Of all 170 qualified hitters in the MLB, the third-place St. Louis Cardinals own the two worst batting averages: Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler. It’s hard to believe, especially since both guys are veterans with strong resumes, but the numbers don’t lie. It should be noted that Manny Machado is No. 1 of 170 with a .350 batting average.

Here’s the worst qualified hitters in baseball, as of May 16th.

Carpenter is No. 170 with a .140 (16-for-114) while Fowler is No. 169 with a .146 average (19-for-130).

Fowler, unfortunately, also has the worst WAR, according to ESPN’s stats.

On his career, Matt Carpenter — a three-time All-Star — has an average of .273, per Baseball Reference. Fowler, who won a World Series and made an All-Star team with the Cubs in 2016, has a career average of .264.

As of May 16th, the St. Louis Cardinals sit 1.5 games back of first place in the NL Central after losing three consecutive games.

Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheny has “built in several days off for the hitters to spend ‘at work’ on finding their swings”.

In the same article — written by Derrick Goold — Matheny noted that it was “more confidence than mechanics”.