St. Louis Cardinals: Three Potential Rule 5 Picks

2. Phillip Evans – SS/2B/3B New York Mets

The St. Louis Cardinals could wager on a small sample size, and draft Phillip Evans.  Evans was drafted in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft by the New York Mets. Evans is 5’9″, 220lbs, and 24 years old.

Before this season, Evans wasn’t making any prospect spotlights. He batted .248/.323/.344 with the Mets low A-affiliate, and then batted .238/.307/.309 with the Mets high A-affiliate. But before you get too excited, don’t worry, he turned it around this year.

With the Mets AA-affilate Mr. Evans batted .335/.374/.485 in 386 PAs in 2016. Small sample size? Very. But, this is what the Rule 5 is for. It’s for taking chances, nothing is certain, if he doesn’t work out guess what? They can have him back.

During this campaign, Evans hit eight home runs. Which isn’t a lot. But his size and swing is designed for gap power. Which is why he hit thirty doubles. Also, Evans didn’t strike out a lot this year. Only sixty times to be exact, which gives him a 15% strikeout rate for the season.

The Cardinals could use Evans and his versatility as a utility infielder. Currently, the Cardinals have Greg Garcia as their utility player. The thing about Greg is that he gets on base. Kind of a lot. But, Greg lacks power, even gap power. He only had eleven doubles and four home runs in 257 PAs. Which is fine, but Evans could add a much bigger boost to the bench with his bat.

Defensively, Evans is about even with Greg. Garcia might have a slight advantage at shortstop, but Evans is said to be solid at 3B and 2nd, and not going to hurt his team at short.

There’s no reason not to give Garcia a little competition in the upcoming Spring Training. Competition is good, it reminds players that someone always wants their paycheck.