Cardinals On Pace to Shatter Projected Win Total in 2026

To determine this is much easier than it sounds. The Cardinals have a .575 winning percentage after Sunday's loss to the Padres. That is multiplied by the number of games in a season, which in this case is 162.

.575 multiplied by 162 is 93.15, and then a simple rule of math to determine whether to round up or down is applied. In this case, since the digit after the decimal is lower than 5, this would be rounded down, giving us our answer.

So, based on how the Cardinals are playing now, if they were to continue at this pace, they would finish 93-69, which would be their highest total since 2022, the last time St. Louis made the postseason. They also won 93 games that year and ran away with the NL Central before being knocked out in the first round by the Philadelphia Phillies.

With a lot of time still left in the season, this could always fluctuate, which means that the Cardinals could ultimately find themselves on pace for more or less wins. They weren't expected to be competitive this season, but so far, they have shattered their projected win total from the start of the season.

If they keep up at this pace, then they could ultimately finish much better than expected, which would be a treat for the fanbase after the franchise declared a rebuild. It is ultimately proof that Chaim Bloom's plan is working to perfection. While John Mozeliak drafted and developed many of these players, it is Bloom's work that is ultimately helping the Cardinals win more games.

Spots were finally cleared for younger players, and the lack of pressure has led to the Cardinals playing much better baseball. It will be interesting to see if they can keep this pace up and reach the playoffs for the first time in four years.