Masyn Winn is Turning It(us) On

The Cardinals are 14-10 and playing better than most people expected. They swept the Astros, the young core is slugging — 11th in MLB in home runs — but the pitching is still the worst K/9 in baseball and the bullpen is a ticking time bomb.

Masyn Winn might be waking up. Ten hits in a week, a Crawford Box homer, career-high walk rates, and three steals already on the season. We dig into whether this is the start of the offensive evolution we've been waiting for, and whether a 117 wRC+ is the version of Masyn that makes him a perennial All-Star.

Jordan Walker had his first real cold stretch — 12 strikeouts in six games, no home runs since last week. But Ben digs under the hood and the underlying metrics still look real: same attack angle, same bat speed, still hitting the ball hard. We talk about why you shouldn't panic, what the strikeout rate means for his streakiness going forward, and why that full-count at-bat last night was actually a sign of growth.

Plus: Nathan Church is coming alive at the plate, José Fermín played center field for some reason, Victor Scott's offensive floor is a concern, Dustin May put together his two best starts of the season, Jurrangelo Cijntje switch-pitched in an actual game, Dickie Fitts needs season-ending lat surgery, and Ben returns from Coachella with a full field report including Bob Baker Marionettes, Korean steak kimchi fries, and a disappointing Moby set.

We close with a new game: Rotation Rotation, where we draft the five non-Cardinals teams we're watching the most right now.

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