Randal Grichuk homered early in the Cardinals 5-2 win over the Reds, giving him what used to be known as the game-winning RBI, the RBI that gave the team the lead for good. Grichuk is an unusual Cardinals hitter, as hit value lies totally in his ability to produce power. Since 2012, these are the Cardinals who had at least 350 PA in a season, ranked lowest to highest OBP.

The median OBP for a Cardinals hitter with this many PA is .346. That deserves praise, as the Cardinals value that statistic, and do a good job of finding players who don’t make outs at a relatively high rate. Most of the players they used with low OBP turned out to be poor hitters in general. Grichuk is different. He does one thing well, smack the ball a long way. Of his 80 hits, 45 went for extra bases. He strikes me as the type of player an organization on a shoe string might sign, like the Orioles. The Cardinals suffered some injuries this season, otherwise Grichuk might not be getting this much playing time. Still, it’s good St. Louis recognizes what he can do, and takes advantage of his strength as a player.