The Cardinals' success this season has them as a top 10 team in MLB

In a season that was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the St. Louis Cardinals have decided to make it competitive instead. At 25-18, the Cardinals sit 2.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the lead in the National League Central and have received production from a few different players on the roster. 

The best of the bunch has been right-hander Michael McGreevy, who in his third season with the Red Birds has shown himself to be the leader of the starting staff. McGreevy, in nine starts, is 3-2 with a 2.10 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. 

McGreevy's success, along with right fielder Jordan Walker looking like an MVP candidate (.294 batting average with a .945 OPS), has the Cardinals making the top 10 in ESPN's latest power rankings.  

The St. Louis Cardinals make ESPN's Power Rankings top 10 after sitting just outside it 

After sitting on the precipice of making the top 10 (previous ranking of 12), the Cardinals have made the top 10 thanks to players like McGreevy having success. According to ESPN's David Schoenfield, McGreevy's scoreless streak, where he's allowed just four hits over 12 innings, is what helped push the Cardinals over the top. 

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"Michael McGreevy delivered back-to-back scoreless starts, allowing just four hits over 12 innings, to lower his ERA to 2.18," wrote Schoenfield. "He's allowed batters a .184/.232/.310 line, giving him the 10th lowest OPS among qualified starters. He doesn't whiff a lot of batters, but he's riding a low BABIP. He's held right-handed batters to a .135 average, mostly using a sinker/sweeper combo but changes that to a four-seamer/changeup/curveball/cutter arsenal against lefties. With a fastball that averages 90.9 mph, we'll see how sustainable this is but it's all working now."

The Cardinals will have competition to compete for the division and in the wild card race, as the Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers (24-17) would be two of the three wild card teams to make the postseason if the season ended on May 15. However, the season still has a long way to go, with the Cardinals having to decide once the trade deadline gets closer (Aug. 3), whether they are buyers or sellers. 

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