St. Louis Cardinals: John Gant makes sure he isn’t forgotten

The St. Louis Cardinals were given a reminder of a player this past week who they seemed to have forgotten after his less than stellar first appearance with the team.

When the St. Louis Cardinals dealt Jaime Garcia to the Atlanta Braves they received three minor league players in return. Of the three, only one had seen the majors. He was also the only one of the three who was expected to have any success at the Major League level. That man was John Gant and this past week he put his name back on the map for the Cardinals.

Cardinal fans may be remotely aware of who John Gant is. They may remember him from wasting away in the bullpen for a week. They may also remember him from the one appearance he made in a blowout against the Cincinnati Reds in mop up duty.

Today, Gant was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week. This comes on the heels of eight scoreless innings on Friday, which only required ninety pitches. This was the first time Gant was able to put up a number in the win column.

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Gant started the season on the disabled list and has only made five appearances for Memphis this year. In those five appearances, Gant boasts a 2.13 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Gant is also averaging nearly a strikeout an inning through 25.1 innings.

These stats are important when considering the place the Cardinals are currently in for pitching. Recently, Michael Wacha has hit the skids and Adam Wainwright has reverted back to his early season form. Gant offers a variety of ways to help that the Cardinals need to take advantage of.

If the team is not comfortable with Gant taking over a spot in the rotation, he could make a real effect in the bullpen. If the team is ready to move Wacha to the pen and want to avoid using Luke Weaver or Tyler Lyons, then Gant can slide ride into that role.

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The Cardinals need to give Gant an opportunity to succeed in the majors. No matter what that role is, he deserves a better opportunity. Instead of wasting away in the bullpen with guys having multiple appearances before him. His one semi-disappointing outing should not be held against him, he needs a real chance, with a real role for this team to see what they have in him.