St. Louis Cardinals: John Gant making the most of his chances

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher John Gant is making the most of his opportunities with the team in Spring Training thus far.

With all the hype surrounding Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson, Jordan Hicks, Ryan Helsley, and others, another young St. Louis Cardinals pitcher has stepped up in a big way this Spring. After being in seven games for the Cardinals last year, posting a 4.67 ERA and a whopping 6.79 FIP in only 17.1 innings pitcher, many wondered whether John Gant would have a shot to make the big league roster to start the year.

With two games under his belt this Spring, it looks like Gant is ready to make the most of his opportunities and prove the doubters wrong. Though his two appearances, Gant has thrown five innings, posting a 1.80 ERA with nine strikeouts and zero walks.

Gant was extremely sharp yesterday pitching three innings and posting seven strike outs and gave up a lone run on a home run. Opponents are only hitting .211 off of him and he is posting a .80 WHIP to go along with his strong start.

Unfortunately because it’s Spring Training, we need to take Gant’s two appearances with a grain of salt. One on hand, Gant is pitching at an extremely high level, higher than anyone anticipated. He looks good so far and that is certainly a boost to the St. Louis Cardinals pitching depth. On the other hand, we also have to say it’s only two appearances and not all the hitters are major league caliber bats.

I don’t want to take away from the job he has done though. Gant has certainly showed improvement from his 2017 form and it’s only a good thing. In fact, we discussed Gant in our most recent podcast episode. Dan, Larry, and I talked about what it would mean for the St. Louis Cardinals to have Gant pitch at a high level and be a depth option to start now and then. You can hear our comments about Gant in the story below.

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So, what happens if Gant continues to pitch this well throughout Spring Training heading into Opening Day?

The answer isn’t so simple, but depends on a lot of other factors before coming to a final conclusion. Personally, I think there are only two scenarios for Gant at this point. The first option is Gant will pitch out of the bullpen. The other option is Gant will be in the starting rotation in some form, whether that be a five or six-man rotation.

Scenario one

I think if Gant continues his pitching form, the St. Louis Cardinals would have to consider putting him in the bullpen to start the season. Gant is already showing he can pitch two to three innings at a time, so the using him as a stretch reliever or long reliever may be of benefit to the Cardinals. If a starter falls well short of the sixth inning or sooner, Gant could come in to help bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen.

However, there is an issue with this scenario. Assuming I am correct, the St. Louis Cardinals plan to have Luke Gregerson, Sam Tuivailala, Tyler Lyons, John Brebbia, Brett Cecil, Matt Bowman, Dominic Leone, and Bud Norris occupy roles in the bullpen. Who do you substitute out for Gant at that point?

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The obvious choice might be Brebbia, but even he has looked good in his appearances so far and offers bullpen experience.

Tyler Lyons pitched more than well enough last season to be on the roster as well. Lyons could also serve as the long reliever too no longer making Gant an option.

Lastly, if things do not go well with Bud Norris, maybe the Cardinals DFA Norris in favor of Gant.

I just find it hard to see Gant cracking the bullpen when the St. Louis Cardinals already have plenty of choices.

It would take a serious downturn from any of the players above to even consider Gant for a roster spot. I guess stranger things have happened though.

Scenario two

The other scenario is finding him in the St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation. Gant could accomplish that by an injury to one of the starters in Spring or just flat out outperforming a starter towards the end of the rotation. However, even then, I find it hard to believe Gant could crack the rotation.

He would essentially have to outperform Miles Mikolas by a wide margin that the Cardinals have no other choice but to make the call. However, that depends more so on how Mikolas is doing and the contract situation for Mikolas. I find it difficult to believe the Cardinals would remove Mikolas from the rotation after signing him to a two-year deal specifically to be a starter.

You have to also consider who is in front of Gant to take a starting job if an injury happens or performance suffers. Jack Flaherty would make the most sense to step in in those mini scenarios. You also have to consider what the Cardinals will do when Alex Reyes comes back full healthy and ready to go. While Reyes won’t return till May at the earliest, seeing Gant in the rotation before Flaherty would be interesting to say the least.

It is a bit ironic Flaherty and Gant pitched yesterday in the same game with completely different results. After having a great start to Spring, Flaherty had a tough time getting past the Orioles, specifically Manny Machado. Again, take everything with a grain of salt with Spring Training appearances, but keep an eye on when these two pitch together. It may not be as coincidental as we think.

Back to reality

As much as I am rooting for Gant to do well, I am just not convinced he will make the big league roster on Opening Day. A lot needs to go right for him to make that a reality, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be with the team at one point. If he pitches well in Spring Training and carries that into Memphis, someone will notice.

the best case scenario is he pitches well and gives the Cardinals options. The Cardinals won’t shy away from having pitching depth so they will do what they can to protect him and find some use for him. However, don’t be surprised if his name lands in any trade discussions throughout the year, especially around the trade deadline.

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What do you think? Will Gant make the Opening day roster? Or is he more likely to appear later in the season? Let me know in the comments below.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher John Gant is making the most of his opportunities with the team in Spring Training thus far.

Scenario one

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Scenario two

Back to reality

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