Cardinals' Oli Marmol is MLB's best manager amid surprisingly hot start

The 2026 MLB season has produced plenty of fun storylines, and the St. Louis Cardinals are at the center of three big stories through the first month or so of the season.

Jordan Walker's breakout has been an extremely exciting storyline this year, as has been the rookie season of JJ Wetherholt so far. But, overall, the Cardinals' record to begin the season might be the most surprising of the bunch.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale, amid the surprising 20-13 start to the year for the Cardinals, called Oli Marmol the league's best manager so far this season. With how well the Cardinals are playing compared to expectations, this is well deserved.

Oli Marmol has been MLB's best manager

"Best manager, Oli Marmol, St. Louis Cardinals," Nightengale writes. "How in the world is this team winning with a young, rebuilding roster like this?

Coming into the 2026 MLB season, the Cardinals were viewed as a rebuilding team with little hope of contending in 2026.

They traded away a ton of good veterans like Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Brendan Donovan.

And yet, the Cardinals are 20-13 and have been one of the best clubs in the sport. Marmol is working some magic in Chaim Bloom's first year with the team, as this rebuilding Cardinals roster is somehow playing at elite levels.

More: 5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker's breakout for Cardinals

Marmol led the Cardinals to a 93-69 record in his first year in 2022, and followed it up with some very mediocre at-best seasons, and a 78-84 season in 2025 that had some big questions about his job security.

But the Cardinals stuck by their manager, and through the first few days of May, he's proven them right. The Cardinals are 20-13 with a .606 winning percentage, and have the same record as the Los Angeles Dodgers, the World Series favorite this year.

This might not last for the full season, but even just this hot start for the Cardinals has Marmol more than deserving of the best manager award so far. This is a rebuilding team, and yet, they're in the thick of it as the best team in all of baseball so far.

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