Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - SHAKEUP: Should The St. Louis Cardinals OVERHAUL The Rotation? When Will Joshua Baez Get Called Up?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Is it time to start making some drastic changes to the rotation and the bullpen to prevent a possible collapse at the beginning of July? This is Locked on Cardinals. You are locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Carlos fans. I am J.D. Haffern. And today's episode brought to you by O'Doo. Great organizations win because operations matter. and that's why you should get O-D-O-D-O-D-com slash locked-on.

Starting point is 00:00:39 That's O-D-O-O-O-O-com slash locked on. On today's show, the return of Nolan Arna out of the Bush Stadium, trade deadline chatter. What are we going to do with Joshua Baez, who's mashing everything in Memphis? And what kind of pitching staff changes need to happen or maybe should happen to keep the boys in this playoff hunt that they're in right now? And to help us get through it all, maybe a big. bigger return than Nolan Aronado coming to Bush Stadium. Thomas Govade is back with us here at Locktown Cardinals. Thomas, how's the vacationing been, buddy? Oh, it's been busy, but good. Good to spend time with family and get out of time for a little bit. Yeah. It's always fun to be

Starting point is 00:01:20 able to just kind of travel around and get away from everyday life. But now you're back and we're going to put you on the hot seat here today. A lot of stuff to talk to you about. And we want to get a fresh perspective because everybody's been hearing me. just jabber on about my thoughts on everything. But what do you think about stuff that is going on with the Cardinals? That's what we want to get to today. Let's start with the pitching staff. Pitching staff, pitching, pitching, pitching.

Starting point is 00:01:47 We know can't win without it. And of the five starters, you've got McGreevy, you got May, you got Palante, you got Leahy and Libertor. Who do you trust the most right now? And if the answer is Andre Palante, can you believe that those words are coming out of your mouth in 2026. I had a feeling he would have a better season than last year.

Starting point is 00:02:09 I mean, it could have gotten any worse. You know where to go about up, right? Yeah, right. I mean, to say that we're almost what? We're getting really close to the halfway point of the season. And he is probably the most consistent starter. I wouldn't say the best probably. Dustin May

Starting point is 00:02:22 would get that nod. But he's been the most consistent. He's given me the least amount of worry. He knows how to stop something before it gets awful and out of hand. That's what he did today. I mean, his pitch count was high, he got a lot of base runners,

Starting point is 00:02:35 but he didn't give up a lot of runs, and that's all you can ask for out of your starter. Yeah, I mean, 13 ground balls, I think it was on Monday night, picks up his ninth win of the season, which is a career high for Andre already, which is, it's amazing. Like, he's in the top, like, 10 in wins this year. And you're right, he has been really, really good.

Starting point is 00:02:58 And I just, I go back to last year, and even in this offseason, I'm like, people don't even want him on this roster anymore. They're like, get him out of this organization. He is trash. And now your most consistent starter. It's just, it's crazy to me how things can change. It is a baseball, man.

Starting point is 00:03:16 It is unbelievable. Now, of those five, which one of them do you trust the least? If Palanté's at the top, Mays up there, McGreevy, I think it kind of boils down to Leahy or Libertore. Which one do you think is the least trust? trustworthy right now. Probably Libert Fort. That was a rough start. And I think it might be recenti biased because he's had a few in a row, but to go 1.2 and give up that many runs, he couldn't even need the innings that we needed to save the bullpen. That's how awful it was.

Starting point is 00:03:46 I'd say it's Libertore. And he's your opening day starter. You don't want to say that. He's the first round lefty that you traded for to save your rotation how many years ago. And it's just not working out for him. Yeah. Well, this is the idea, okay? Because we know how, you know, bullpen pieces are always very volatile. You know, it's why that you do not sign closers and relievers to longer contracts because one year could be amazing.

Starting point is 00:04:12 And the next year, they could be just awful. Look what the Dodgers are paying and getting from Edwin Diaz right now. Like, it's just, it's a very tough business when it comes to paying for bullpen guys. Who do you keep around and who do you get rid of? And you're lucky if you've got guys who are consistently good, because a lot of teams don't have that.

Starting point is 00:04:31 And the Cardinals have had their, they're, their bumpy times with Riley O'Brien, although he gets to save on Monday night. Jojo Romero hasn't been quite as good as we've seen him in the past. Again, up and down. Stanick up and down, you know, it was horrible early on. Then he evened out and now he's given up rockets again. Sphonson, we know, has had to go to the miners to get right. He's been better since he's been back. But we've had to go through the Chris Roycrofts and the Ryan Fernandez is again.

