JUPITER, Fla. — Everyone remembers how Cardinals fifth-starter candidate Jake Woodford’s 2021 season began. What deserves more attention is how it ended. But first, let’s start at the start.
Woodford, then a reliever, was on the wrong end of a viral moment in Cincinnati. In the Cardinals’ second game of the season-opening series, after replacing starter Adam Wainwright, Woodford accidentally beaned Reds slugger Nick Castellanos. Things got worse, fast. A single by Joey Votto followed and put Castellanos on third. A wild pitch to Eugenio Suarez sent Castellanos barreling home headfirst. Safe. Castellanos popped to his feet and flexed over the young pitcher for all of the world to see.
Benches cleared. Blood boiled. The Reds promoted the taunting pose that got Castellanos suspended to the point of turning his flex into a big sign outside of their ballpark that encouraged fans to vote for Castellanos’ All-Star selection. Woodford had been posterized. I remember wondering there in Cincinnati how a young pitcher would respond. The season proceeded. We found out.
“It was a non-factor to his overall growth,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, who observed the Cincinnati shoving match through his role as the team’s bench coach. “He (Woodford) responded to it well. He didn’t react. I don’t see that particular day as anything monumental for him, other than he has carried himself like a pro.”
The best evidence came toward the season’s end, as the Cardinals were catching and passing those same Reds in September. The Reds had lost their flex. Woodford had found his.
Woodford, then a starter, went 4-1 with a 3.09 ERA in his final five starts of the regular season. Combine that with the 5.1 innings of scoreless relief he provided in a loss to the Brewers on Sept. 4, which seemed to flip some sort of a switch, and Woodford’s September ERA dropped to 2.51. He totaled 10 more strikeouts (18) than walks (eight) that month. Major league opponents in September slashed .226/.286/.275 against him.
“Guys talk about Jon Lester, and J.A. Happ, and Wade LeBlanc, and T.J. McFarland, and Luis Garcia kind of saving our season on the pitching side, but another big aspect was Woody,” catcher Andrew Knizner said. “Woody put together some good starts down the end, in the midst of a tight playoff run. Guys on the team have confidence in him. And he has confidence in his stuff.”
How you are feeling about the Cardinals once again trusting the roster they have to weather the early starting pitching turbulence encountered during camp, this time due to injuries to Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes, probably depends on a variety of factors.
One is how previously injured pitchers, like Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson, hold up. Another is how much you believe in the preseason additions the Cardinals made while prioritizing strike-throwing types like Drew VerHagen, who the team hopes fits like a glove with a golden defense. Another is what you think of Woodford. The former first-round draft pick has little left to prove at Class AAA but could still wind up in the rotation there, or in the major-league bullpen in St. Louis, or in Marmol’s starting rotation exiting camp.
“It’s going to be up to him at this point,” Marmol said. “He’s going to have a fair shake at it.”
Woodford, 25, helped his cause Monday. He followed Hudson and was credited with the win in a 4-3 exhibition defeat of the Marlins. More importantly, he packed three strikeouts and three groundouts into two scoreless innings that included just two hits, and no walks.
His first inning, the game’s third, lasted 14 pitches and resulted in groundouts hit to each of the three infielders (Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman) who earned Gold Gloves last season.
“Utilizing them as much as I can is something I think everyone in our staff is aware of, forcing the hand and staying in attack mode,” Woodford said.
In the fourth, Woodford struck out Avisail Garcia with a swinging strike on a high fastball, then Jesus Aguilar with a swinging strike on a low curveball, then recovered from allowing back-to-back singles by striking out Jesus Sanchez on a sweeping slider.
“It was a repertoire of stuff,” Marmol said.
Woodford prefers to let his stuff make his case for the rotation. He’s not one to campaign. He knows by now that’s not the way this works.
“Five seasons in the minor leagues,” he said. “I learned a lot. Grew a lot as a player. That never stops. You have to go compete. Nothing is going to be given to you in this game. I just want to help the team win.”
His manager and teammates are becoming more talkative about the differences they see in Woodford this spring. They trace it back to September.
“He caught that groove,” Knizner said. “He realized, ‘My stuff is good. My stuff plays at this level. I can get guys out, consistently.’ That leads to trust and conviction in your pitches. It just builds up.”
“Extreme competitor,” added Hudson. “I felt like, last year, you saw him get out there in a long relief role and just compete his way into an opportunity as a starter. This camp, so far, and what he did at the end of the year last year, he’s a starter. That guy can pitch. His future is right at his feet.”
As for the image of Woodford at Castellanos’ feet, consider it ancient history. The Reds flamed out and sold off. Castellanos is with Philadelphia, after opting out of his contract with the Reds. Cincinnati is rebuilding, or something. Woodford is flexing a newfound confidence.
