St. Louis Cardinals: Quiet at the deadline, the Cardinals still have a chance to make noise in October

The St. Louis Cardinals need to embrace the future.

While this is more of an idea that goes beyond this season, with the talent that we have seen, this can also be applied to a run this season. We have seen short stints from many of the top prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals system, and most have gone very well.

But there is a huge difference between these short stints and consistent time on the major league roster. There are huge differences in life at the major league level both on the field and off the field. Many of these things are eventually condensed into routines and rhythms on game days, in between game days, on travel days and so on.

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While you see some of these things as a double-A and triple-A player, the commitments at the major league level are far beyond that. Learning this side from a major league player before having to endure a full 162-game season is important to the development and health of these players.

We have seen guys get very brief stints, but giving more of these guys the consistency that guys like Paul DeJong and Luke Voit have been afforded, even if it’s for just a few weeks. I understand the money implications with arbitration rules, but for some players, there’s not point.

The triple-A team is most telling of this. They have been housing a stockpile of talent over the course of the season and it has shown.

There are guys like Harrison Bader (97 games) and Carson Kelly (68 games) who have been effective consistently in triple-A, but who don’t get a decent stint in the majors. Others like John Brebbia and Sam Tuivailala have excelled in limited time at both the minor and major league level, yet continue to be sparsely used and seemingly ignored.

Either way, these are highly-touted prospects who have shown dominant talent at the highest minor league level, and there is not time better than now for a young player to establish himself as a cornerstone player than for a franchise on the cusp of a generational transition like the Cardinals.

Next: Taking a look back at Jaime Garcia

The overall level of talent on the Cardinals is a bit below the high standards of Cardinal Nation, but every franchise goes through cycles, and every franchise has down years no matter how dominant. It’s the ones that work through and minimize the floor of the down years that are recognized as the greatest. Hopefully the Cardinals can match up.