrist

As of right now one bullpen spot in open, that's assuming Walden is healthy and ready to go on Opening Day. If not then someone else like, Sam Tuivailala could make the team. The Cardinals need a second lefty too. That seems like it will be Tyler Lyons, he's out of options. Marco Gonzales still has options, along with Tim Cooney and they can be in Memphis starting in case an injury happens.

Lineup (would be nice to see the Cardinals try this):

1. Kolten Wong, 2B
2. Stephen Piscotty, RF
3. Matt Carpenter, 3B
4. Matt Holliday, LF
5. Randal Grichuk, CF
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Brandon Moss, 1B
8. Yadier Molina, C
9. pitcher

Carpenter has become a power hitter, and the Cardinals best hitter. Usually, the best hitter on a team hits third. That could help give the Cardinals more offense too.

Bench:

Brayan Pena, Matt Adams, Jedd Gyorko, Tommy Pham

One bench spot is open too. Will that be Aledmys Diaz or Greg Garcia? It will be Diaz, if he's able to show he's ready and picks up where he left off in Memphis last season.

Fantasy Stud: Stephen Piscotty

He ended up being one of the Cardinals best hitters last season after being called up in July. He improved on hitting too, which is was already petty good at doing. He was able to drive in runs, and be a spark in the Cardinals offense.

Prospects who could be up at some point during the season: SP Alex Reyes (after his 40 games remaining on his suspension), LHP Dean Kiekhefer, OF Charlie Tilson, OF Anthony Garcia