5 Cardinals with Best Chances to Make the NL All-Star Team

Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The National League All-Star Game rosters will be announced this weekend, and it should be interesting to see which St. Louis Cardinals players earn spots on the team. While the Cardinals have been rather successful this season, their offense has struggled significantly, with a .247 team batting average and just 47 home runs, which ranks only in front of the Kansas City Royals for worst in the major leagues. It’s not like they’ve found another way to drive runs in, either; their 293 runs batted in is tied for third-worst in the big leagues.

The Cards’ starting pitching has kept them in the race, but now with Michael Wacha, Jaime Garcia, and Joe Kelly on the disabled list and Shelby Miller and Lance Lynn struggling through inconsistency, Adam Wainwright has emerged as far-and-away the most viable option in the Cardinals’ rotation. With that in mind, it’s difficult to imagine the Cardinals being able to match the six All-Stars that came from their team in 2013.

The one advantage in this situation is that manager Mike Matheny is leading the NL squad, and Matheny has always been known for protecting his guys. While he’s not going to go around the rules to give an undeserving player a spot, him being in charge might give a guy like middle reliever Pat Neshek, who’s not a national household name, a better shot at making the team.

Here are the five Cardinals who have the best chance at making the All-Star team: