The Cardinals are quintessentially average, 44-44, but just two games out of first place in the National League Central Division. A lot went wrong in the first half for the Cards, but a lot also did for the preconceived impervious Cubs (47-43) and Brewers (47-44). The Cards are in this thing. But they have to start hitting more.
Sounds easy enough. But in the field, Bader is a run-prevention fiend. In Major League Baseball, Bader ranks 12th of all players in Fangraphs' defensive rating (8.3). Only one outfielder ranks higher, and that's Minnesota's Byron Buxton (10.4). He's first in the league in numerous fancy stats on Statcast, including “actual catch percentage added to expected catch percentage” and “five-star catches.