Coming into the season, there was a lot of talk about how much depth the Cardinals had. It was supposed to be an asset that allowed the Cardinals to play the matchups whenever they wanted and throw above average hitter after above average hitter into the lineup. The pitching was a different story but there were still quite a few arms who could fill in as spot starters or even as back-end starters if needed.
This was a season in which there weren’t going to be many openings for young players. At least, that’s how this season was supposed to go.