As Leo Bernal continues to impress and grab a 2027 starting gig, the St. Louis Cardinals are seeing Nathan Church attempt to do the same. While center field did not have the same depth as catcher, Church is looking to take hold of the spot and give the Cardinals some clarity at a position of need.
St. Louis centerfielders entered the season ranked as the second-worst among the position since 2023 with a 74 wRC+ and much of their 3.5 total fWAR during that time being attributed to defense. The Cardinals attempted to solve the problem a few different ways, with three players seeing 100 or more games in center over that span. Of those three, Lars Nootbaar was the only one to be an above-average offensive player, with Victor Scott II and Michael Siani coming in each 35% below league average or worse with the bat.
Nathan Church is looking to give the Cardinals clarity in center field
Going into 2026, the Cardinals hoped that Victor Scott II’s offseason swing work would unleash his offensive potential and gave him the everyday job. The speedster continued to see much of the same issues with the bat and was demoted to Memphis in June after putting up a 55 wRC+ in over 60 games. During that time, Church was mixing in all around the outfield and used an impressive April to begin pushing Scott for innings in center field.
With Jordan Walker’s breakout in right and the attempt for Nootbaar to regain his value in left, Church as given the everyday job once Scott was sent to the minors. A miserable July caused a conversation about the team’s future in center field, but the tune has changed since the calendar flipped to August. Quickly going back to the three-year span from earlier, the Cardinals center fielders ranked dead last with a .613 OPS, so excuse any extensive praise of Church when comparing to the previous group.
In 37 games since August 1, Church has hit .292 and put up a .736 OPS to measure out to 6% above-league average. Even better than the contact, the rookie has trimmed his strikeout rate to just 10% in 127 plate appearances. In 128 at-bats from June to July, Church struck out 28 times compared to just 13 punchouts in 117 at-bats since. The power has not been there recently, but the lefty has 10 homers and 10 stolen bases on the campaign.
Church will likely need a platoon partner, but his defense is solid enough that he can stick in the lineup if he performs at his current wRC+.As mentioned, working in Church’s advantage is that the Cardinals do not have much to really push him for the major league starting gig. Scott has not started a game since being recalled and Chase Davis finally got some time in Memphis but continues to struggle with consistency. We brought up Josiah Ragsdale on the Thursday episode of Cardinals on My Time since he has laid waste to Double-A pitching, but expect Memphis to be his next step.
Assuming the Cardinals continue to use 2027 as a stepping stone season, expecting Chaim Bloom to put any significant financial investment into the outfield would be a pipe dream. What he could do, though, is go the Ramon Urias route and sign a veteran platoon partner to Church who understand their role and would even allow for Church to grab a few at-bats against lefties as well. If Urias had stayed healthy, I pictured him as the Dustin May of the offense and he would have been flipped for a reliever and that could be what happens in 2027 in center.
The Cardinals want to put a stop to the revolving door in center and while Church may be the answer for next year, he may just become a place holder for the next guy to step in.
