Ranking the Ceilings of St. Louis Cardinals Outfielders

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 18: Tyler O'Neill #41, Harrison Bader #48 and Dylan Carlson #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate after a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in game one of a doubleheader at PNC Park on September 18, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 18: Tyler O'Neill #41, Harrison Bader #48 and Dylan Carlson #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate after a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in game one of a doubleheader at PNC Park on September 18, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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The Cardinals currently have an outfield full of exciting, young talent. Which of their promising outfielders has the highest ceiling?

Cardinals Twitter can be a place of great debate all year round. From team performance, to player acquisitions, and everything in between, fans get very passionate about their thoughts on how the ballclub is doing. One of the most interesting debates you’ll see in this realm is when the fanbase begins to rank the potential of various Cardinals.

@RedbirdReject sparked a fun debate when he asked fans who had the highest ceiling (potential/talent) in the St. Louis outfield between Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson, Harrison Bader, or Lars Nootbaar. This quickly sparked an interesting back and forth among fans, and it is worth taking a look at the potential of this quartet.

It is easy to forget that even as recent as the start of the 2021 season, there were major question marks surrounding the Cardinals outfield. The team had been waiting for these, as well as other former prospects, to breakout and take control of the long term future of the outfield. Before the season, it was no sure thing that this outfield would be the future of the team.

The 2021 season proved to be a huge milestone for all four Cardinal outfielders, and now the club has arguably one of, if not the best, outfield unit in the game. But, which of these outfielders has the highest ceiling? Here is how is how I would rank these guys moving forward.