St. Louis Cardinals: Three players to watch for the rest of spring

Many questions are left unanswered for the St. Louis Cardinals and there are several players to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

The St. Louis Cardinals still have several holes to fill and several players with a desire to prove they need a chance.

Here are three players I’ll be keeping my eye on for the remainder of Spring Training to see how they will impact the Cards season.

Jose Rondon

The 27-year-old middle infielder joined the Cardinals in December as a minor league free agent. Rondon was invited to spring training as a non-roster invitee and has been putting on a show ever since.

In nine plate appearances this spring, Rondon has hit .333/.455/1.111.  He has three hits including two triples and a home run. He’s had five runs and three RBI. He has played three games at second base and five games at shortstop. He’s had six putouts and helped turn a double play. He also has no errors at either position.

Before coming to the Cardinals, Rondon spent time with the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and the Baltimore Orioles organizations.

It will be fun to watch what opportunities Rondon is given during the remainder of spring. With a decent glove and a hot bat, Rondon should have a sure shot at one of the bench spots this summer for the Cardinals.

Lane Thomas

Thomas, 25, was grinding away in a shortened 2020 season when he was shut down after testing positive for Covid-19. The virus zapped him for the rest of the season in which he hit .250/.415/.563 with three home runs, six RBI, and a stolen base. He additionally had nine walks, eight strikeouts and was caught stealing three times.

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So far this spring, Thomas has been given a shot at competing for a corner outfield spot and center field spot.

Thomas has had 17 plate appearances in seven games for the Cards this spring. He’s had five hits, including a double, scored two runs, three RBI, and walked once. Unfortunately, he’s also had eight strikeouts.

He started five games, including four in center field where he had eight putouts and one assist.

The numbers won’t earn him an everyday spot, but it will be interesting to see if he keeps up the hard work enough to earn a backup role on the bench. He will still have some competition from Justin Williams, Austin Dean, and Matt Szczur.

Alex Reyes

I’ve been excited about the possibilities of Reyes since he joined the Cardinals in 2014. He has struggled mightily and had unfortunate endings to three of his seasons requiring surgery, one of which was Tommy John surgery.

It has been frustrating to watch and I imagine more frustrating to deal with for the young man.

We learned this week Reyes would mostly work out of the bullpen. John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, said Reyes would be capped at 100 innings this season. It’s a nod to his successful spring that Mozeliak said one of the ways Reyes may reach his innings cap is via piggy-back starts.

The cap news came on the same day it was noted that Mike Mikolas was being pushed back on his availability to start the season due to shoulder issues related to his flexor tendon surgery last season. Reyes’ cap immediately ruled out the hope that he may slide into a starter spot.

Mozeliak is capping Reyes as a health precaution and a nod at being patient about the pitcher’s future, of which the organization still has hope. That hope is for Reyes to one day become the starter he was hoped to become. Reyes noted he did enjoy the adrenaline rush of closing games in 2020.

Take a look at this and you’ll get the cautious optimism.

So far this spring, Reyes has pitched in three games, throwing 32 pitches in four innings, striking out six batters and giving up only two hits. He has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP.

With his innings cap, it will be interesting to see how Reyes progresses this summer. It will, of course, be nice to see where it leads. Much like Mozeliak, I feel a nice sense of cautious optimism for the promising pitcher.