April
In April Matthew Liberatore was on fire. 3.19 ERA, 1.94 FIP, 2.92 xFIP, and 1.2 fWAR. Couple that stat line with Ivan Herrera’s 301 wRC+ and .6 fWAR in 7 games, and that had me pretty excited for the season. Brendan Donovan had over 1 fWAR in the opening month, Nootbaar looked like a really good player, and Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn looked like they could hit above average while playing elite defense. But overall, it was Matthew Liberatore looking like he could be an ace that lit the Cardinals world on fire.
May
In May, Masyn Winn stole the show with 1.1 fWAR, 127 wRC+, while continuing that stellar defense. Alec Burleson was the best hitter, but his defense took away from his value. Meanwhile, Sonny Gray was worth a full win above replacement level that month.
June
Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras both posted .9 fWAR in June this season. Contreras was fully awakened from his dreaded spring slump, while Gray continued what looked to be a good season. Contreras’ 147 wRC+ plus Sonny Gray’s shiny 2.55 ERA and 2.12 FIP made one think he was a true ace that could carry a team pretty far.
July
Alec Burleson narrowly edged Willson Contreras as best hitter 144 to 142 wRC+, but Contreras wasn’t a defensive liability like Burleson was. The pitching was not very good this month with JoJo Romero being the most valuable pitcher, ahead of the starting pitchers. Winn continued his steady super valuable defense and was just as important as anyone despite his hitting failing.
August
You cannot give this to anyone but Pedro Pages who decided to turn on all of the offense he had for the season, for the month of August. He put up a ridiculous 202 wRC+ with 5 home runs (one less than Willson Contreras), and a .413 OBP while playing plus defense that month. A no doubter at 1.2 fWAR for the month! He matched Matthew Liberatore’s breakout April.
September
September belonged to rising star Ivan Herrera, 1 fWAR in 24 games and EIGHT home runs. Keep in mind that if he hit ten home runs per month he would have hit 60 home runs. Or at this rate even not playing full time, he would have hit 48 home runs. Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Willson Contreras also hit really really well with 150 or higher wRC+, but it was Herrera who stole the show. Again, the pitching didn’t impress this month.
Oct0ber was not to be, but there were moments of 2025 that gave us some hope from players such as Matthew Liberatore, Masyn Winn, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Alec Burleson, Pedro Pages, and Ivan Herrera. They showed us what they could do when everything was going right for them for a month. Now I’m left to root for bluebirds and mariners for the rest of the year, what’s left of it anyway. Here’s to a better season next year.