The 2025 season is still very young, but one thing is already clear: Brendan Donovan has been a major spark plug for a St. Louis Cardinals team that refuses to go quietly.
Heading into mid-April, Donovan is hitting a scorching .380 — good for third-best in Major League Baseball. In just 71 at-bats, he’s piled up 27 hits, including two home runs and 13 RBIs. He’s also swiped a couple of bags and scored 11 times, many of those runs the direct result of his own hustle and timely hitting.
Donovan’s presence in the No. 3 spot of the Cardinals’ batting order has helped fuel one of the most productive offenses in the league. St. Louis currently ranks among the top five in hits, RBIs, slugging percentage, and OPS — and they lead all of baseball in batting average. That’s a huge leap forward for a team that often struggled to find offensive rhythm last season.
But Donovan isn’t just hitting — he’s setting the tone. The 27-year-old second baseman is riding a 14-game hitting streak, a personal best and the longest in the majors so far this year. That kind of consistency has made him the heartbeat of the lineup and a clear leader in the clubhouse.
New hitting coach Brant Brown has been credited for bringing fresh ideas to the plate — literally. Not a novel approach but specifically encouraging hitters to attack when they’re ahead in counts. Donovan has embraced that aggressive mindset and is thriving because of it.
Despite a few frustrating finishes and late-inning leads slipping away, the Cardinals have looked spirited, hungry, and at the very least ready to fight in 2025. They’ve shown flashes of good — and thanks in large part to Brendan Donovan’s early-season heroics, there’s a strong foundation to build on, not rebuild on.
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