Cardinals Breakout Candidate Shines In Season Debut After Tough Injury

St. Louis fans should be excited about the club's chances this season

Mar 2, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals are starting to look like the club many expected it to look like.

St. Louis entered the 2024 season with high expectations but hasn't been at full strength yet this season due to a plethora of injuries. While the club still isn't at full strength, reinforcements have started to make their way back to the club.

Star pitcher Sonny Gray recently made his season debut and certainly impressed as he earned his first win of the season. Rising star outfielder Lars Nootbaar was another player who was out due to injury, but he made his season debut Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks and immediately gave St. Louis a much-needed boost.

Nootbaar played left field and shined in the club's big win over Arizona. He launched his first home run of the season, drove in two runs, and earned a walk to help get St. Louis back in the win column.

The young outfielder had the best season of his young career in 2023 and is expected to play a major role with St. Louis this season. St. Louis currently is 7-7 on the season and one of the biggest reasons for some of the club's struggles has been a lack of offense.

Nootbaar's return immediately should help fix this while also providing some much-needed depth in the outfield. The Cardinals have been thin in the outfield with Nootbaar missing time, as well as Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson both out as well.

It seems like things are looking up for St. Louis.

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