Cardinals ‘No. 1 Obstacle’ Identified Despite Red-Hot Streak

The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting pretty right now.

St. Louis earned another win on Wednesday night and now is sporting an impressive 32-24 record through 56 games. There aren't many who expected the Cardinals to be at this level right now, but they are doing the little things and finding different ways to win games whether that is a explosions of offense, dominant pitching performances, or winning games on the basepaths and with small ball. The Cardinals do all of the little things right, including having the best defense in baseball.

St. Louis currently is tied for the No. 2 National League Wild Card spot and is just two games behind the New York Mets in the standings. The Cardinals are three games behind the Chicago Cubs for the No. 1 spot in the National League Central.

Vibes are high and this is a team that fans can really get behind. But, will they end up earning a playoff spot this year? Maybe, but also maybe not. It's not going to be easy, but the season has been great so far.

FanSided's Josh Jacobs shared a great column highlighting the Cardinals' "No. 1 obstacle" and nailed it.

"The greatest obstacle to the Cardinals' playoff hopes in 2025 is the number of teams fighting for a playoff spot," Jacobs said. "By my count, there are 11 teams in the National League with a legitimate argument to make the playoffs this year, and there are only six spots to go around. That means that almost half of those teams are going to be left sitting at home when October comes, even if they have a great regular season. The Cardinals, for example, are on pace for 90 wins right now and would not make the playoffs if the season ended today.

"Since the introduction of the third Wild Card back in 2022, it has typically taken a strong record to even achieve the third Wild Card in the National League. That first year, the Padres and Phillies both snuck into the playoffs with 89 wins and 87 wins apiece. In 2023, the Marlins and Diamondbacks needed just 84 wins to do so. But in 2024, the Braves and Mets both needed 89 wins to get in, and Arizona missed the playoffs with the same record."

The Cardinals have been great so far this season, but there is pretty much zero room for error, even now in May. The National League certainly is the tougher of the two leagues. Right now, teams like the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Milwaukee Brewers are on the outside looking in.

The Cardinals have been better than these other teams so far, but there's so much talent in the National League that they will need to sustain this pace for months in order to actually land a playoff berth.