It’s important to remember that the MLB has a long season. However, that’s not going to stop me from overreacting every step of the way. These three teams had high expectations coming into 2023 but, have yet to meet them.

St. Louis Cardinals

First up, we have the Cardinals. A team that was believed to have the best shot at competing with the Brewers, in the NL Central, now sits nearly last in the division. May I briefly remind you that the Cardinals share a division with the Cincinnati Reds… Off to a 8-11 start the Cardinals, have struggled to put up consistent performances from game to game.

Now let’s take a look at some stats; the Cardinals are tied for 4th in the league as a team in batting average, hitting .274 as a collective unit. However, the issue arises when you look at the number of runners they left on base. So far, in this year’s campaign, the Cardinals are ranked 29th in the league for runners left on base only leading the 6-11 Giants. Getting clutch hits for the Cardinals has been a real issue, and combined with the inconsistency on their pitching staff, ending up in the win column has not been an easy task for St. Louis.

Slow Start: Miles Mikolas in his first four starts has been just slightly less than terrific. Thus far he’s giving 18 runs on 20 innings pitched, resulting in an 8.10 ERA, and has been in a rough spot in an already weak Cardinals rotation.

Houston Astros

Now have the Astros been horrible? Not exactly….and with a difficult schedule, a start like this is expected. For a team that was heralded as the World Series favorite coming into the season, a 9-10 start is nothing but disappointing. After losing two straight games to the Tigers, this early in the season, I might have just sold the franchise.

Now the Astros have had their fair share of injuries as does every team, but what’s really the reason for the Astro’s slow start? With an increased strike-out rate from last year as a team and slow starts from Bregman and Peña, the Astros have had issues putting up competitive numbers to set them up to win ball games. Not only that but the Astros bullpen, a year ago was one of the most feared in baseball, and has now been a major factor in the games that they’ve lost.

Slow Start: Ryan Pressly has two losses in seven bullpen appearances, achieving a 7.11 ERA in 6.1 innings.

Philadelphia Phillies

I had a choice between the Phillies and the Padres here, and I’m going to be honest, at first, I had San Diego, but after taking a look at Philly’s schedule, I had no choice. Dropping two out of four games to the Reds and losing a series to the Marlins is just not what you want to see out of a super team, especially coming off a huge spending offseason.

Leading the league in hits and doubles, the Phillies have no issue getting on base and even scoring runs. The issues for Philly come on the mound. With a team total of a 5.10 ERA, the Phillies have yet to find a formula for consistent pitching. Philly’s two top aces, Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola have had rough starts to the year, and this has made a major impact on the team. In eight starts the two pitchers have only received two wins for the club. To add to the Phillies pitching woes, the bullpen has been atrocious. Currently maintaining a 6.30 ERA as a bullpen, places them as the third-worst bullpen in the league behind the Royals and White Sox.

Slow Start: Aaron Nola currently sits at a 5.91 ERA over 21.1 innings. During his first four outings Nola has two losses on his record and only receiving in one win.

Will these teams turn it around? Let us know on Twitter @WeLikeSportzPC.

-Riley Bry

@RileyBry_

*Photo courtesy of MLB.com*