The primary-half MVP for the upstart Cardinals is …

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The Cardinals have reached — handed, truly — the midpoint of their season and, a lot to the shock of everybody (not least of which the workforce itself), they’re firmly within the playoff chase. Regardless of how this season seems, and regardless of how the workforce acts (or doesn’t act) main as much as the Aug. 3 Commerce Deadline, that is an unqualified success. The Cardinals are significantly better, a lot quicker, than anybody might have imagined.

This type of success has many dad and mom: There isn’t a one participant who has elevated the workforce thus far. However that shouldn’t cease us from attempting to attempt to discover a workforce MVP from the primary half.

Beneath is a countdown of the highest seven candidates, however first …

Honorable Mentions: Nathan Church, José Fermín, Dustin Might, Andre Pallante, George Soriano

Church has confirmed himself a possible lineup mainstay, a terrific defensive middle fielder with pop. Fermín’s versatility has given supervisor Oliver Marmol appreciable choices. Might has been up and down however has proven the best ceiling of any starter. Pallante was the hardest minimize from these prime seven and should have turned his profession round. And Soriano has turn out to be maybe the workforce’s most dependable setup reliever.

7. SS Masyn Winn
The Cardinals’ greatest problem with their pitching is their lack of strikeout stuff, notably from their rotation. They’ve thus been compelled to depend on their protection by retaining the ball down and letting the infielders handle the remainder. Winn, a Platinum Glove Award winner, is the middle of that as among the best shortstops within the sport and a safety blanket for any pitcher who can maintain the ball down.

The bat hasn’t fully come round the best way the Cardinals may need hoped, however he has proven enchancment and has busted out to a blistering begin in July. Winn has been compelled to be a veteran chief on this younger workforce regardless of being simply 24, and he’s starting to very a lot look the half.

6. RP Riley O’Brien
O’Brien regarded like a Mason Miller-esque dominant drive in April earlier than wobbling a bit in elements of each Might and June, however for the final fortnight, he has returned to type. At his greatest, he appears to be like like a pitcher who has discovered, on the age of 31, the components that had eluded him earlier in his profession.

That is an electrical arm with generally overpowering motion. O’Brien is tied for second within the Nationwide League in saves and has been the fulcrum round which the remainder of the bullpen has pivoted. The Playing cards are usually not at present within the race with out him.

5. C Iván Herrera
The Cardinals have lengthy been enamored with Herrera’s uncooked energy, and whereas that has stayed largely regular this yr, the main enchancment has been in his potential to get on base. Out of the pivotal two-hole, Herrera has raised his OBP by 20 factors from final yr and, actually, leads the Majors in hit-by-pitches; he’s one of many foremost causes Jordan Walker is main the NL in RBIs.

Herrera has all the time stored his place within the catching rotation, and whereas he’s nonetheless not throwing anyone out, he has confirmed to be a dependable backstop for Cardinals pitchers, who more and more belief him. You’d prefer to see a little bit bit extra energy productiveness; you surprise if a consolidation of the on-base and the slugging is coming.

4. SP Michael McGreevy
Positive, the underlying numbers say that he mustn’t have a 3.12 ERA. However these underlying numbers have been saying that for some time, and but he retains having an increasing number of success. McGreevy has been the Cardinals’ most constant starter — no small feat on a workforce that has had solely seven pitchers make a begin this yr — and he has been in a position to frequently maintain batters off-balance along with his vast assortment of pitches.

If McGreevy can preserve that 3.12 determine within the second half, he would end with the bottom ERA by a Cardinals certified starter since Adam Wainwright’s 3.01 in 2021. Who noticed that coming?

3. 1B Alec Burleson
The Cardinals knew what that they had in Burleson after his breakthrough season in 2025. However he nonetheless had a lot to show, notably whether or not he (one of many “older” Cardinals regulars) was one of many gamers they’d be constructing round. That’s nonetheless up within the air, one supposes, however Burleson has solely gotten higher this yr. That’s particularly true within the energy division: He’s effectively on tempo to zoom previous his profession excessive of 21 homers, and he hasn’t sacrificed his bat-to-ball expertise to take action.

And critically: Did anybody on the earth assume Burleson can be one of many prime RBI males in Baseball this yr?

2. 2B JJ Wetherholt
He homered in his MLB debut on Opening Day, and it was a shock to nobody: Wetherholt has appeared like a 10-year veteran from the very starting in St. Louis. He has been nothing however regular since then, continually making changes and establishing himself because the odds-on favourite for NL Rookie of the 12 months honors.

Two methods Wetherholt has been even higher than marketed: His energy (notably his opposite-field energy) and his protection at second base, the place he’s already among the best within the sport. A case might be made that he ought to have made the All-Star Recreation this yr. He’ll have loads of probabilities sooner or later.

1. RF Jordan Walker
This yr may not have been Jordan Walker’s final probability — he’s nonetheless solely 24, in any case — however definitely it was a referendum on whether or not he can be a big a part of the Cardinals’ future. Take into account the referendum handed. Walker leads the NL in RBIs and have become the ability bat the Cardinals all the time believed he can be — and that the franchise desperately wanted. He’s about to play in his first All-Star Recreation, and he has turn out to be the type of feared slugger that different groups pitch round, which solely helps all of the different hitters within the lineup.

Chaim Bloom’s entrance workplace is early on within the strategy of rebuilding all the group, to make it sustainable and continually replenishing with new expertise. However what they’re actually attempting to do is that this: Discover the following Jordan Walker. They’ve one now.