The State of the Cardinals: Meet Brendan Donovan, a complete player

The former 213th pick overall is the everyman for idling Cards.

He’s not someone the MLB Network, Fox Baseball Network, or ESPN knows of just yet. Heck, an outside broadcast flubbed his name a few times these past couple weeks, seconds before he would lace a hit to the outfield and they’d have to give his name another crack. Flashy isn’t a part of this man’s makeup or resume.

What’s his name? Brendan Donovan. The former 213th pick overall in the 2018 draft is doing it all for the St. Louis Cardinals at the moment; just look at Saturday’s game. Donovan played two outfield positions, hit a home run and scored the winning run in the tenth inning on a wild pitch. All in a night’s work for the guy who grabbed the Midwest’s attention last year by compiling a .773 OPS in 126 games in his rookie year. He also won a Gold Glove.

While that Gold Glove may have been for second base, Donovan plays ALL over the diamond. If you broke down his 2023 starts by position, here’s what your tabulations would be:

1B: 9

2B: 22

3B: 4

SS: 1

LF: 12

RF: 9

In addition to that continuing versatility in the field, Donovan’s bat has gotten mightier this year. Proof? Through 48 games (391 at-bats) this season, he has five home runs. In 391 at-bats last year, Donovan put just five baseballs over the wall. He’s finding his way more often too, scoring 24 runs already (64 total last year). The four stolen bases and 20 walks/27 strikeouts ratio remains strong.

There’s little that this man can’t do. He grows a fine beard and runs well, spraying his hits all over the field--some even over the wall. He puts pressure on a defense and its pitcher, as we saw last night. Donovan isn’t lightning-quick fast, but his knowledge of how to run the bases and his decent speed make it seem automatic. In the field, there isn’t a lot of deficiency in his game.

For instance, he can make a running grab on a sinking liner and do more than hit the cutoff guy on the infield-an idea that still baffles hundreds of regular outfielders on a daily basis. He’s a run preventer and win-producer, a summer wind jack of all trades.

Donovan is one of those players that the national writers just don’t hear about until he’s been relevant for a few years--and that’s perfectly fine. Let him keep banging out homers and scoring game-winners on the road. Flash doesn’t always lead to a good ballplayer. SABE bros and ladies may point to his 1.0 fWAR as less than desirable, but it’s doing just fine for two months.

Whether or not he had a cameo on Yellowstone remains a rumor. Let’s move around the diamond a little.

Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports

~I like this Matthew Liberatore kid. He’s already as good, if not better, than Steven Matz, and he’s only been in town for less than a year. High hopes are for this former top prospect to become a top or middle rotation threat. For me, just keep producing innings. Get better, don’t throw too many pitches, trust the heater and destroy a hitter’s sleep.

~Stop saying Oli Marmol should be fired. The team could get to 23-40, and he’s not leaving. It doesn’t make sense to fire a guy who just won a division title. It barely made sense to fire Mike Shildt, who was coming off NL Manager of the Year awards and actual postseason wins upon his dismissal. National media couldn’t figure it out, and a good portion of the STL media still stirs over it. Marmol is highly inexperienced, but actually managed at another level, unlike Mike Matheny. He’s a Shildt model with more of a YES man switch. If not, Shildt would still be here. Got it? Good.

~Out of all the 2023 breakout attributes for Nolan Gorman, his patience at the plate is near the top of the list. In addition to the 13 home runs and ten doubles (oh, and that .959 OPS), Gorman has collected 24 free passes so far this season. The eye at the plate and overall discipline has been his biggest step forward this season. He’s struck out 49 times, but when you can divide that in half and get the walks, the big picture looks pretty good. The more pitches he sees, the faster he can break a pitcher down. This is not a flash in the pan.

That’s all. Go enjoy a beautiful Sunday. I’ll be doing so after lawn work. Fucking lawn work!

-DLB