FanPost

Best and Worst Case Scenarios, by position

This week, I've been looking at what I think will be the best and worst case scenarios at each position for the St. Louis Cardinals. I tried to avoid just going with things like "All the stars get injured" because that's the worst case scenario for every team. That being said, I will start us off with one of those...(lame, I know.)

Catcher

Worst case - Molina goes down for an extended period of time.

Best case - Molina has another MVP caliber season and Cruz starts to hit along with his fantastic preparation behind the plate and with the pitching staff as the reserve catcher.

First Base

Worst case - Adams can't hit left-handed pitching at the MLB level.

Best case - Adams mashes just like he did in the minors and plays defense like he did in the playoffs.

Second Base

Worst case - Wong doesn't adjust to MLB pitching and Ellis starts to age like an older second baseman usually does.

Best case - Wong hits like he did in the minors and leaves Ellis to be a backup infielder and occasional starter at 2B against lefties only.

Third Base

Worst case - Carpenter doesn't have the arm to play third as well as second (a stretch as he was a third baseman until last winter) and his bat comes back down to Earth more than just "a bit."

Best case - Carpenter hits like he did last year and is even more comfortable on defense at his "natural position."

Shortstop

Worst case - Peralta is off PEDs and plays like they were the thing making him an above average SS.

Best case - Peralta is the same as the last few years' mean for him.

Left Field

Worst case - Holliday turns 34 and actually plays like he should be declining.

Best case - Holliday keeps on hitting the ball as hard as anyone ever in the game.

Center Field

Worst case - Jay doesn't BABIP well and Bourjos doesn't come back well from his wrist injury.

Best case - Bourjos hits like last year's healthy portion of the year. Jay comes in hungry for playing time.

Right Field

Worst case - Craig doesn't regain his power hitting and doesn't have a RISP AVG of approximately 4,000 (slightly hyperbole)

Best case - Craig regains his power hitting and continues to be "clutch"

Starting pitching

Worst case - Sophomore slumps from Miller/Wacha/Martinez (if starter)

Best case - Healthy and improving

Relief Pitching

Worst case - Motte isn't the same post-injury and secondary relievers like Maness and Siegrist completely lose their magic from last year.

Best case - Healthy and improving