Despite Tough NLCS Exit, Cardinals Have Youth, Veteran Core to Keep Coming Back

The St. Louis Cardinals’ World Series aspirations were dashed Thursday with one swing of the bat, as Travis Ishikawa’s three-run, walk-off home run in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series propelled the San Francisco Giants to a 6-3 win and, more importantly, another trip to the Fall Classic.

Ishikawa’s Game 5 home run marked the second time in the series the Giants won in their final at-bat, and the National League Wild Card champions will now try to win their third World Series title in the last five years.

For the Cardinals, it was another disappointing exit from the playoffs—one which arguably could have been avoided or at least delayed if skipper Mike Matheny hadn’t repeatedly mismanaged the bullpen.

Matheny’s tenuous feel for his relievers was on full display throughout the NLCS, but his decision to put in Michael Wacha—last year’s NLCS MVP who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 26—to start the ninth inning of a tied, win-or-go-home playoff game was the icing on the cake.

Wacha looked rusty after the lengthy layoff (go figure, right?), as he yielded a leadoff single to Pablo Sandoval and then induced a lineout from Hunter Pence. With lefty Randy Choate warm in the pen, Matheny opted to keep Wacha in the game to face left-handed-hitting Brandon Belt, who he promptly walked on four consecutive pitches. Shockingly, Matheny once again stuck with Wacha to face another left-handed batter, Ishikawa.

We all know how that ended.

When interviewed after the loss, Matheny defended his use of Wacha but also took full responsibility for the 23-year-old right-hander’s shaky performance.

"The reason we bring in Michael is we have confidence against him against lefties,” said Matheny, via Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "That’s on me. He's a star. I can't wait to watch him pitch again."

However, once the dust settles in the wake of the Cardinals’ painful, season-ending loss, the organization will once again look toward the future and realize that it’s still very, very bright.

The “Cardinal Way” once again was at the heart of the team’s postseason success, as 17 of the 25 players on the Cardinals’ NLCS roster were homegrown products of the organization’s perennially strong farm system—a true testament to the Cardinals’ superb scouting and player development departments.

From Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com: "Those 17 players range from Gonzalez, from last year's draft, to Yadier Molina, a fourth-round pick in 2000—a stretch in which the Cardinals never lost their way despite having five different scouting directors, five different farm directors and two different general managers."

Barring an offseason trade, a majority of the Cardinals’ core veteran position players will be returning in 2015, as Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, Jhonny Peralta, Matt Holliday and Jon Jay all are under contract through at least the 2016 season.

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The Cardinals rotation also should have a similar look next year, with Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn and John Lackey expected to once again serve as the team’s Nos. 1-3 starters, while youngsters Shelby Miller, Michael Wacha and Marco Gonzales battle for the final two rotation spots. And despite their inconsistent showings this October, flame-throwing right-handers Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal will be back next year to handle the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

More importantly, all of the Cardinals’ young, breakout stars from this year’s postseason will be back with the team in 2015 and, if all goes as planned, for many years to come.

Kolten Wong arguably was the Cardinals’ top hitter this October, as the rookie second baseman posted a .991 OPS in eight postseason games, with each of his seven hits going for extra bases (three home runs, three doubles, one triple). The 24-year-old delivered a go-ahead, two-run home run in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Dodgers, and then etched his name in Cardinals’ postseason history with a dramatic walk-off homer in Game 2 of the NLCS.

Speaking of rookies, right fielders Randal Grichuk and Oscar Taveras impressed in their respective roles this October, with Grichuk serving as the team’s starting right fielder and Taveras providing a dangerous left-handed bat off the bench.

Grichuk, 23, batted just .171 in nine playoff games, but he delivered home runs in both the division and championship series and played outstanding defense in right field.

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Taveras—widely regarded as the sport’s top hitting prospect headed into the season—went 3-for-7 in the postseason as a pinch hitter, highlighted by a game-tying solo home run in Game 2 of the NLCS.

And then there’s “Big City” Matt Adams, one of the more underappreciated first basemen in baseball this season, his first season as an everyday player. The 26-year-old left-handed batter provided some of the Cardinals’ biggest hits this October, including a go-ahead, three-run home run off Clayton Kershaw in Game 4 of the NLDS, a go-ahead solo home run in Game 2 of the NLCS, and last but not least, a go-ahead solo shot off Madison Bumgarner in the fourth inning of Game 5.

So how is it that the Cardinals, with every trip to the postseason, seem to produce a new wave of future stars? Per Ringolsby:

"That," said manager Mike Matheny, "is something we take a lot of pride in. When you see how many of these kids came up through [the farm system] and are contributing, not just making it here, but thriving at this level and helping us to be able to walk in [the clubhouse and] pop champagne."

After breezing by the Dodgers in the NLDS, the Cardinals’ elimination from the playoffs on Thursday night was, without question, a disappointing end to a promising season.

But don’t ignore the silver lining: The experience gained by the Cardinals’ young players this October has the potential to pay huge dividends for the organization moving forward.

Adams, Grichuk, Taveras and Wong, among others, all proved to be more than capable of performing at a high level in the postseason spotlight, and it’s hard to not get excited at the thought of what this group might accomplish in the years to come.