Low expectations aren't stopping the Cardinals from competing early

The St. Louis Cardinals decided to part ways with some key contributors over the offseason. With the future in focus, they traded away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan. 

So, the club was not expected to do a whole lot this season. But, I guess nobody told the staff they were supposed to be bad. 

They have started the new season with a 5-5 record going into Tuesday. And while that is not a jaw-dropping record, you have to remember they have had a series against the New York Mets and the Detroit Tigers, two teams that got a huge upgrade over the winter break. 

MORE: Why Cardinals' Jordan Walker's 1.014 OPS hot start is not a fluke

Low expectations aren't stopping the Cardinals from competing early 

One of the reasons for the team's current record is Jordan Walker. He has been elite with the bat early this season, leading the team in batting average, home runs, hits, and runs batted in. 

JJ Wetherholt, the youngster on the club, is doing his part and leads the team in OPS. 

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter's first power rankings had the Cardinals much higher. But now, he has the team ranked 16th, which is far from how many thought this team would look to start the year. 

"As you can tell from the No. 28 ranking and Tier 6 placement to start the year, expectations were low for a Cardinals team in the early stages of a rebuild that should have started a year ago."

Pitching will play a big part in how the club looks the rest of the way out. The offense is there, but with a league-low 59 strikeouts, the arms need to figure out how to generate more whiffs. 

If they can do that, this team won't be a playoff team, but they will be a fun group to watch as the younger players continue to develop.

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