St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk vs. Stephen Piscotty

Sep 24, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Stephen Piscotty (55) is congratulated by Randal Grichuk as he crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

Who do we keep?

Now back to the real question: who do we keep? It’s hard to see Grichuk as a really phenomenal player, and it’s really easy to see him as a bust, but with every passing day he keeps proving that he can do the impossible.

Maybe he’s just a new kind of player we’ve never seen before: someone who hits the ball so hard that he’s able to be valuable even without a high walk rate. I’ve been crying wolf on Grichuk for two years, and he keeps proving me wrong. It gets harder and harder to write his production off as a fluke.

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On the other hand, I don’t see Stephen Piscotty busting. He may not be as a superstar, but he should be more than good enough to hang on to a starting position for quite a few years. That said, if his power isn’t real, he could be closer to good than great, and Grichuk may exceed him in production.

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If it were up to me, I’d take the safe route and stick with Piscotty. I think that Grichuk’s trade value right now is as high as it may ever be, and I think the potential for him to bust is simply too great to take him over Piscotty. It’s close though, and it would be a tough choice to make if I were steering the St. Louis Cardinals through this off season. What would you do?