Player Quirks Using Splits

Revisiting Players 2025 Tendencies Utilizing Statcast Data

The purpose of this article is simply to look up splits and other data on Statcast to see if I can draw upon that information and try and create a baseball player personality through writing. I don’t mean their public persona or their human personality, just a sketch on how they have been hitting and playing on the field. I don’t know how many Cardinals I will get through during this writing project, but here were go, we have over ²⁄₃ of a season now of how they have been performing, and a lot of different angles to look at and filter through.

Stats from 7.28.25

• SS Masyn Winn is most valuable on defense due to his top notch range in OAA, his throwing arm which is better than most players, and his very good average sprint speed of 28.4 feet per second. To give you an idea, he is just as fast as Tommy Edman. So not as elite as Victor Scott II, but still one of the faster players in the major leagues. Winn skips ahead of the pack when using Baserunning Run Value, #34 in MLB as opposed to just outside of the top 100 in average sprint speed. Which Cardinals are faster than Winn and within the top 100? Saggese and Hampson by a hair, Jordan Walker is a split second faster, and Victor Scott II flies past them all tied with Byron Buxton (top 4 MLB with Trea Turner and Bobby Witt Jr somehow a hair or two faster topping out at 30.4 ft/sec). These are average sprint speeds, not “bolts”. Getting into something called bolts is where he tops out: 28.4 feet per second. And this is where Masyn Winn goes into the top 50 in a stat called Competitive Runs. Masyn knows how and when to go full throttle and take it to the next level. Competitive Runs takes into account baserunning prowess and Masyn Winn has good baseball intelligence with rangey defense and a plus arm. But what does he do hitting-wise?
  Winn has pulled all 7 of his home runs to left field. He pulls most of his doubles, but has also hit 4 of them the other way to right field. He sprays singles all over the diamond as well as outfield. However, he has some hitting to work on, being an average hitter (104 wRC+ and .326 OBP with an OPS much closer to .700 than .800). Baseball Savant seems to indicate that he is a below average hitter, but at least his batting average isn’t bad. What is Masyn Winn really good at on offense, while at the plate? He is difficult to strike out and will make the pitcher work a lot for the out. He is bad at barreling the ball, exit velocity, and taking walks. I would not call him an undisciplined hitter, he just has his own batting style and it will hopefully become better when he approaches his peak years.

Winn is not quirky when it comes to L/R splits, while he hits lefties worse than righties, there isn’t a massive difference. Winn’s best months hitting-wise were April and May. He has since picked it up again post-all-star break with 14 hits in 39 plate appearances resulting in a high batting average and a much much better on-base percentage of .368, and even an improved slugging percentage over the first half (albeit no home runs yet after the ASB, and of course a small sample size caveat is in order). With runners in scoring position, Winn has been a hero with an OPS over 1.000 if the runners are at third, or at second and third. Oddly enough, if there’s a guy just at second base, he’s not much different than he usually is. But if a runner is at third, it’s a coin toss if Masyn will produce an out or not. That’s really good situational hitting, but weird that the runner has to be at third already! He seems to like batting 6th the best. Winn is a road warrior, batting noticeably better on the road than at home in several categories. Masyn Winn is on fire when batting in the 9th inning, so if the game is on the line before extra innings, he’s usually one of the better batters you’d want to see up at the end of the game.

That should give you a good idea who Masyn Winn is on the field: elite defender, above average base runner, and quirky hitter who will probably at the least annoy the opposing pitcher with a pesky at bat that could be a little unpredictable (except that he probably won’t take a walk as an outcome).

• 2B Brendan Donovan We have all heard about Donovan’s exploits at the plate this year, which have cooled down a bit as of late resulting in an OPS just below .800. What isn’t talked about as much is that Brendan Donovan is a near elite baserunner. He isn’t super fast or anything but his decision making skills on the bases are among the best. Brendan is actually a below average defender, but not terrible. He just doesn’t have much range. His throwing arm is actually pretty good! But the range is an issue, to some extent. Donovan could certainly be supplanted at second base by say, JJ Wetherholt’s defense and a changing organizational perspective, either sooner or soonish. Donovan’s baserunning skills should not be ignored, and the bat plays well at second… it’s just that he is more of a utility player than a middle infielder that sticks. So what about that excellent hitting?

Similar to Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan is not an easy out, as he probably won’t strike out. He won’t usually chase bad pitches, squares up almost all the time, and just gets a lot of hits. Donovan also does not take many walks, but is more likely to than Winn. While he is a good contact hitter, the downside is a slow bat speed, low hard hit %, and he is below average at barreling the ball. Instead he hits the ball to all fields, making contact. Brendan has 110 hits, the most on the Cardinals, and among the top 20 most hits in MLB so far. Donovan’s main quirk however is that bat speed, which is abnormally slow to the point that it makes you wonder if it’s on purpose, in order to make more contact. Brendan Donovan feasts on right handed pitching but hits lefties to a surprisingly poor tune of .220 BA, .289 OBP, with a .612 OPS vs left handed pitching.

Donovan’s worst month of hitting was in June at .626 OPS for the month. Since the All-Star Break, he is also hitting poorly. But that should turn around any game now. Brendan likes to bat third or fifth… if you think you’d like a contact happy hitter leading off, you may want to think again: Donovan has a .320 OBP while leading off. I would bat Donovan fifth I think! He’s 7 for 12 with a home run batting 5th. Or third is working out pretty well, where he usually is at this year. Situational hitting: Donovan will probably knock a guy in if he’s at third base, or at first and third. Or just first. He hits the worst with runners at first and second base!