Starting point is 00:04:56 What are your thoughts on this idea? bringing Hunter Dobbins back up to the big leagues, putting them in the rotation, and moving either Leahy or Libby to the bullpen. Thoughts on that and which one would you move if that became the situation? If you're only going with one, I think I'd take Libby out. He excelled in the bullpen a couple years ago. I know Leahy did last year, but you'd like to still give Leahy a little bit more run to see if he can be in the rotation.

Starting point is 00:05:25 Libby's on a year and a half of being in the rotation, and this is what we've seen. I'd go a step further and call up Quinn Matthews as well and put them both back in the bullpen, just to really fortify that. You get some length of those two. It gives you a little bit more depth as far as pitching goes. Yeah, and we know that it's not the easiest thing in the world

Starting point is 00:05:44 to find left-handed bullpen guys that are worth of crap. And here's the other thing, too, they can go more than one inning. Like, you know, if you did move somebody like Libby or you let Quinn get in there, you know, you're talking about guys that can get. you like piggyback with and it can get you three or four innings if need be but also could get you the you know here two innings you know to kind of help ease the suffering of what's going on with the starting rotation and then the bullpen because when you get these liby starts and you get the

Starting point is 00:06:11 one that you got from dust and may the other day like it puts such a strain on the pen and uh there's not a lot of guys back there they can give you a lot of extra innings you know max ratchick been nice to to have him come through uh gordon gressepa's been excellent but um not a lot of guys who give you a lot of multiple endings back there. So it's an interesting idea. And like you said, both Libby and Leahy have been very successful in the bullpen before. Libby was outstanding before they decided to move him to the rotation. And I don't blame them for trying it either.

Starting point is 00:06:43 It's not like that was a stupid move. Is that like he got to give it a shot? I don't blame him whatsoever. But whatever's going on because this month has been terrible for him. Last month wasn't that. I think his ERA was under four in the month of day. He got a lot of strikeouts too. about three or four starts in a row where he was striking everybody, it seemed.

Starting point is 00:07:02 Yeah, it was like nine, 10, Ks. Remember that game against Milwaukee, had the rough first inning, and then it was lights out after that. It's just weird that we can't find the consistency with Matthew Libertor. And it's, you know, it's frustrating everybody. I'm sure he's frustrated. The Cardinals organization is, of course, us as fans are. But let us know in the comments section what you would do.

Starting point is 00:07:21 Like, do you think that's a good idea? Bring Dobbins up and then have a Leahy or Libertore go to the Ben, bring Quinn Matthews up, make both of them go, like Thomas said. Is that something you want to do? Give us a shout in the comments section. Let us know what you guys think. Do you see anybody at Memphis other than Quinn Matthews that you're interested in? I'm still going to be pro Luis Gastilum.

Starting point is 00:07:42 I still want to see him up here. I think it does happen eventually. But is there anybody else that has caught your eye that you've been keeping an eye on? Yeah, I mean, it's Luis Gaston as well. I think Zimmerman starting pitcher might get the nod as well as like a six-man rotation and a long stretch of of stretch of games, but Louise Castle will be the name I'd look out for.

Starting point is 00:08:03 Yeah, he's having a phenomenal run at Memphis right now where he's just been almost unhittable. So you know, Ali was really impressed with him in spring training and didn't know how to say the dude's name. Had no idea who he was, it seemed like, but he was like that change of his nasty, bro. So

Starting point is 00:08:19 I'm anxious to get him up here and see what he can do against the big league pitcher of big league hitters. But we're going to talk about one of his teammates here, just a moment. Joshua Baez. We got trade deadline ideas. What would you do with Joshua Baez if certain things were to happen? How do you want to deploy him in the big leagues? If at all this year, we'll have more of those questions with Thomas Covey. Coming up next on Locktown Cardinals. If you've got a sweet tooth like I do from time to time, you know how tough it is to go out

Starting point is 00:08:53 and find that, that perfect treat without all the sugar. There's plenty of things that are out there that have all the bad stuff in it for you. But what about something that works on those cravings, helps you get through them, but also doesn't have all that sugar. And that's why cotton candy, five-hour energy shot is one of my go-to flavors when it comes to drinking five-hour energy. I love them. It gives you that classic cotton candy taste that you remember as a kid at the ballpark. But with a tasty caffeine boost, zero sugar, which is awesome. It's a quick, easy way to satisfy a sweet craving and just keep things simple. You know, they're delicious, but they're very convenient as well. I mean, look how small these things are. Like, these are not big at all.

