Cardinals news and notes: Wacha, Martinez, and another level in the multiverse

Hey guys, how’s it going? Yadier Molina hit a home run in the World Baseball Classic for Team Puerto Rico. Pretty sweet, huh? Remember how last year, Molina was mediocre offensively in the first half and then awesome in the second half? Well, it seems he’s carried over the second half success while adding power. I’m not saying he’s Mike Trout, to be fair—Mike Trout is an average to above average but not other-worldly defensive center fielder, and Yadier Molina is one of the greatest defensive catchers to ever live. Clearly, they are different.

Anyway, here’s some stuff and things from VEB yesterday.

• I, a person with a weirdly active imagination, considered where players on today’s St. Louis Cardinals would be if Major League Baseball had not begun massive expansion in the early 1960s.
• Have you been following the VEB community projections? Well, of course you have. But if you haven’t, here’s a link to all of them.
• A while back, the red baron wrote about Cardinals prospect Ronnie Williams. Here’s a direct version of his write-up.
• So, you heard of this Carlos Martinez fella? Well, turns out he’s a pitcher for the Cardinals and also he is on the Dominican Republic team at the World Baseball Classic. Seems he’s pretty good, too.
• Josey Curtis wrote about the importance of 2017 for the future of Michael Wacha’s professional baseball career.