St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training Countdown: Three Days

We are down to three days until pitchers and catchers report to St. Louis Cardinals’ Spring Training, and day eight of my exploration.

Three days… just three days!  Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone.  Here’s to hoping you don’t outright embarrass yourself or forget to do something sweet for those who love you (I’m looking at you, husbands).

Before I dive in and examine my player for this countdown day, I want to provide a bit of road mapping for the remaining three posts of this countdown series.

In this post I will examine a player and in tomorrow’s post I will examine a player then I intend to offer the final countdown post as a recap of each player I have examined.  I hope this recap provides a single location for each of us to refer to once the minor league season begins.

So, let’s get to it.  My examinations thus far have taken us around the horn of Memphis’ infield and allowed us a peak into two players in Memphis’ outfield.  To continue the examination, one of 2016’s interesting spring training invitees is Patrick Wisdom.

Wisdom started his MLB career in June of 2012 (1st round of draft) when he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals out of St. Mary’s College of California.  This 24 year old third baseman has spent his entire career thus far with the Cardinals climbing the ranks.  Wisdom received his first invite to spring training in 2014, wasn’t invited in 2015, and again received an invite for 2016.

Here is a look at his offensive breakdown:

Single-A (full season)- 372 at-bats, .231 average (20 doubles, 13 home runs, 62 RBI), .723 OPS

Double-A (2014, 2015)- 866 at-bats, .225 average (39 doubles, 28 home runs, 114 RBI), .671 OPS

Not overly stellar material but not a player to turn away from either.

More from St Louis Cardinals Prospects

• Reflecting on the 2013 Cardinals’ top 30 prospects
• The St. Louis Cardinals’ 2024 rotation needs work
• Cardinals: Moises Gomez hit 39 home runs, could be in St. Louis in 2023?
• Cardinals: These two prospects have the tools to break out in 2023
• Cardinals: Alex Reyes and Delvin Perez should be cautionary tales

It is important here for me to note that his average and production have both climbed between 2014 and 2015.  In 2014 his average was .215 which climbed to a .237 in 2015.  His OPS climbed from .644 to .699 in that one year span as well.  One could imagine that a year with Memphis could show further improvement.  Equally, one could argue (see Steven McNeil mentioned below) that another year in Springfield is in order.

Defensively, Wisdom entered the Cardinals organization as a third baseman but he has also appeared across the diamond at first.  This, I believe, makes him a very interesting asset for Memphis this season.

Here is a look at his defensive breakdown:

Single-A (full season; 3B)- 63 games, 49 putouts, 119 assists, .913 fielding percentage

Single-A (full season; 1B)- 28 games, 249 putouts, 15 assists, .992 fielding percentage

Double-A (2014, 2015; 3B)- 377 games, 261 putouts, 720 assists, .936 fielding percentage

Double-A (2015; 1B)- 3 games, 22 putouts, 2 assists, .960 fielding percentage

It is interesting that Wisdom appeared at first base in only three games in 2015 as I feel that he shows a stronger presence defensively at first than third.  I wonder if, when considering the existence of Jacob Wilson, first base is his better option in Memphis and maybe even more likely so for his value in the years after 2016?

For a really insightful and in-depth review of Wisdom, see Steven McNeil’s Prospect Report.  McNeil does a nice job of capturing the picture that is Wisdom.  In this post, he predicts that Wisdom will begin 2016 back in double-A which might well be true.

My prediction for Wisdom, slightly more optimistic than the aforementioned McNeil report, is that 2016 is a full season with Memphis to build his value either as a future backup for first base or as a piece of a future trade.

Next: St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training Countdown: Four Days

Follow me on twitter and keep watching for a new article over these next few days as I look at the players who excite me for the upcoming Memphis Redbirds season!