Starting point is 00:09:32 It's not like you have to chug one of those huge energy drinks. It's small. It's portable. And when you need a little pick-me-up before work, maybe after the gym or before the gym, it's perfect. It's my go-to when I want something sweet and I don't want to go overboard. So try it yourself. Bring on the sweetness with cotton candy, five-hour energy shots available online right now at five-hourenergy. com or on Amazon. Ed. Ed is way more common than most guys think. Millions of guys have gone. deal with it at some point. And that's exactly why Hems offers a straightforward way to handle it. Hems is going to connect you with licensed health care providers online, giving you access to legitimate ED treatment options from the comfort of your own home. No awkward appointments, no pharmacy lines.

Starting point is 00:10:17 Guys don't want to do that. They just want a straightforward process that makes it easier to take care of yourself. And that's what Hems offers you. The whole process is very simple. You complete a quick online intake, provider reviews, your information. And if treatment is right for you, it's going to ship directly to your door and discrete packaging, which makes the whole experience feel more private and stress-free. They also offer options like Sildenafil, the generic for Viagra at a fraction of the cost, plus other treatments so you can find what works best for you. To get simple online access to personalized affordable care for ED, for hair loss, weight loss, and more, visit Hems.com slash locked on MLB. That's Hymns.com slash locked on MLB for your free online visit. Hems.com slash locked on MLB.

Starting point is 00:11:00 prescription required. See website for details and important safety information. So then it's the generic version of Viagra. Biagra is a registered trademark of Viatros, specialty LLC. Hems is not affiliated with or endorsed by Vietras. Thanks again for making Lockton, on Cardinals, your first list of the day. Thank you for making Lockdown on the number one sports podcast network. Get your daily Cardinals coverage completely ad free.

Starting point is 00:11:28 By joining the every day or club, you can start your seven day free trial right now, get closer to the team without all the interruptions. Click the link in the show notes or go to Lockdown STL Cardinals. that supercast.com to claim your free trial. Thomas Govane from Redmond Rance.com. Kind of enough to join us here after a night where the Cardinals ended up winning the ball game by a score of three to two. Another tight one, but they pull out the W, so that's good news. The Cardinals are in an interesting spot, Thomas, with the success that they found this year.

Starting point is 00:11:57 You know, nobody really thought it was going to happen, but they've got success now, but they still have those long-term goals that they want to see through so that they can win consistently year after year, kind of like the Cardinals of old used to do. But there are some in the fan base that feel that, hey, you know, you're kind of doing this team dirty and a disservice if you don't do something to add to this team at the trade deadline to help them complete the goal of reaching the playoffs, which is supposed to be the ultimate goal each and every season. Which side of this are you on right now?

Starting point is 00:12:30 Because it's a difficult place to be because you didn't expect it to be like this. So now that we're here, what do you do, Thomas? Yeah, the more of this has gone on, I think the weekend series against the Royals is pretty fresh in my mind still. I think it's got to be a middle path and leaning more towards selling. You've got to sell, you've got to trade Dustin May to see what you can get back. You've got to see what Lars New Park could fetch in a trade, your relievers, any one of them.

Starting point is 00:12:57 But then I also think you need to do some sort of goodwill with the fan base. I've seen Sunny Gray tossed out by Bob Knightingale as a potential guy, come back to St. Louis. I've seen a lot of Michael Walker chatter. I think there's got to be some sort of bone you can throw to the fans of we sold. Look at all of these draft picks we just got a month ago, but we're also giving you this bone of a legitimate starting pitcher to fill that void. Our farm system's deep enough. We have all of those picks in the first 86 this year. You could stomach trading a couple of 10 to 20 ranked prospects in the system, maybe one top 10 guy to get a starting pitcher to backfill

Starting point is 00:13:35 and then see what Dustin May can get you on the open market. I think it's going to be something in the middle like that. I don't think we're going to go for a superstar, however much I would love Joe Ryan or Byron Buxton or Logan Webb. I don't think it's going to be that. I would love it, but I think we're leaning more towards the selling side. Yeah, I agree with you.

