Kids looking good in Florida

As spring training continues to move toward the regular season there will be a few of the "up and coming" players that will be referred to as "needs more seasoning" by the end of spring. It is still early though and still a few days for the players trying to make a name for themselves to show what they have and hopefully turn some heads. Teams usually never know the final roster until all the talent has been seen and evaluated. Some prospects will turn some heads and some will be bagging groceries in a few weeks, as a buddy and I like to throw that phrase around.

What about the Cards? Are there a few spots waiting to be filled by a surprise, come out of nowhere player or maybe a spot suddenly opens up because the player who was thought to have had it turned out to lose it? Easiest way to answer that question is, Absolutely.

First off lets start with the outfield and the plethora of talent we have lined up ready to play. We have our starting corners in Matt Holliday and Allen Craig who will be staples in the lineup for many years, however the starting centerfield job is up for grabs as well as a bench spot for a fourth outfielder. And the one that loses the centerfield job doesn't necessarily become the fourth man. Newly signed Peter Bourjos and Jon Jay battle for the starting job but the guy turning a few heads is Randal Grichuk. Grichuk will be hard pressed to make the club but the buzz around him is electric down here in Florida and I agree he really looks like a strong hitter who crushes the ball on each swing. Our top prospect Oscar Taveras is one who had better turn it on if he wants to start the season with the Cardinals rather than the minor leagues. He played his first game on Friday, played again on Saturday and already has a setback with a tight right hamstring. This setback really hurts his chances, in my opinion, of making the club out of spring training.

Shane Robinson has the best average and most runs batted in of any of our outfielders not named Holliday. However, that doesn't mean he will make the club out of spring either because he bats right handed and that may be a disadvantage with potentially all the starters batting right handed in Holliday, Bourjos, Craig and Jay the only left handed bat other than Taveras ready for a spot. See what I mean -- I am glad I am not a manager trying to choose the final spots for some good hitters.

Secondly our infield just got potentially crowded as of today when the Cardinals announced the signing of highly touted Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz to a Major League contract. Diaz has the potential to be a good hitter and is capable of playing the middle infield positions. He is to report on Monday and I am looking forward to seeing this kid play. If you never heard of him don't feel alone it was only a few days ago I even heard his name as we were one of several clubs scouting him and trying to sign him. The new kid on the block so to speak will probably be assigned to the minor leagues as it stands now, but he has a Major League 4-year deal so don't expect him to be there long if at all. If he shows up and hits the ball like he is scouted to be able to how do you leave him off the roster? Then who is the loser between Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso? Our corner spots, like the outfield, are covered with Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams. Our middle infield with the additions of Jhonny Peralta, Mark Ellis looks solid with rookie Kolten Wong trying to do it right. Wong was off to a really slow start but has started to relax and is doing better of late. Peralta and Ellis both look like the quality veterans they are and are starting to find their own groove. Carpenter is struggling the most in the average department but I think we know what he is capable of doing.

Ah spring training; the sunshine, the cool breeze, the rookies with no names on their backs because they won't be around long, and the challenge of getting everyone playing time to make sure they are ready. Time will tell on how our newly signed shortstop will play and if he will throw a wrench in the system to possibly mark the end of Kozma and Descalso. Lots of good baseball left to watch down here in sunny Florida and lots of roster spots up for grabs. I didn't even mention the possible pitching twists as some shine, some stink and some are recovering from injuries.