St. Louis Cardinals: Five best players we’ve never seen in MLB The Show

All-Star Edgar Renteria

Edgar Renteria was the forgotten piece of the dominant teams of the early 2000s. Everyone remembers the MV3, which will be mentioned later, but Edgar was overlooked on a team full of stars.

His career undoubtedly peaked in 2003. That season, he had a slash of .330/.394/.480. Although that line is good, it’s nothing that would stand out among 150 years of baseball greats. Renteria’s card would be a fine addition to anyone’s collection for two reasons.

First, he hit a whopping .391 against left-handed pitching that year, which ultimately lead to a 1.173 OPS against southpaws. He would be nearly maxed out against left-handed pitchers in the game and at the sometimes light-hitting shortstop position, that would be a huge advantage to platoon.

Second, Edgar also stole 34 bases that season, which would put his speed in the upper echelon of players in the game. With more walks than strikeouts that season, he would always be a threat to get on base, then immediately take second.

His one downside is that he would likely be rated as an average defender. With a -1 DRS that year, his fielding would hurt the rating of his card. Shortstop is a premium defensive position so low attributes in that area would be the main reason that he wouldn’t be a mainstay in many lineups.

Renteria’s unique blend of power and speed would likely lead him to be on the bench of many teams along with a premium pinch hitter against lefties.