Starting point is 00:13:52 You brought up a couple of the names there with Dustin May and Lars Newpar that you would think would have significant value out there, you know, not the Dust of May we saw in Kansas City. But the other guy that we've seen for most of his run since those first two starts of the season, I think, yeah, I think there would be teams that are interested in them. Plus bullpen pieces, Riley O'Brien, Jojo Romero, Ryan Stanick. I mean, I know we make fun of some of these guys from time to time, but they still have some value.

Starting point is 00:14:21 I mean, they're part of a bullpen and a team that it is winning, you know? It's just us as Cardle fans, we expect more out of some of these guys. And anytime they fail, we're like, oh, you're garbage. that here. But they might fetch you something out there on the trade market at some point. Of the guys that I just listed, say May, O'Brien, Romero, Newt, Stannick, list them in order from most likely to least likely to get dealt. Who do you think is at the top of the list that is probably out the door? Dustin May, probably. I mean, the contract they signed into is a, I'm getting traded at the deadline contract. It just screamed to that for the moment it occurred. And,

Starting point is 00:15:02 And everything he said was I'm coming here to get back on track. He's kind of changed his tone a little bit these last couple of starts. So I think Dustin made the top, Romero, after that, Stanick, Newt Bar, and then Riley O'Brien. I don't think O'Brien's value is as high as we might like it to be. And I think Newt Bar is only getting traded if the offer is 1.3 times whatever X. Like they need to get blown out from the offer for a large new bar. otherwise they'll just reevaluate in the offseason what they can do with them amidst all the other CBA junk that's going to be going on.

Starting point is 00:15:36 I am curious what Newport is worth is to other teams. We know that this organization loved him. We know the fans love him. He's great, dude. You like him when he's on the field. That's been the problem with him is that he's constantly getting banged up. We'll see these flashes where he goes on a tear for like two weeks. And like, here's that guy that we saw all the analytics, right?

Starting point is 00:15:59 And look at it, look at his baseball's a pop page. It's crazy. And then he gets hurt and he's gone for two and a half weeks, three weeks again. And everything starts over. So I don't know. He is a carousel that I said in the off season. I was like, I'm cool with getting off this carousel with Lars Neup Bar. If we can keep him healthy and we can move him at the deadline,

Starting point is 00:16:18 you've got a guy by the name of Joshua Baez who is waiting in the wings at Memphis that is ready to start taking on major league pitching. And you're in a spot where. you can commit to him being an everyday player, like because the expectations here are not that like his World Series or bust. And you can do that. I mean, he's murdering the ball at Memphis. He's just unleashing the fury on everybody down there. In your opinion, how soon should he come up and how would you use him in St. Louis

Starting point is 00:16:51 if and when he does get called up? Like what do you see his, his like job being? Like, how do you think the Cardinals would deploy him? I think it'll be very similar to Mason win a couple years ago. Were you given those 130 at-bats? He stays in that rookie threshold still for next year. If there's a lockout next year, he's on the 40-man roster, so he can't do any training or minor league games or things like that.

Starting point is 00:17:15 He needs to get some real game action at some point. So I would expect a September call up for him, get him 25 games, get him 130 plate appearances, something around there, and then maintain his rookie eligibility for next year. and years beyond that. Yeah, smart, smart. I didn't think about that. Yeah, because if you burn it,

Starting point is 00:17:36 then he's got to sit around and do nothing if there's no season where... I think the players get a year of service time as well next year. I could be wrong. Someone double-checked me on that. But I think it still counts as a year of service time as well. Okay. All right. I like that.

Starting point is 00:17:52 Using your brain there. See, the big brain on Thomas, man. This is why he's here. And this is why I need to read his stuff at Redbird Rance. dot com he knows what he's talking about um where do you like him playing when he gets brought up to try center field or do you think uh you know left field obviously jordan's out in right field so you're moving in but uh do you like him in center or left or just kind of like hey you know mix and match whatever he needs to do i put him in a corner there's not as much pressure then all he really needs

Starting point is 00:18:19 to think about is throwing bullets on doubles and then hitting doubles and home runs himself he doesn't need to worry about figuring out the grass and and cover all that ground from Sutterfield. Also, Victor Scott the second, I think, is close to an 800 OPS and AAA. So maybe he's found something too. We'll call them both up. We'll see, because that's kind of the thing, too, is if you go trade deadline and you wait to bring Valles up because you have a big brain and you're not going to waste him, you would wait until after the trade deadline and you could have moved new by that point.

