St. Louis Cardinals: Dylan Carlson is off to a hot start in Double-A

St. Louis Cardinals No. 7 prospect Dylan Carlson is off to a very hot start in Springfield. Could we see him up in the big leagues anytime soon?

Back in 2016, the St. Louis Cardinals selected outfielder Dylan Carlson with the 33rd pick of the MLB Draft, out of Elk Grove High School. Carlson was known for his plus-hitting ability and his defensive talent in the outfield, and with his 6-foot-3 frame, there was plenty of power potential as well. Though Carlson was considered a massive reach by some, there was definitely some superstar potential that the St. Louis front office saw in him.

After being sub-par on the stat sheet in spite of showing potential in both his 2016 and 2017 seasons, where he would be hovering around the .245 mark in the lowest levels on minor league baseball, some fans thought that Carlson could be yet another draft bust in the Mozeliak era.

In 2018, Carlson started out the season in Low-A Peoria and didn’t really amount to much, but still got an eventual promotion to High-A Palm Beach, and was now almost four years younger than the average player in Palm Beach. He did a decent job, hitting .247 with nine home runs and driving in 53 runs.

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The St. Louis Cardinals decided to invite the 20-year-old to the Major League Spring Training camp to start the season, where he would play with the Major Leaguers, and even get to face some Major League pitchers along the way. That move paid off for both the Cardinals and Carlson, as he had a spectacular spring, hitting .250 with a home run and five RBIs over 44 at bats.

The home run he hit came off of New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who has established himself as one of the best relief pitchers in baseball. He even made a few big-time catches, which really made him stand out for the Cardinals, and it earned him a promotion to Double-A Springfield.

Carlson is one of the youngest players in all of Double-A, and he is already making a name for himself in the Cardinals system down there. He is off to a very hot start, hitting .287 with four homers and 18 RBIs, in which he is finally showing that power potential. Carlson even leads the Texas League in extra-base hits, with 12.

To make things even better, Carlson took 3-time Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw deep when Kershaw was down in Springfield for a rehab start, so that could be a huge booster for the young sluggers’ confidence. He has also starred defensively for the Double-A Cardinals as well, with a very solid .979 fielding percentage.

Dylan Carlson is currently the No. 7 prospect in the Cardinals farm system, per MLB Pipeline, and for how young he is and how much potential he is showing, Carlson could make his way into the Cardinals Major League outfield sooner than you think.