With the end of football season, it’s time to start thinking about spring training and the upcoming Major League Baseball (MLB) season.
Let’s hope that the owners and players can come to a deal in the upcoming weeks. That might be something to bet on.
The St. Louis Cardinals will look to continue its run of success as one of the most storied franchises in the National League.
The Cardinals went on a historic 17-game win streak in September of 2021 (the longest in team history) and won a wild card spot in the MLB playoffs. St. Louis was one-and-done, however, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road 3-1 in a walk-off home run by Chris Taylor.
The Redbirds are expected to contend again in 2022.
The DraftKings sportsbook has future odds posted on the upcoming season.
Sports gambling is becoming closer to a reality in the Show-Me State every day. The latest attempt was to model Missouri’s law with Ohio’s and make it happen.
St. Louis is slated to open the 2022 baseball season in Pittsburgh on March 31.
The odds on the Cards
DraftKings has installed the Cardinals as +2500 to win the World Series in 2022, ranking them 12th among all MLB franchises. The Cardinals have won 11 World Series titles, the last coming in 2011 (so they’re due, right?). Those 11 are the second most of any MLB team. The Yankees, natch, have the most.
DraftKings has the Cardinals as +1200 to win the National League and +220 to win the National League Central. The Milwaukee Brewers are the strongest favorite to win any of the MLB’s six divisions at -110 to win the Central in 2022.
Players to watch
Coming off a solid year with the Cardinals, where he finished sixth in the Most Valuable Player voting after batting .294 and 99 RBI, Cardinals’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is listed as +5000 to win the MVP award in 2022.
He is not, however, the Cardinal with the lowest MVP odds.
In 2021, Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill became one of the top young stars in the sport. O’Neill slugged 34 home runs, batted .286 with 80 RBI, and received a handful of MVP votes. DraftKings lists O’Neill as +3500 to be the National League MVP. It also has him as +2000 to lead the league in home runs and +3000 to finish with the most RBI.
MLB new name
The buzz in spring training for the Cardinals may center around infielder Nolan Gorman, who batted .279 in the minors last year with 75 RBI. The 21-year old could break into the Cardinals lineup sooner rather than later.
Gorman has already caught the attention of the sportsbook at DraftKings. Gorman is listed as +2500 to be named the NL Rookie of the Year in 2022.
Adam’s apple
Cardinals’ pitcher Adam Wainwright just seems to get better with age. The 40-year old right-hander is coming off a 17-7 season with a 3.05 ERA (his lowest ERA in a full season since 2014). One thing missing in Wainwright’s career is a Cy Young Award.
In 2009, Wainwright got the most first–place votes for the honor, but didn’t win it. In 2010 and 2013 he was runner–up for the award. He was seventh in 2021.
DraftKings has Wainwright as +6000 to finally take home a Cy Young in 2022. He is +3500 to lead the National League in victories.
Bird feed
The Cardinals have made the NL playoffs each of the last three seasons. They were five games behind the Brewers in 2021 to place second in the NL Central.
In the shortened 2020 baseball season, St. Louis finished three games behind the Chicago Cubs, earned a playoff spot but lost in the Wild Card game to the Padres 2-1.
The Cardinals’ last division title came in 2019. They beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in the Divisional Series but were swept by the eventual World Series Champion Washington Nationals in the National League Championship Series.
