Cardinals players, left to right, Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar, Masyn Winn and Pedro Pages talk during warmup stretches before drills and batting practice on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, on the first day of full-squad workouts as spring training continues at the team’s practice facility in Jupiter, Fla. Nootbaar and Winn figure to take the lion’s share of the club’s early leadoff appearances this season, though manager Oliver Marmol expects to use several different players there.
JUPITER, Fla. — Whether he was in the leadoff spot, there was always a little bit of the leadoff spot in Lars Nootbaar’s picky approach at the plate.
“I think, innately, playing All-Stars when I was in Little League, leading off it was like see pitches, work the count, do all those things,†Nootbaar said. “And that kind of has stuck with me in terms of my approach may entire life. To a fault, maybe.
“The mantra of the leadoff hitter.â€
On Tuesday against Miami, Nootbaar batted leadoff for the first time this spring — something he did not do once in 2024 for the Cardinals. He saw pitches. He worked the count. Nootbaar struck out on six pitches, hit a sacrifice fly on six pitches and, to lead off the fifth inning, worked for a six-pitch walk. In three plate appearances he contributed to two rallies, got to two strikes each time and saw 18 pitches.
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What the Cardinals want to see at leadoff is still emerging.
“We’ve got some guys behind that who drive in runs,†manager Oliver Marmol said. “So ability to get on base is key for those (top) two spots.â€
Ordered by on-base percentage, Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan rise as top options. Donovan has yet to bat leadoff this spring, though he did split time there a year ago before shortstop Masyn Winn took over in the second half. This spring, Winn started 10 of the Cardinals’ first 17 games at leadoff, and he’s among the top six in all the majors in leadoff at-bats this spring.
Spring training lineups are geared to get regulars their assigned at-bats as early in the game as possible, not test-driving looks for the regular season, at least not early in camp. Nootbaar’s leadoff start Tuesday was done in part so he could face Marlins flame-throwing lefty Ryan Weathers at least twice.
He took advantage of it by spying 12 pitches from Weathers. He fouled off two and got a full count in the first before striking out on a 99 mph called strike. In the third, Nootbaar did not bite on three off-speed pitches before lifting a sacrifice fly on a sweeping slider for an RBI. Nootbaar walked in his third plate appearance after taking a second strike on the edge of the zone. He then scored from first base on Ivan Herrera’s double to complete a classic leadoff box score.
Marmol warned against reading too much into the lineup, but at the same time, he stresses that “performance matter†in the bullpen derby and spring is shifting from getting ready to responding to game situations.
Plus, he expects a variety of looks — not a lock — at leadoff this season.
“I think there are different versions of it that, and you could make an argument for any of it,†Marmol said. “As we get closer (to the regular season) we’ll do exactly that. We’ll get in a room with all of the staff and argue. That’s the fun part. I think we make a big deal of it at this point in camp — you’re supposed to. What’s the lineup going to look like? Who is going to hit first? I get it. But having options and staying fluid is a good thing.â€
Finding an ignitor an essential thing.
A drag on the Cardinals throughout the past season was an offense that rarely carried the game and often challenged the bullpen to hold slim leads. Other than meek output when they did get runners on base, a leading culprit was the on-base production at the top. Both the leadoff and No. 2 spot were below league average in on-base percentage. The Cardinals’ leadoff spot had a .292 OBP, and only Kansas City was worse, at .270 OBP. The Show-Me slow-starters were two of the four teams with an OBP below .300.
The Cardinals’ leadoff spot’s .676 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS) ranked fourth-lowest in the majors and was the lowest OPS in the National League. The next closest was division rival and champion Milwaukee, at .693 OPS.
Run production from No. 1 was 10% off league average.
In June, the Cardinals turned to Winn at lead off, and the rookie’s power played there — with 12 of his 15 homers coming after the shift. Winn’s final 95 starts of the past season came batting leadoff, and the Cardinals were 52-43 in in those games, or an 89-win pace. Winn, however, had a .250 average and a .294 OBP at leadoff. He noted that he hit better from the No. 8 spot but got a boost from moving higher in the order.
“I think just being in the leadoff spot gave me more confidence, more opportunity,†Winn said. “You get more opportunities. You set the tone early. You get a chance to get a knock. You get a chance to get on base. I like to score a lot of runs. ... I’m hoping that I can start performance a little bit better so I can keep that spot this year.â€
The big draw for Winn is the increased number of at-bats the leadoff hitter gets over the course of a season. He also described the appeal of the strategy.
There are days to take pitches and a benefit of shifting in a series to jump an early pitch.
“It’s kind of like playing chess in the leadoff spot,†Winn said.
Winn with center fielders Victor Scott II and Michael Siani have alternated the leadoff spot throughout spring. Scott’s fast start to spring has him batting 5 for 9 (.556) in the leadoff spot with two strikeouts and three walks. Winn’s spring has been more sluggish with a .103 average through 29 at-bats and more strikeouts (nine) than times on base (six).
Winn is not alone as the Cardinals, as a whole, have yet to find their footing in the batter’s box. After three hits and 13 strikeouts in a shutout loss Monday night, they mustered five runs on seven hits Tuesday to lose, 12-5. They’re batting .210 as a team this spring.
Marmol did not dismiss seeing Donovan at leadoff this spring, and some of the traits Nootbaar brings to the lineup at his best would be an analytically approved fit for the No. 2 spot.
“I think it bodes well for my approach,†Nootbaar said of leadoff. “There are times when I should be more aggressive in that spot.â€
Nootbaar’s walk in his final plate appearance was his eighth of spring. Helped in a few by his ability to challenge close calls with the Automated Ball Strike system, Nootbaar has more walks than strikeouts, and he’s put together one of the stronger springs, according to coaches and peers who get to see his hitting beyond the box score.
Marmol said after Tuesday’s game that Nootbaar is a “good spot.â€
He did not elaborate if that meant leadoff.
“I really like where Lars is,†Marmol said. “Mentally. Physically. Especially comparing it to other spring trainings. How he comes in. There’s a quiet confidence. Maybe not so quiet. There’s a confidence to him in everything he’s doing.â€
