In case you haven't been paying attention, the St. Louis Cardinals are back in the thick of the National League Central race.
The Cardinals entered Monday just a game behind the Chicago Cubs, having won nine of their 13 games in August and eight of their last nine overall. St. Louis' postseason chances have tripled, according to our friends at SportsLine:
Split | Wins | Playoff% |
Before run | 80.6 | 16% |
August 14th | 85.4 | 47.1% |
Net | 4.8 | 31.1% |
If the Cardinals reach the postseason -- and hey, who knows -- they'll have an unlikely cast of contributors to credit for their success.
The Cardinals' best player this season has been Tommy Pham, according to Baseball-Reference's Wins Above Replacement. Known for his affinity for highlight-reel catches, Pham has tapped into his power and probably would've had a 20-20 season with a full slate of plate appearances -- he's currently sporting 14 homers and 16 steals in 89 games.
Recently, the Cardinals have also gotten good production from Paul DeJong and Jose Martinez, too. DeJong has taken over at shortstop behind his .297 average and .578 slugging percentage. His walk-to-strikeout ratio is ugly (1:8), so he'll have to keep both marks high if he's going to remain a productive hitter. Meanwhile, Martinez is hitting .286/.369/.545 with eight home runs in 130 plate appearances since June 1.
All together, they've helped the Cardinals close the gap on the Cubs. We'll see if they can keep it going and lead St. Louis back to the postseason.