St. Louis Cardinals Mailbag: What is Stephen Piscotty’s upside?

Welcome to the St. Louis Cardinals mailbag, where I’ll take the fans questions and dish my take on the topic.

February has arrived and with 8 days left until spring training begins with pitchers and catchers reporting, it’s time to take some questions. So many times people respond to my tweets with questions and 140 characters simply isn’t enough. They deserve more than a pause, reflection and half wit response or a seven tweet response. Here I am. After opening the day for questioning, here are the questions I got.

First, great questions. The two outfield young guns that John Mozeliak is betting heavily on are both being slotted as starting players in 2016. Stephen Piscotty has worked himself out at first base and in the outfield while Randal Grichuk has worked himself back to health in the offseason from a sports hernia surgery.

While Grichuk may offer more pop, I think Piscotty’s overall makeup and versatility give him the upside. He came to the Cardinals in 2015 midseason and gave them instant production and did so at the top, middle and bottom of the order. He can smack home runs, spit doubles into the gaps and play a number of positions. He offers more to the Cardinals right now than Grichuk. Grichuk’s main concern is health and strikeouts. Piscotty’s OPS and liability is less.

First base has been a much talked about position for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2012.

Who starts at first base on April 4th in Pittsburgh? My answer is Brandon Moss. The loss of power from Matt Adams was starting before he tore his quad in 2015. He had lost it since 2014’s All Star Break. Moss’ problem was a hip and glute injury he suffered in 2014 and couldn’t rehab properly before 2015 started. Check out Moss’ healthy seasons and he presents more upside than Adams and also gives the Cards something they need and that’s power. Raw pop. The 2012-14 Moss is deadly.

In 296 plate appearances in 2012, Moss cranked 21 home runs and slugged .596. 2013 and 2014 were swell. When this guy is healthy, he hits. First base means pop. Extra base hits. Moss handles lefties better and has more upside than Adams. He will see the majority of the at bats in 2016. His experience and tenure at the position project better for the Cardinals moving forward. Sorry Big City. Could be your big exit?

Next: Where does Matt Carpenter hit?

The power is there. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Randal Grichuk power. Can it extend to a 30 home run season?

We have seen it. The Randal Grichuk power show. The Cardinals young righthanded stick is full of potential but there are questions. Can he cut down on the strikeouts? Make adjustments and give him a better chance to get contact. Who makes the better adjustment in 2016? Grichuk or the pitchers? He smoked 17 home runs in 350 at bats in 2015, including a ridiculous stretch in late June and July. He has the potential to hit 30 if he collects 550 at bats. Sure. Back to back seasons he has been hindered though by…injuries.

Grichuk had back issues in 2014 and then elbow issues in 2015 along with sports hernia surgery in the offseason. His right elbow is, in Grichuk’s words, something that may never go away. He will have to manage it. It can blow at any time. That makes him an extremely hard gamble. Can he hit 30 home runs? Can he stay healthy?

The next time you are at a marathon or race or at the gym, find someone who looks like the same build as yourself. Ask yourself. Can you run faster or lift more? This is a good question because you have no evidence to base it off but the potential is there. You’ve never tested yourself against this person before. That’s the trick here. Grichuk has never done it but has the tools. 200 K’s or 30 home runs? I’ll take both if I have to.

St. Louis Cardinals pack the phenom power. Which one do you keep?

Alex Reyes or Carlos Martinez? Who do you keep if you can only have one. Think of it like The Highlander? There can only be one.

Carlos Martinez. It’s not fair to the young jedi Reyes but what I have seen of El Gallo when healthy is so good to let go. Martinez has shown a newfound dominance with more responsibility. All Reyes has shown to do consistently is get high at home instead of utilizing that fiery right arm.

His own lack of discipline cost him 50 games this time and he has yet to prove he can do an extended run of dominance at the AAA level. He needs time and work. Martinez is a credible Cy Young contender in 2016. There’s a difference. There’s still time for Alex Reyes. Right now, El Gallo is more vital.

Next: Can Aledmys Diaz make the big club?

Aledmys Diaz finished with a vengeance in 2015. Can it continue in 2016?

Spenser asked on Twitter if St. Louis Cardinals shortstop prospect Aledmys Diaz can make the opening day roster? My answer is yes, if he outhits Greg Garcia and shows enough defensive skills. Diaz was designated for assignment last year and rebounded very well late in the year to finish with a .784 OPS split between Springfield and Memphis.

He slugged .445 overall and compiled an OPS of .784. He doesn’t strike out, makes contact and is decent at short. With Jedd Gyorko’s lack of experience at short and Diaz’s upside, he could fit in quite nice in 2016. I don’t see him making the team out of spring training though.

Graham Jacobi-Did the Braves really steal Kevin Maitan away from us?

The 16 year old “jewel” of the international free agent market is being compared to Chipper Jones by the Atlanta Braves and has great speed, good hands and some pop. Did the Cards miss out on this guy or should they take a look? It’s so hard to bet on a kid without much game experience who can’t even legally drive in the states at night. He defected earlier than past players but I won’t call a steal.

Quick take because this deserves more. Carson Kelly won a gold glove in the minors and projects as a defensive minded backstopper with his sub .600 OPS in 2015 at Palm Beach. Michael Ohlman has upside too with his size and pop, slugging 12 home runs and compiling a .774 OPS at Springfield. Ohlman is 25 years old while Kelly is only 21 so there is a gap there.

Ohlman should get his shot at backing up Yadier Molina but the signing of Brayan Pena doesn’t help him. In two years he will be 27 looking at 28 years old and Kelly will almost ready. Pena’s signing may hurt Ohlman’s true shot unless he goes berserk in Memphis.

That’s it. Next week, I will take more questions. Thanks for submitting and go Cards.