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St. Louis Cardinals: Possible September call-ups sitting ready

By Dr. Michael D. Miles

KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 12: Harrison Bader #48 and Patrick Wisdom #21 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate scoring against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium on August 12, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 12: Harrison Bader #48 and Patrick Wisdom #21 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate scoring against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium on August 12, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Cardinals
JUPITER, FL – FEBRUARY 20: Tommy Edman #82 of the St. Louis Cardinals poses for a portrait at Roger Dean Stadium on February 20, 2018 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

The St. Louis Cardinals, back in the hunt for October, will have decisions to make in less than two weeks when rosters expand.

Here’s where things get interesting. The St. Louis Cardinals have a few names sitting in Memphis who are ready to help the chase for October; some I had heard of and others who have snuck their way into the conversation. The non-40-man names include Tommy Edman, Rangel Ravelo, Wilfredo Tovar, Oscar Mercado, and Lane Thomas.

One could argue that Max Schrock should be included on this list but I’m just not sold on his rise just yet.

Let’s first look at Lane Thomas. Thomas has gigantic promise but I believe that 2018 is just too early for him to see MLB action. That said, look at his impressive numbers:

Register Batting
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2018 22 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA STL 118 518 465 75 122 22 6 24 81 16 10 45 122 .262 .329 .490 .820 228 4 3 2 3 0
2018 22 -4.5 Memphis PCL AAA STL 18 83 81 12 22 6 2 3 14 3 1 2 21 .272 .289 .506 .795 41 2 0 0 0 0
2018 22 -1.9 Springfield TL AA STL 100 435 384 63 100 16 4 21 67 13 9 43 101 .260 .337 .487 .824 187 2 3 2 3 0
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
All Levels (5 Seasons) 391 1666 1477 224 367 80 18 42 207 60 32 160 422 .248 .323 .412 .736 609 21 10 5 14 0

To me, protecting Thomas in AAA makes more sense than does exposing him to the review of other teams. In the same way, Oscar Mercado might be one that the Cardinals could look to for a September call-up.

Unlike Thomas, however, Mercado does not have the same current promise. Notice the use of “current promise” as I believe that Mercado has promise but just isn’t showing it. Have a look at his numbers:

Register Batting
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2018 23 2 Teams 2 Lgs AAA STL-CLE 118 487 431 79 118 24 1 8 43 35 10 45 78 .274 .347 .390 .737 168 8 5 3 3 0
2018 23 -3.5 Memphis PCL AAA STL 100 427 382 73 109 21 1 8 42 31 8 36 64 .285 .351 .408 .759 156 7 4 2 3 0
2018 23 -3.5 Columbus IL AAA CLE 18 60 49 6 9 3 0 0 1 4 2 9 14 .184 .322 .245 .567 12 1 1 1 0 0
Minors (6 seasons) Minors 582 2489 2230 334 559 104 14 29 199 194 79 181 398 .251 .316 .349 .665 778 34 42 15 21 2
All Levels (6 Seasons) 604 2591 2317 343 582 109 14 29 210 200 79 195 416 .251 .318 .348 .666 806 37 42 15 22 2

Another sneaky suspect for a September call-up is Wilfredo Tovar. Tovar is my favorite middle infielder on the Cardinals AAA team. When I attend Memphis games – which is often – I am always a touch disappointed when I see Sosa playing over Tovar.

Tovar is, to me, a better infielder and plays a much better short stop than does Sosa. At the plate he might not be as powerful (see Sosa’s number on an earlier slide), but his defense far outweighs Sosa. Have a look at his numbers:

Standard Batting
Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
2018 26 STL-min AAA 96 342 315 35 90 13 1 4 40 11 3 22 37 .286 .333 .371 .705 117 8 2 0 3 0 MEM · PCL
2 Yrs 9 22 18 1 3 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 3 .167 .250 .167 .417 22 3 2 1 2 0 1
162 Game Avg. 162 396 324 18 54 0 0 0 36 18 0 18 54 .167 .250 .167 .417 22 54 36 18 36 0 18

Lastly, the name that surprises me the most was Tommy Edman. Again, if you are suffering whiplash from this name, don’t worry because I too was lashed. Edman has climbed through the ranks of the Cardinals’ farm system.

I got to watch Edman during my last trip to the Memphis Redbirds and I was very impressed. One look at these numbers and you too should be impressed:

Register Batting
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2018 23 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA STL 113 513 463 73 141 23 3 7 41 26 4 37 78 .305 .356 .413 .768 191 5 3 4 6 0
2018 23 -3.5 Memphis PCL AAA STL 9 40 34 7 13 0 0 1 5 2 0 4 3 .382 .425 .471 .896 16 1 0 0 2 0
2018 23 -0.9 Springfield TL AA STL 104 473 429 66 128 23 3 6 36 24 4 33 75 .298 .350 .408 .758 175 4 3 4 4 0
All Levels (3 Seasons) 298 1318 1162 185 330 59 16 16 129 58 12 123 178 .284 .353 .404 .757 469 19 10 8 15 2

Of the names on this slide, I would not be surprised if Ravelo gets the nod during expanded rosters. The other three are just too new and I would urge that the St. Louis Cardinals protect the investments at this point. That said, I wouldn’t be dissatisfied with the Cardinals if they invited all three of these young names to Spring Training.

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