Starting point is 00:18:53 And maybe a field is wide open because it would be a for mean, belaz, has kind of, you know, platoon out there. And you'd be able to, you know, give him the every day of bats. You'd be able to. Brian Torres, you could throw him out there too. Yeah, yeah, to give you that extra lefty bat again. So, yeah, there's some options there. And that's why, you know, again, Newt feels expendable to me.

Starting point is 00:19:20 And I'm just curious what his worth will be to other teams around the league. So we'll see. We'll see. Um, Nolan are not a return to Bush Stadium on Monday night. We're going to talk about the reaction of the crowd to him coming back. And we're also going to answer some questions from fans. And when I say, we're going to, I mean, Thomas is going to. He is going to answer your questions.

Starting point is 00:19:40 I am not on the hot seat tonight. It's all about Thomas Covey for Redwood Rants.com. We'll get into all of that. Coming up next on Lockedown Carls. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together. One app for accounting, another for inbox. inventory, another for sales. And somehow none of them ever talk to each other.

Starting point is 00:20:06 And that's where Odu comes in. Odu is an all-in-one business management software that's going to bring every part of your business together in one powerful platform, from sales and accounting to inventory and marketing. Everything works in one place, helping your team move faster, stay organized, to focus on growing the business instead of managing software. The best organizations know that success, it's not just about talent, it's about having everyone, working toward the same goal, and that's true in sports just like it is in business. That's one thing that stood out about the Cardinals this year. They've got everyone pointed in the right direction.

Starting point is 00:20:38 There's not where one person thinks that they should be doing one thing and the other these guys should be playing and those guys should be called up. They're all together. It's all in unison so far this year. And it's worked beautifully. Great organizations win because operations matter. And that's why you should get O-D-D-O-D.com. slash locked on. That's O, D-O-O-O-com slash locked on. Thanks again for making a lockdown.

Starting point is 00:21:10 Carlots first listed of the day. Thank you for making it locked on the number one sports podcast network. A cool moment during Monday's game, Thomas. Nolan Aronado comes to Bush for the first time since getting traded this off season. We never got, we kind of got to say goodbye to him when he left the field at the end of last season, but there was like 200 people to say it was terrible. And at least there were more people there tonight, but it's a, you know, it's a weeknight, to Monday night. It's too bad it wasn't like a Friday or a Saturday for him, but he got a solid applause from the fans and well-deserved. I was a huge Aronado fan. Still am, still love the guy. When you look back at his time at St. Louis, St. Louis, what comes to mind? What do you think

Starting point is 00:21:48 about when you think about the Nolan Aronado era of St. Louis Cardle's baseball? Man, it could have been better. That's, I mean, that's what it comes down to. He had him and Goldschmidt. They both had career years in 2022. It just, there's too many holes in the pitching side to get through it. I love seeing him. He was always one of my favorite players. And to see that pull swing power and the glove at third base, it's, I grew up with Scott Rowland and Jim Edmont. Like, it's Scott Rowling all over again. And so it's just wonderful, yeah, it's wonderful memories. It was great to see him play. Him in a Diamondbacks uniform. I just watched that video with the standing ovation. It just doesn't look right. You know, like you look at it. You're like,

Starting point is 00:22:26 oh, something's wrong here. Yeah, it's a little weird. And it's funny because, like, I know his numbers don't look great right now, but until this past month of June, like, he was actually having a really good season and he's cooled off tremendously here in June. But there were games where he was like batting cleanup again for the Diamondbacks where like we thought he was going to go there and be kind of like a six, seven kind of. Oh my gosh, he just did it, didn't I? Six. No, no, no, no. Got a guy in the lineup. And he's become a really important piece to a team that still believes that they have a chance to make the playoffs this year. Do you think he gets a red jacket one day in St. Louis, Nolan Aronado.

Starting point is 00:23:03 Ooh, that's tough. He didn't have the duration that a lot of red jacket guys have. Right. It was like two good, like two really good years and then one pretty good year. And then he's got the nominations, All Stars and Cold Gloves. I think he'd get one. He'd have to get an easy group to go in with. But I mean, I'd give him one person. Give everybody Red Jack as far as I'm concerned. I know. Because some of them like, even their time not in St. Louis. you got to give him credit for that because I feel like the same way with Goldie where he had the one MVP season. He was pretty darn good with the Cardinals, but you think about him as a Diamondback mostly.

