The Cardinals face one of the best rotations in the league.
The St. Louis Cardinals will host the Seattle Mariners for three games this weekend. At first glance, the Mariners are about as evenly matched with the Cardinals as you could find; their record is 71-70 compared to the Cardinals 71-69, they have a 98 team wRC+ compared to the Cardinals 97, but then you get to pitching, particularly the rotations. The Mariners, at least by FIP and ERA, are one of, if not the best rotations in baseball. As an entire pitching staff, they have second lowest team FIP in baseball with a 3.76 and the lowest team ERA at 3.53. They have some of the best starters in the league in these stats and though the strikeout numbers are not eye-popping, this is a rotation that rarely issues walks. Their rotation’s walk rate is the lowest in the league at 6.4%.
Here is just who in that rotation the Cardinals have to look forward to…
Matchups:
Friday, September 6 at 7:15 pm CT: Bryce Miller vs. Erick Fedde
Miller 2024: 155 1⁄3 innings, 3.30 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 24% K Rate, 5.9% BB Rate
Arsenal per Baseball Savant: Four Seamer (42.8%) Sinker (17.5%) Split Finger (16.6%) Sweeper (9.0%) Slider (8.1%) Knuckle Curve (4.0%) Cutter (2.0%)
Saturday, September 7 at 6:15 pm CT: Logan Gilbert vs. Kyle Gibson
Gilbert 2024: 177 2⁄3 innings, 3.19 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 26.5% K Rate, 4.7% BB Rate
Arsenal per Baseball Savant: Four Seamer (31.8%) Slider (31.7%) Split Finger (13.2%) Cutter (11.8%) Curveball (10.7%) Sinker (0.8%)
Sunday, September 8 at 1:15 pm CT: Luis Castillo vs. Miles Mikolas
Castillo 2024: 172 1⁄3 innings, 3.60 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 24.4% K Rate, 6.5% Walk Rate
Arsenal Per Baseball Savant: Four Seamer (45.6%) Slider (22.3%) Sinker (17.8%) Changeup (14.4%)