At crucial point in career, Nootbaar continues to excel

TAMPA – Asked recently if the Cardinals truly know what they have in talented but oft-injured outfielder Lars Nootbaar, manager Oliver Marmol sighed, took several seconds to carefully choose his words and finally came to the following answer.

“Not completely … because it’s been interrupted by certain injuries,” he said of Nootbaar, who had a fifth straight multihit game in the Cardinals' 7-4 defeat of the Rays on Thursday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “I’d like to see [Nootbaar] over a longer period of time provide some of the consistency and start to close the gap on what his ceiling is.”

Back in the leadoff spot where he hit early in the season before encountering a prolonged offensive slump in early June, Nootbaar doubled in a run in a five-run second inning, laced a 103.8 mph single and walked twice in the Cards' third win in their past four games.

For Nootbaar, it was his career-best fifth straight multihit game -- the longest such streak by a Cardinal since Tommy Edman had seven consecutive games with two or more hits late in the 2019 season. Nootbaar, who had four straight multihit games from March 31-April 4, has 11 hits over the last five games, with two doubles and three RBIs.

“I feel pretty good and I’m just sticking to the work that we’ve been working on and trying to be on time [at the plate] as much as possible,” said Nootbaar, who has raised his batting average from .228 to .244 with this stretch. “I just want to swing at good pitches. [Hitting the ball the other way] is not a conscious effort at all. I’m just trying to be on time, square the ball up and wherever it goes, it goes. After that, it’s up to the BABIP gods.”

The Cardinals were hopeful that this would finally be the season where Nootbaar’s production lived up to his seemingly enormous potential. He started well enough, smashing eight home runs and walking 33 times in March, April and May combined.

However, the bottom seemed to fall out in June when Nootbaar hit just .169 (13-for-77) and struck out more than twice as often (28) as he walked (12). That not only cost him the leadoff spot, but also a place in the regular lineup. To make matters worse, Nootbaar suffered a costochondral sprain in mid-July, meaning he damaged the cartilage that connects the ribs to the sternum. That led to a nearly three-week stint on the injured list – his sixth time out of action because of an injury over the past three seasons.

In the previous three seasons, Nootbaar had hit 25 of his 40 home runs after the All-Star break – something he credited to him going back to Southern California and working on his swing with teammate and close friend Nolan Arenado. When he was unable to swing this July because of the rib injury, Nootbaar instead did a deep dive on his swing through video work.

“I’ve usually had that midseason retooling and that’s what I would credit it to,” Nootbaar said. “I saw a lot [on the videos].”

Nootbaar knows now that his future with the Cardinals could be on the line following another uneven season. He is slashing .244/.335/.395 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs for the season. A stretch in August where he has gone 20-for-59 (.339) is going a long way in helping him show the kind of player he can be.

Still, the Cardinals and Marmol are wanting to see the sweet-swinging lefty finish with a flurry.

“He does have [a lot on the line] and I know he’s working hard toward it, because he’s always going to do that,” Marmol said of the 27-year-old. “He takes his craft serious, and he’s hoping that his second half and these last several weeks play into that. It’s important for him to finish strong.”

Nootbaar has been splitting time in right field with Jordan Walker, and he saw some starts in left when Alec Burleson moved to first base because of the right foot injury to Willson Contreras. Nootbaar is hopeful that his hottest stretch of the season will keep him in the lineup so that he can show the Cardinals the kind of efficient run producer he can be. Getting on base four times – as he did in Thursday’s victory – was a big step in proving that.

“Just take it one day at a time, really, and don’t think too much about it,” Nootbaar said. “I want to take advantage of every opportunity possible, and that’s basically it.”