The St. Louis Cardinals weren't expected to be part of the National League playoff conversation this season, but they've changed plenty of opinions through the first half of the year.One of those came from ESPN, which released its midseason report cards for all 30 MLB teams on Tuesday. Rather than focusing solely on records, the rankings evaluated how each club has performed relative to expectations, and the Cardinals received one of the better grades in baseball.It's another sign that St. Louis has become one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 season.Cardinals earn impressive B+ gradeESPN handed the Cardinals a B+, placing them among the league's better-performing clubs through the halfway point. The outlet pointed to several breakout performances as the biggest reasons for St. Louis' r