Dexter Fowler, the former Chicago Cub, hasn't carried over the success that he enjoyed in Chicago to his new team in St. Louis as of yet. The centerfielder has logged 61 plate appearances through 14 games, and he has very little to show for it with just five walks and eight hits. Thus far only two of his hits have gone for extra bases with no home runs. It all adds up to an on-base percentage of just .226, an egregious slugging percentage of .196, and an OPS of .422.
Fowler makes nearly $15M per year
According to Spotrac, Fowler's base salary this season is $14.5M which means that St. Louis will have to continue to play him even as he slumps. You generally live and die with your high-paid players in professional sports as managers can't really sit their top-end salaries in a lot of circumstances. That being the case, Fowler will likely need to come out of his slump in order for the Cardinals to get on the winning track.
Through fourteen games, they are a disappointing 5-9 for a .357 winning percentage. Not even 10% of the season is over so a good week or two would help fade the slow start.
But currently, in the NL Central division, it's the Cincinnati Reds that are enjoying a good start.
They are 9-5 to start the campaign with surprise production out of Zach Cozart. The shortstop has a 1.200 OPS so far this season, one that will almost surely regress. However, he could still be set for a career year at the age of 31, keeping in mind that he is a lifetime .683 OPS guy. Furthermore, third basemen Eugenio Suarez is batting .364 with an OPS of 1.145 through the start of the season.
The Cardinals are on a two-game winning streak as they look to sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. The Pirates are a team in turmoil as it was recently announced that Starling Marte would miss the next 80 games of the season due to a positive test for nandrolone.
Marte was not enjoying a great start to his season, but he did add some power and potential to the Pirates. That will be missing now until the summer and the Cardinals, as division rivals, are one team that could benefit.
Cards' upcoming schedule
For the balance of the month following the conclusion of the Pittsburgh series, St. Louis will face the Milwaukee Brewers, the Toronto Blue Jays, and then the Cincinnati Reds. The Jays, in particular, will be a welcome team to play as so far they are just 2-11 to start the season. Furthermore, they are currently without ace starter Aaron Sanchez and power-hitting Josh Donaldson. Both players recently went on the 10-day disabled list and will be there for the duration of upcoming Cards/Jays series.