The HARSH Truth About Lars Nootbaar: St. Louis Cardinals Leadoff Crisis

Bernie Miklasz takes a hard look at Lars Nootbaar’s struggles in 2025. Despite impressive Statcast numbers, his real-world production is collapsing, and it’s costing the Cardinals games. Bernie dives deep into Nootbaar’s alarming stats, rising strikeouts, and declining value at the top of the order. Is it time for the Cardinals to move on? Could Brendan Donovan or J.J. Wetherholt be better options? 🔥 Get your first month free at BlueChew with code ‘BERNIE’ https://bluechew.com 👑 Presented by DraftKings. The Crown is Yours. 🍎 Listen to show on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bernie-central/id1803733896 🟢 Listen to show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1JhgQnJ88S0rWrXesg2dqz?si=1dc9263dc5f34bbce 🎧 Find the rest of our shows on audio: https://www.stlsportscentral.com/2025/03/30/links-to-sports-hub-stl-poodcasts 🔗 Visit: https://stlsportscentral.com 📺 Subscribe to catch every Bernie Show video 💬 Drop a comment — Bernie reads as many as he can and appreciates your feedback! 00:00 – Bernie opens the show, plugs STL Sports Central & DraftKings 00:55 – Nootbaar: Cardinals’ most frustrating regular in 2025 02:21 – Career-worst offensive numbers across the board 03:36 – “Statcast Star” vs. Real production: Bernie calls it out 06:09 – Nootbaar’s month-long slump compared to Wainwright’s hitting 08:04 – Brutal leadoff numbers: strikeouts, OBP, lack of impact 10:12 – How Nootbaar getting on base impacts Cardinals’ wins 13:02 – Bernie defends why leadoff still matters in today’s game 16:11 – Long-term outlook: Arbitration years, trade talk, and regression 25:21 – Could J.J. Wetherholt be the Cardinals’ future leadoff man? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices