Meet St. Louis Cardinals rookie Brendan Donovan

Josh Jacobs

A St. Louis Cardinals cap and glove rest on the step to the dugout during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 16, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

Welcome to the Bigs, Brendan Donovan. The St. Louis Cardinals optioned OF Lars Nootbaar to Memphis and brought up utility player Brendan Donovan to make his major league debut.

The 25-year-old from Germany bats from the left side of the plate and is able to play all four infield positions and the corner outfield spots, provided the Cardinals with another left handed bat that can play all over the field, in true Cardinal fashion.

Donovan was drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 out of South Alabama, and has hit at every level thus far in his professional career.

In MLB.com prospect profiles for 2022, they had Donovan ranked as the Cardinals 12th best prospect.

St Louis Cardinals rookie Brendan Donovon had been tearing it up in MiLB

Through 16 games in Memphis during 2022, Donovan slashed .298/.385/.404 with 1 HR, 6 RBI, and 12 R. With early season struggles from Paul DeJong and Edmundo Sosa, as well as the club lacking left handed options, Donovan has a chance to stick on the big league roster if he is able to produce lately.

Donovan’s versatility is a major weapon for the Cardinals and is probably why they felt comfortable sending the more proven Nootbaar down for him. Nootbaar was the Cardinal receiving some of the least amount of playing time due to the ability of the starting outfield to play everyday and presence of Corey Dickerson, and is unable to play positions outside of corner outfield.

Donovan can give almost any player on the diamond an off day, and could be switched around positions mid game if Marmol wants to play a certain matchup in a big spot.

It remains to be seen how much playing time he will receive though. He is the lowest on the pecking order at every position on the diamond, so Donovan will need to scrape and claw when opportunities are given to prove himself. With Nolan Gorman mashing in AAA at the moment, he will need to outperform guys like Sosa, DeJong, or Dickerson to keep his spot for the long haul.

Check out this interview from Donovan on his call to the majors. Cardinal Nation is anxious to see whether or not he can be a glue guy for this club in 2022.

Josh Jacobs

Josh Jacobs has been the Site Expert for Redbird Rants since October 2022. Josh began writing for FanSided in December 2021 and has also held roles as a Contributor for Redbird Rants and was formerly the Site Expert for Rays Colored Glasses. Josh is a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan and is passionate about providing thoughtful coverage and for Cardinals Nation. Josh’s experience includes covering Cardinals’ events like Winter Warm-Up, building relationships with Cardinals players, prospects, and employees, and guest appearances on local radio and podcasts. Josh is also the host of the Dealin’ the Cards podcast and co-host of “Philosophical Differences” with KMOV’s Brenden Schaeffer. You can find Josh on Twitter @joshjaco98 for even more opinions and coverage of the team.