Nootbaar set the table beautifully in this one, reaching safely in all three of his plate appearances against Aaron Nola. He is totally locked in right now in terms of pitch selection and has a .403 on-base percentage in what’s now been two straight weeks atop the Cardinals’ lineup. It was nice to see him steal his first two bases of the season too.

Nootbaar isn’t only hitting everything hard and typically more in the air this year, but he’s struck out only once in 19 plate appearances. Now that he’s playing every day and batting leadoff, he doesn’t need to maintain this kind of pace to be very useful in mixed leagues. Of course, his durability issues could always pose problems at some point.

Nootbaar led off the first inning with a base hit and scored the first run for St. Louis on a single by Nolan Arenado. He reached to lead off the third on a hit-by-pitch, then knocked a second hit in the sixth. Noorbaar drew a walk to reach for the fourth time in the eighth. The 27-year-old outfielder has now been on base six times through two contests as he starts the year in the leadoff spot for the Cardinals.

Nootbaar is back in the leadoff spot for the second straight game after going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer during Thursday’s season-opener at Busch Stadium. The 27-year-old’s ascension to the leadoff spot comes in the wake of Masyn Winn’s ice-cold spring and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be moved down anytime soon. It’s an unexpected boost for his fantasy value as it’ll result in an uptick in plate appearances and runs scored.