St. Louis Cardinals: Discussing a platoon for Carpenter, Fowler

With the emergence of Tommy Edman at the plate and at multiple defensive positions for the St. Louis Cardinals, it is time to find a new alternative that includes keeping Edman in the lineup no matter what.

One of the hardest things for a manager to deal with is playing struggling veterans. They get pressure from the front office to play them considering they are likely making a lot more money than the young exciting pups. It is incredibly difficult to justify these decisions especially when the fans want you to play the best player regardless of money. Can you think of any situations like this with the St. Louis Cardinals?

However, I am here to discuss how we can find a happy medium and put these veterans in spots where they have been most successful in their careers. It can be very beneficial to both the players and the team to make sure they get their opportunity to contribute to the ball club in their most historically successful situations.

Yes, I am talking about Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler and yes, I know that these two players play completely different positions. This “platoon” includes Tommy Edman playing right field whenever you want Carpenter in the lineup and playing him at third base whenever you want Fowler in the lineup. It’s that simple.

Historically, Matt Carpenter has been much more successful vs right-handed pitching and struggled quite a bit more versus left-handed pitching, as most left-handed hitters usually do. Carpenter has career splits of…

vs RHP  .277/.383/.489

vs LHP  .250/.346/.419

Now, if we look at Dexter Fowler, it is no doubt that over his career he has been more successful versus left-handed pitching as this was the only side he hit from before he was drafted by the Rockies. Dexter has career splits of…

vs RHP  .251/.352/.416

vs LHP  .284/.377/.426

Now if we look at combining these two career splits and look at what a combination of Dexter Fowler versus left-handed pitching and Matt Carpenter versus right-handed pitching.

Average of .279

OBP of        .381

SLUG of      .462

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Putting these guys in their rightful spots to succeed and help the club is most definitely in the club’s best interest. I really do believe that if you can put these guys in these spots, they can shine brighter under these situations and help the ball club out immensely.

Mr. Shildt should absolutely explore the idea of platooning Carpenter/Fowler with Carpenter playing vs RHP and Fowler vs LHP. Tommy Edman is already used to playing multiple positions, and I do not believe this is something that will affect his performance at the plate or in the field.

I think that this is the best scenario to help keep these guys in the lineup and keep their confidence up to help this team throughout the entire year.

Along with being able to keep one of these guys in the lineup at all times it also gives the Cardinals one veteran bat off the bench to put into clutch situations. Who knows though, maybe both of them force the hand of Mike Shildt and perform better than we are all expecting and both of them secure starting spots for the entire year.

Everybody wants to be in the lineup every day, but the reality is that these two are past their prime. However, Carpenter and Fowler both absolutely still have the talent and will to help this club immensely if put in the right spots. Overall, finding playing time for these veterans will be difficult and putting them in good situations for them to succeed should be in the best interest of the organization.