It’s not unusual to hear Lars Nootbaar before you see him.

Nootbaar is a constant source of entertainment in the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse. He is engaging and charismatic and is constantly credited by veterans and rookies alike for keeping days light throughout what can be a monotonous baseball routine. But as he approaches his fourth major-league season — and the first in which he’s in line for a starting job — Nootbaar is ready to take his offensive game to the next level.

This year, he hopes his bat will be even louder than he is.

In a lineup that includes Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Willson Contreras, Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman, Nootbaar is hopeful he can add his name to a long list of Cardinals power hitters. Nootbaar will debut a different swing this year. After an underwhelming 2023 — he missed roughly 40 games due to injuries — Nootbaar approached last offseason as motivated as ever. Now, after spending four months revamping his mechanics, Nootbaar is ready to unveil a swing that could add power to an already encouraging offensive profile.

It helped, of course, to have had a five-time Silver Slugger winner to bounce ideas off, one who happened to specialize in a key skill.

“I knew I had a flaw,” Nootbaar told The Athletic. “Who hits the ball really well into the air, pull-side? Nolan Arenado does. Probably a good guy to lean on for that.”