Starting point is 00:23:40 And you're like, is he a Cardinal Hall of Fame? But it kind of like both of them. It always felt like they should have been Cardinals. Like there's those guys you look around the league. You're like, you should be a Cardinal. And they always felt like that with both them. Yeah, I agree. I would vote for him.

Starting point is 00:23:55 I loved him. It was just unfortunate that Father Time got his hands on him this early. because I thought he was still going to be really good for another couple of seasons. And to see it, you know, go the way it did so quickly. It was just, it was almost shocking because you're like, what the hell just happened? Like, I'm a man, just hit 30 bombs and like, and then he went to 26. And then it was like 15. You're like, what, whoa, whoa, what's going on?

Starting point is 00:24:18 He'd be fifth on the team right now in home runs, though. So we'll take that. Yeah, now. How many Cardinals do you think, and this is questions from some of the guys in the comments, how many Cardinals do you think should be starting in the All-Star game and how many will actually make it to the All-Star game? Should be probably zero. We're not going to win anything.

Starting point is 00:24:43 Fan vote, we're screwed. It's not going to happen. Should be probably zero. National League Outfield's pretty stacked. You look at, yeah, I mean, Andy Pahey's Corbyn Carroll's going off. I hate to say this. PCA is probably a top five. I know, I know, I know.

Starting point is 00:25:01 I'd love to see Jordan Walker out there starting. I think he'll get the nod. So that's one to attend. I think JJ Weatherholt should. He won't get the recognition. I would imagine he might be a coach pick, especially if Ollie's whispering in the ear of Dave Roberts. Like, look at this guy, go see what he's doing.

Starting point is 00:25:19 So I'll give us two players plus Ollie, three Cardinals in attendance, no starters. I'll just be honest. When I've been voting at MLB.com, I've been putting JJ Burley and Walker in every time. Yeah, Herrera. Just because I want Burley to be recognized for how good of a season he's having, even though he's got no name recognition across the league.

Starting point is 00:25:39 And I know that's a problem. Jordan Walker, I would picking because I love Corbyn Carroll. He's one of my guys. So I've been picking him a lot to go with Jordan as well as if you go look at Juan Soto's numbers. It's insane. Yeah. That he really talks about him as much, even though, because I know them that stink. But also James Wood in Washington deserves to be here.

Starting point is 00:25:57 Yes. Yeah. It's just there's a lot, like you mentioned, there's a lot of dudes. in the NL outfield that are deserve a spot this year. And I feel like Jordan's going to get, I think he's going to make it

Starting point is 00:26:09 because he's going to be an alternate or something, but he's going to get pinched in the fan vote because he's not in the big city or anything. If Nolan Gorman rediscovered his swing and starts mashing at Memphis, do you give him another chance to get his job back? Or do you take that and try to move him? That second part I didn't expect.

Starting point is 00:26:29 He's not at Memphis right now. He's down in the... The complex swings in. And based on what I've heard, but I've seen from previous guys who've done that same thing, I have a lot of hopes that he will come back. I would probably,

Starting point is 00:26:43 I don't know, because we need a third basement. And if he can hit, I think I'd trade. Like, if his value's actually there, he comes back, he gets a really hot month.

Starting point is 00:26:50 He hits those seven home runs in a month that he's possible doing. I think I'd see what the trade market is for him. Okay. All right. Because the thing I thought about was like, you know, Yvonne's catching more.

Starting point is 00:27:03 He could be a good D.H. Because I don't know why you send Blaze Jordan back the way he's been playing as impressive as he's been. You know, the offense might cool off a little bit more, but he's been pretty productive in his first couple weeks here. And I've been really happy with the glove at third base. I haven't seen a lot of issues or range issues. Sure, there's going to be a couple here and there,

Starting point is 00:27:21 but I mean, not everybody's Nolan or not. So I'm like, you know, get on him for that. Who is your team MVP? J.J. Weatherhole, Jordan Walker, or Alec Burleson? Hmm. Probably Jordan Walker. Alec Burleson is not far behind, though. And if we're taking the whole approach,

Starting point is 00:27:41 J.J. Weatherhole is also not very far behind. I'd say Jordan Walker. He's cooled off a little bit the last week, but offensively, by far, top 10 player for the National League, I think. And then his defense is really strong. I love seeing his arm out there. And I think you can see runners sweating when the ball,

Starting point is 00:27:59 like a single out to the right field, guy coming home from second, I think they're sweating. I'd go Jordan Walker. His turnaround, not only at the play, just a whole game defensively too. He just,

Starting point is 00:28:10 all the confidence in the world now. Stolen bases too. Yeah, like he's been so impressive. I tend to argue and tend, I go towards JJ as the, as the MVP right now, just the way he's locked down second base.

