# 2021 Cardinal Projections: Yadier Molina - Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/ - Published: 2021-02-22T11:35:52-06:00 - Author: Eugene Tierney Like I’ve done for the last few years, I’m working through my Cardinals projections for the upcoming season. The process this year is trickier; normally I take a 3 year average of the players stats for a portion of the projections, but this past season saw the 60 game season, so there was a little extra math. My projections take into account the already mentioned 3 year average and similar players. On [Baseball Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/), they list comparable players by career and by age; I factor in what those players did at the same age as the player I’m projecting. Again, if the comp was from 2020, I had to do a little math to equal it out to a 162 game season. Next up is [Yadier Molina](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/molinya01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-). | | **G** | **AB** | **R** | **H** | **2B** | **3B** | **HR** | **RBI** | **SB/ATT** | **BB** | **K** | **Avg/OBP/SLG** | **ISO** | **WAR** | | 3 Yr | 116 | 423 | 44 | 112 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 58 | 3/4 | 23 | 60 | .264/.310/.400 | .135 | 1.2 | | Comps | 101 | 319 | 32 | 85 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 1/2 | 25 | 37 | .266/.321/.389 | .122 | 1.4 | | Projection | 109 | 371 | 38 | 98 | 16 | 1 | 10 | 49 | 2/3 | 24 | 49 | .264/.315/.396 | .132 | 1.3 | Comps: [A.J. Pierzynski](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pierza.01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Benito Santiago](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santibe01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Sherm Lollar](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lollash01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Ernie Lombardi](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lombaer01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Terry Steinbach](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/steinte01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)*, [Gabby Hartnett](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hartnga01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Ramon Hernandez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=hernara02,hernara01,hernan011ram&search=Ramon+Hernandez&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)*, [Tony Pena](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=penato02,penato03,penato01,pena--003ton&search=Tony+Pena&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Frank White](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whitefr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Brandon Phillips](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/phillbr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)*, [Bob Boone](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boonebo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Jason Kendall](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kendaja01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)*, [Bill Freehan](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/freehbi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)*, [Orlando Cabrera](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cabreor01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)*. * _Did not play in age 38 season._ Yadi is in rare company here. His comps didn’t do too much for his games played; of the 8 that played their age 38 season, only 4 played over 100 games, and only 2 were at 135 or higher (and 1 of those was White, who didn’t catch). That should be expected at this age for catchers; we’ve seen Yadi’s games play decrease over the last few years. They also didn’t do much for offense; many of the players were backups by this age. I’m expecting that Yadi will play more than the average comparable. I really think his numbers are pretty solid here. He’s never been an elite hitter, and the little offense he showed is starting to regress. A .260 defensive catcher with 10 homers is better then a lot of teams will have. I could see the WAR a little bit higher (1.5-1.6) due to his defense. The playing time is the big thing. If he were to start 109 games, that leaves 53 games for [Andrew Knizner](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kniznan01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)( or some combination with [Ali Sanchez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sanchal04.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) and/or [Tyler Heineman](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/heinety01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)). It’s a step up for Knizner at the MLB level, but is it enough for him to take a step forward? I’m worried it’s not and we’ll see him stagnate. How do these projections match up to [Fangraphs](https://www.fangraphs.com/players/yadier-molina/7007/stats?position=C)? | | **G** | **PA** | **HR** | **R** | **RBI** | **Avg** | **OBP** | **SLG** | **BABIP** | **ISO** | **WAR** | | Nyrdcast | 109 | 405 | 10 | 38 | 49 | .265 | .315 | .396 | .285 | .132 | 1.3 | | ATC | 92 | 363 | 9 | 36 | 41 | .262 | .303 | .384 | .278 | .128 | | | FGDC | 102 | 405 | 9 | 38 | 45 | .257 | .300 | .377 | .283 | .120 | 1.2 | | Steamer | 95 | 389 | 10 | 40 | 43 | .256 | .304 | .393 | .281 | .137 | 1.5 | | ZiPS | 107 | 414 | 8 | 36 | 46 | .257 | .296 | .361 | .285 | .104 | 1.0 | Most of the projections are pretty close. Mine have a little stronger offensive profile overall; there might be a stat here or there higher, but overall, I’m more optimistic. I’m trying to get [Harrison Bader](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/baderha01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) and [Paul DeJong](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dejonpa01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) done this week. Other projections: [Nolan Arenado](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021/02/2021-cardinal-projections-nolan-arenado/) [Paul Goldschmidt](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021/02/2021-cardinal-projections-paul-goldschmidt/) _Don’t forget to check the [Cardinal Salary Matrix](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2020/10/the-2020-cardinals-off-season-salary-matrix/) and the [Cardinal Prospect Tracker ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021/01/2021-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-tracker/) for updates._ ### Share this: * [ Facebook ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=facebook) * [ X ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=x) * [ Email ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%202021%20Cardinal%20Projections%3A%20Yadier%20Molina&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyrdcast.com%2F2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina%2F&share=email) * [ LinkedIn ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=linkedin) * [ Mastodon ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=mastodon) * [ Nextdoor ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=nextdoor) * [ Pinterest ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=pinterest) * [ Reddit ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=reddit) * [ Tumblr ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021-cardinal-projections-yadier-molina/?share=tumblr) ### Like this: Like Loading… ### _Related_