ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Donnie Baseball.

So far, anyway, Brendan Donovan has produced like another almost-6-foot-tall lefty “Hit Man,� that being the great Yankee Don Mattingly.

Longest current hitting streak in Major League Baseball?

Brendan Donovan.

Most hits, entering Wednesday, in Major League Baseball?

Brendan Donovan.

Look, we’ve made a big deal for 2025 about the Cardinals’ young guys getting a runway to play. But how about the Cardinals now-in-their-prime guys manufacturing big time? Well, 27-year-old Lars Nootbaar (.885 on-base plus slugging percentage) is hitting the heck out baseballs — he smashed a three-run homer at home against Houston in Wednesday’s win. And the 28-year-old Donovan has the National League’s highest batting average (.380), along with his 12-game hitting streak, tying a career long.

“Offensively right now, he’s taking it to the next level,� Nootbaar said of Donovan, his longtime teammate in the majors and minors. “Being able to watch him take professional at bats, hit the ball hard and hit them in good spots, I think he’s doing a really good job of really taking the next step. Also in terms of getting the ball in the air, pulling some balls, taking some shots when he has to, and then also taking his hits. It’s really cool to see. ... When you can go in the bullpen in Boston, you know you’re swinging the bat pretty good.�

Indeed, Donnie drove a ball 106.1 mph off the bat at Fenway Park — and it sailed for 404 feet on April 4. Per the site Baseball Savant, it would’ve been a homer in all 30 parks.

And he continues to rip hits this month, while mostly batting third for the now 9-9 Cards. He has hits in 16 of the 18 games! During Wednesday’s matinee, he smacked a baseball 103.1 mph for an out — still, the third-hardest hit St. Louis had all day — and he also singled to extend the streak. Seemingly, the best strategy to keep him from getting a hit is, well, to hit him — and that happened Wednesday, sending the bearded and bruised Brendan to first base.

He is just a delight to watch hit. And he’s a delight to talk to about hitting. He’s honest and open. For instance, I noticed that most of his hitting qualities rated in high percentiles on Baseball Savant, be it his squared-up baseballs, strikeout rate, expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, etc. But his bat speed is in just the seventh percentile. Not 70th. Seventh. As we’ve seen with Nolan Arenado this year, upticks in bat speed have been a key reason for his early success. But Donovan’s is low — yet, curiously, he’s on a list with high-average batters such as Luis Arraez, Mookie Betts and Steven Kwan.

“So bat speed, I think it’s a rabbit hole that you can get stuck down,� Donovan said. “I like quickness versus bat speed. Like, how quickly can I go from where I’m launching from to impact? So I think that has something to do with it. Obviously, where you’re catching the ball (on your bat) in contact, I think, has a factor of bat speed. But you know, for me, it’s — am I hitting balls flush? Am I staying inside of them? And when I do get them to the pull side, are they backspun? That’s how I kind of look at it.

“Also with more bat speed, there also comes more swing-and-miss. So it’s like, for me, how can I balance that? I still train it, but I train it more of like a body movement, kind of honing in on a pattern and more focus on quickness and speed.�

It’s working. It’s working in part due to working counts, a Donovan staple. And it’s working in part due to working with new hitting coach Brant Brown. Among some fans on social media, Brown has been the most popular Cardinal this season. The likable new coach has rejuvenated the St. Louis offense. Again, they’ve played only 18 games. But the Cards are hitting well — and Donovan is hitting as well as any of them.

“The game planning and the approach stuff has been very, very good,� Donovan said of his work with Brown. “To go up there and kind of have an idea what you want to do in your head, but then to have someone who watches film, who studies, who has been around and seen guys, you kind of lock in on an approach. I think it takes the guesswork out. ...

“Every little every day is so different (in the majors). I mean, everyone’s trying to attack you so many different ways. Your body feels different each and every day. But for me, I think my routine has been pretty consistent. And I think the recovery aspect is something that I’m leaning more into as of this past year.�

I asked the latest Donnie Baseball if he ever watched videos of the Yankees’ Donnie Baseball. He said “a little bit, yeah. And some old George Brett, too,� in reference to another iconic 1980s lefty hitter. Donovan said that his own stance and swing is “my own unique style — and a lot of it is posture related.� But he’s also watched “a lot of video� of three fellow righty-throwing, lefty-hitting infielders — Chase Utley, Daniel Murphy and, yep, Matt Carpenter.

Carp was the last Cardinal to lead the majors in hits (he tied for it in 2013). Again, it’s only been 18 games. But Donovan is entering his prime with the swings and results similar to some rather famous names (and nicknames).