2 climbers and 2 tumblers on the St. Louis Cardinals' depth chart

Rising: Alec Burleson, OF

Alec Burleson has been the Cardinals' No. 2 hitter in most games this season. Originally projected as a fringe roster contender and fifth outfielder if he made it onto the roster, Burleson has raced up the ladder to claim a regular corner outfield or designated hitter role. While Lars Nootbaar's return from the injured list could cut into Burleson's playing time a bit, Burleson deserves to remain in the lineup on a near-daily basis.

Burleson has a .279 batting average and a .814 OPS. He is in the 86th percentile of hitters in average exit velocity and 81st percentile in hard-hit percentage. He has been stinging the ball, but a high chase rate of 35.3% leaves room for improvement. His defense is less than spectacular, which leads him to be a designated hitter more often than not.

After Burleson hit only .188 in his small sample last season, the Cardinals are undoubtedly relieved and encouraged by his turnaround. If the Cardinals want to thin out their outfield a bit, Burleson might net a decent return in a trade if he continues producing.

Rising: Drew VerHagen, RHP

A signing out of Japan before the 2022 season, Drew VerHagen was ineffective and later injured for the duration of last year. After a stellar spring, VerHagen provided fans hope that he had found something indicating that he could bring his stats in Japan to his second stint in the major leagues. So far, it appears the production has stuck.

VerHagen currently possesses a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings, and the Cardinals have gradually put him into higher-leverage situations. On April 16, VerHagen entered a tie game in the top of the 10th inning with a runner on second and no outs. The runner scored, but VerHagen did not allow a hit or a walk. Outside of one poor showing in Colorado, where he allowed two earned runs on two hits and only produced one out, VerHagen has not given up an earned run.

Regarding his percentile rankings, VerHagen has a fastball spin rate in the 75th percentile and is able to induce a lot of chases. The Cardinals weren't sure during Spring Training whether anyone would run with a seventh-inning or occasional eighth-inning role, but VerHagen has slotted into that spot nicely so far.

Falling: Dylan Carlson, OF

Dylan Carlson, once a top Cardinals prospect and still only 24 years old, has seen his playing time dwindle as issues hitting right-handed pitching continue to hamper him. It appears Alec Burleson has leapfrogged Carlson to be the fourth outfielder, and Carlson might not have much leeway remaining on the team.

Although the rumors that Carlson was the player who held up the Juan Soto trade have proven to be exaggerated, the Cardinals have nevertheless seemed to sour on Carlson. Hitting left-handed, against right-handed pitchers, Carlson is batting .182 in 23 plate appearances. In the game on April 16, Carlson, batting left-handed, was instructed to bunt with the winning run on first base and one out. Such a decision would seem unfathomable even last year.

Carlson has slipped into the fifth outfielder role and might be best deployed as a platoon outfielder against left-handed starters. It's quite the slide for a player who accrued a decent amount of excitement for his debut a few years ago.

Falling: Jordan Hicks, RHP

This one is a no-brainer. Jordan Hicks has not been good this season, and the Cardinals have stated that they plan to only use Hicks in low-leverage roles for the foreseeable future. Hicks does not miss bats despite his 103 mph heat, nor does he have any idea where his pitches are going.

Hicks is in the 24th percentile in strikeout percentage and the second percentile in walk percentage. His fastball doesn't spin much, either. Hicks seems like he should be dominating hitters with his stuff, but he is the prototype for velocity not being everything.

Hicks has seen Drew VerHagen and Zack Thompson usurp his expected role as a reliever in late, close games, and his aspirations to be a starter appear to be a distant pipe dream. If Hicks doesn't improve in his next few appearances, hopefully with the Cardinals holding big leads, the team needs to decide what it wants to do, whether that's designate him for assignment or ask him to take the shuttle to Memphis.

The Cardinals are seeing some movers and shakers on their depth chart already, and we're only about a tenth of the way through the season. These four players represent how fluid a depth chart can be.