NL Central: Lineup shifts are looming

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals haven’t had the turnaround they were hoping for in 2024. While it’s impossible to pin all of the team’s failures on one player, Paul Goldschmidt (1B, STL) certainly has to shoulder plenty of the blame. His falloff has been significant, as his contact rate has dropped from 72 percent in 2023 to 65 percent so far this season. Even when he has made contact, his barrel rate is just 4.3 percent, nearly a third of his rate last season.  

His struggles were thrust into the spotlight this week when he was out of the lineup both Wednesday and Thursday, specifically in an effort to get him on track. In two games since his return (Friday and Saturday), he’s gone 1-for-9 with four strikeouts (he did homer...

Almost!

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