St. Louis Cardinals: Seven Predictions For the 2017 Season

Outfielder Harrison Bader will be the first prospect to get the call-up to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017.

First things first, these were my two criteria in determining who would be the first St. Louis Cardinals prospect to get called up:

1. The player must be in the organization’s top-30 prospect rankings (according to MLB Pipeline’s 2017 list); and,
2. The player must have no prior major-league experience.

That eliminated from consideration players like Luke Weaver and Carson Kelly who have previously had stints in St. Louis but are on track to begin the year at triple-A Memphis.

This was somewhat of a tough choice to make, as there were a number routes to take. Ultimately, the decision came down to Harrison Bader or right-handed pitcher Sandy Alcantara. I settled on Bader for a few reasons.

First, he’ll probably begin the year in triple-A, while Alcantara will probably begin at double-A Springfield.

Second, although I believe we will see Alcantara in St. Louis at some point this season, I think Bader is closer to the top of the reserve outfield depth chart than Alcantara is to the top of the reserve starting pitching depth chart.

Tommy Pham has yet to put together a complete season at the big-league level, and I doubt Jose Martinez, even if he makes the team out of spring, will be able to sustain the type of success that is necessary for staying in St. Louis all season.

Enter Harrison Bader. I envision him getting the call sometime this summer to inject a new look into the Cardinals roster. He’s the type of player who would get called up to provide a “spark.”

Couldn’t the same reasoning be used with Alcantara? Yes, but the St. Louis Cardinals have enough pitching depth that I think Alcantara is more likely to be called up when rosters expand in September.

Related Story: How Harrison Bader Fits Into the Cardinals' 2017 Plans

To be clear, I don’t think Bader’s call-up will be due to any desire to cut into the playing time of Randal Grichuk, Dexter Fowler, or Stephen Piscotty. Rather, Bader could keep himself busy as a fourth outfielder.

So besides that, why Bader? He’s been a quick mover in the Cardinals system since being drafted in 2015. In two minor-league seasons, he’s slashed .281/.346/.476 and popped thirty home runs in 700 at-bats.

This spring with St. Louis, he’s hit .381 with two home runs and seven runs batted in through Wednesday, March 9. He went deep in his first spring at-bat a couple of weeks ago.

He’s the organization’s top outfield prospect, and the team’s fifth-ranked prospect overall. He strikes out a bit too often and his walk rate could use a bump, but he’s the type of prospect who has a ton of potential to grow and improve.

The Cardinals are deep on outfield talent in the minor-league system, but expect Bader to rise to the top of that class in 2017 and soon surpass Tommy Pham and Jose Martinez on the organization’s depth chart.