Starting point is 00:28:24 He's been that lead off guy at the top, the order that they've sorely needed. It's got a little bit of pop. We haven't seen that since the Matt Carpenter years. And I just, I love JJ. I want to hug him. I think he's amazing. That's a good comp.

Starting point is 00:28:38 I never thought about Matt Carpenter and JJ. I like that. Yeah, just the, just the power, the ability to hit the long ball out of that number one spot. They're just, you know, you don't see it quite that often for the cardals. And you had the one saucy here with carp where it was just like insane. Ranking from one to 10, 10 being the highest, how would you rank? Ali Marmel's job as manager this year because there are still a lot of fans that chirp in my comments that he is still the problem and if they had somebody better, that they would be even

Starting point is 00:29:11 better team overall. I'd like going to other fan bases, social media bubbles and seeing what they think about every fan base says the same thing about a manager's handling of a bullpen. They all say the same thing. I would put this really good. And if that's your only complaint against Ali, then I don't think there's much ground for complaint. You know, like, so I'd give him a seven out of a 10. He seems to manage the clubhouse very well. He has brought on an excellent coaching staff, which is a part of being the manager of a team.

Starting point is 00:29:41 I think he's handled the media a lot better. His answers are defensible. He's a very intelligent man as well. And he also seems really lighthearted. It's like from a personality standpoint. I don't know who else I would, I would want to see out there. Yeah. And then you mentioned that coaching staff thing.

Starting point is 00:29:55 Like people have to want to. be around him every day and coach with him every day because, I mean, you're just constantly next to each other. So that says something about the man that Ali is. And I, I always just, you know, I see these comments and I'm just like, man, you guys, I don't know who you think that would come in here and do a better job than what Ali's doing right now. I just, some people just will never give him credit no matter how good their record is. So whatever, that's a, that's a tough life to live. That's how you're going to be. Last question, does John Moseilock deserve any credit? for this season in your eyes.

Starting point is 00:30:30 Yeah, about a month to go, I wrote that he does deserve credit. Yeah, no. Yeah, some credit. I'd love to hear how responsible he was for the acquisitions at last year's deadline. Like the prospect we were getting back, I want to know if that was how I'm calling the shots or if it was John or both in conjunction. The drafted players that we have now that are running the team, Burley, Walker, Weatherhole fell into our lap.

Starting point is 00:30:54 You'd be a fool to not take him. But the rest of them, that's all John Moseilock and Randy for us. So I think that he's got some grounds 5%. But like, he can't just shove him to the side. Yeah. Yeah. It was just, it took a little time for some of these guys to blossom. You know, if Walker was doing what Walker is doing this year two years ago, you know, how upset are people at John Moseilac? You know, it's, it's he probably still has a job, honestly. He might. He might because they would be winning more games if Jordan had been this guy with

Starting point is 00:31:27 Arnado and Goldie and all these other guys that were still around them, you know, it's, uh, that's what they were missing was just a few other pieces. But, uh, this is just didn't happen. It didn't happen. And we moved on and, uh, I think everybody's happier for it. So all right, guys, thanks for making a lockdown cardinals first list. Every day, you haven't already given us follow on X at L1 underscore Cardinals. TikTok Instagram and Lockdown Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:31:48 You can like, subscribe on YouTube, help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. Thomas, you can read his work at redbird rants.com. You cannot find him on Twitter right now because. He got hacked like a lot of people have been hacked in the recent weeks. So whenever he gets it back up, I'm sure we'll post it and let you get back into, you know, being able to converse with Thomas on the X. If you never miss an episode, we encourage you to join that every day or club. Head to Lockedon, STL cardinals.

Starting point is 00:32:17 That supercast.com to join the club. For those of you on video, we send you to the first ever 24-7 national lockdown podcast network YouTube channel on audio. Make sure your second listen is locked on MLB. You guys are the best fans of baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Locked on Cardinals. Thomas, thank you as always, brother. Thank you.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - SHAKEUP: Should The St. Louis Cardinals OVERHAUL The Rotation? When Will Joshua Baez Get Called Up?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.