Cardinals Minor League Report – Right Field Prospects

Today we will focus on the last position player, but certainly not the least. Defensively, right field players are an assortment of speedy guys who have been converted from center field, like Torii Hunter, or players with cannon arms, like Jeff Francouer. Currently, the Cardinals have Carlos Beltran slotted in the position until Allen Craig is healthy. Beltran is definitely not a long term solution, but Craig could see quite a few seasons there. There is the option, however, of Craig slotting over to first base if Matt Adams is not ready next season. If that happens, then the ability of the right field prospects in the system becomes very important.

Amaury Capellan – Amaury made his debut last season and performed very well in 151 at bats. He showed solid contact, good power, and the ability to get on base. The main knock on him is that he tailed off in August, but a lot of that can be attributed to the acclimating to the new routine of being a pro ball player. Capellan will probably report back to rookie league, but could see time at low A this year if his numbers remain consistent.

Gary Apelian – Apelian debuted at Johnson City this season and showed a lot of promise. Like Capellan, he showed solid contact and on-base skills. He has a little more power potential than Capellan, but needs to work on his walk rate. He will also probably report back to rookie league. It will be interesting to see which of these prospects gets the call to low A first.

That’s it. Right field on paper is not a very deep position for the cardinals, but players like Allen Craig and Adron Chambers have gotten the call. Chambers may end up reporting back to AAA, but he isn’t really an unknown anymore. Not to mention, there is a lot of talk of players switching positions to fill the right field gap. Oscar Taveras, Mark Hamilton, Zack Cox, and Charlie Tilson are among the names mentioned as potential position movers. This could be an interesting year for the position as some prospects may make a move across the outfield or out of the diamond.

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