Donovan, like Winn, hits better away from home. He hits much better during night games than day games, to the point I might just give Brendan Donovan day games off. If there are no outs in an inning, his OBP improves to .375! And he slugs more too. Nothing to worry about I guess. Donovan goes beast mode in the 1st, 5th, and 9th innings. Terrible in the 8th inning.

• CF Victor Scott II is known for blazing fast speed, lots of bunting, and most of all, for his top notch defense in center field, tracking the ball down and collecting outs left and right. His baserunning run value is also towards the very top and may be his most valuable tool. Only a few other players are quicker than our quicksilver center fielder VSII. Victor’s weaknesses are his low on-base percentage, his light hitting with a low batting average, and his below average throwing arm. If he can make more contact we would have a third batter who can annoy pitchers by not striking out much, but for now he just isn’t really making that contact. He is better at taking walks than Winn and Donovan, but when you’re just not getting hits, that’s an issue.

Victor Scott II is a starting player because of his raw speed, which provides incredible range on defense and prevents runs, even with a poor throwing arm. I guess you don’t need to throw much when you just track down the ball and catch it. He also will steal some bases: 26 on the year is good for a top 6 MLB rank in total stolen bases. Victor has only been caught twice, which is the best among players with 25+ SB. His baserunning provides value. Now he just needs to get on base more often!

Unfortunately Scott does have a L/R split, not hitting lefties nearly as well. His start to the season was a misnomer, seeming average at hitting. He isn’t. Victor Scott II DOES hit really well when multiple runners are on base, for some reason. And he is clutch with runners in scoring position. So he’s not a total loss on offense. Gotta love a guy who rises to the occasion. VSII hits better at night, and in late and close situations. He likes to hit with one out. He has done best in the 2nd and 7th innings. While it would be best to see Scott as a 4th outfielder, it would diminish his run prevention value and his total stolen bases.

• 1B Willson Contreras is now a rangey first baseman who is only bettered by Matt Olson in fWAR! At least on Monday night, anyway. Several others were tied with Willson at the time. Matt Olson and Willson Contreras are having remarkably similar seasons, with Contreras missing some playing time and not walking as much. Contreras bat speed is incredible, and he’s hitting the ball hard still. He is rangey over at first base, has a strong throwing arm, and is a well above average hitter. If there is a downside to Contreras on offense, he strikes out more than most really good hitters, and doesn’t walk enough. Probably a little too aggressive.

Contreras might be our best hitter against left handed pitching. He’s best vs lefties. June and July were his best months, but after the All-Star Break he seems to have dialed it up to another level! OPS is over 1.000. Willson is another hitter who dials it up a notch when there are multiple runners on base, and I think of him as one of the more clutch hitters on the team usually. He hits better at home, but not by a lot, and hits better in night games (another player that does not hit well during the day). He is not clutch with two outs though; he prefers hitting with no outs and especially when there is 1 out. Best in the 2nd, 4th, and especially 9th innings. Terrible in the 3rd inning or in extras. He is at his best batting 5th, but also in the cleanup spot.

Willson is one of the better players on the team and is all around good: he hits well, defends well, and has upped his speed on the basepaths. His downside is that he is too aggressive, which hurts his baserunning and makes him chase bad pitches and whiff more than he should. But in some ways he is the spirit of the team and I do believe he can be “clutch” at times!

• Ivan Herrera is without a position but during this time you could think of him as the DH. I don’t think they will permanently put him there, or anyone really. It will be used as a half-rest day. His stats are still unqualified on Baseball Savant due to lost playing time, but he remains an extremely intriguing player due to his 148 wRC+, which is even after a game where he went 0-4 with a BB. Herrera hits for average, some power, has a quick bat speed, doesn’t strike out a lot, and will take a walk when he has to. He hits lefties very very well. He hasn’t been hitting as well in July, but he probably will turn it around soon. Herrera ups the ante when runners are in scoring position and executes, prefers hitting at home to on the road, and is much better in day games. He hits best in the 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th innings, and doesn’t hit well in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 9th innings. He’s best batting 5th or 6th.
• Alec Burleson has played his way into the starting lineup but is another guy with no position that all I can think of as a DH. It’s almost impossible to strike Burly out, he squares up on the ball better than most, and just seems like he is blooming into a hit factory that will also produce some home runs. He’s hit 14 so far. His weaknesses are the same knocks on him that have been around for a while: he chases pitches outside the zone, an aggressive swinger who won’t take many walks at all, still cannot hit lefties, and is a near total liability on defense. He is also quite slow. If a team wanted someone to permanently be the DH, they should be seeking out Burleson via trade.
• Jordan Walker is good at three things: throwing arm, sprint speed, and exit velocity. His baserunning is average, despite his jet like burst speed. He is bad at hitting overall in 2025: he chases pitches outside the zone too often, he strikes out a lot, and isn’t that great at defense either. He basically cannot hit lefties and can barely hit righties. But there is some good news for Jordan Walker fans (which should be everyone): his OPS is .835 during the month of July. That’ll do! His on-base percentage has been .483 in 47 July plate appearances. He hits best during the 8th inning.

That’s it for this week. I wanted to write about something non trade deadline related, mainly because I have no idea what they will do! Part of me thinks they will do very little, but I have developed a sneaking suspicion a LOT is about to go down. We shall see, comment away!