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3 players the St. Louis Cardinals failed or mishandled in recent years
Let's check out 3 players the St. Louis Cardinals failed or mishandled in recent years.
To begin the 2023 regular season, virtually nobody could've seen the epic collapse of the St. Louis Cardinals coming. Top to bottom, the big league roster is filled to the brim with top-tier talent. It's so difficult to imagine a squad led by Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, and Paul Goldschmidt struggling so mightily.
To put into perspective just how much talent we're looking at, players like Juan Yepez and Jordan Walker are currently in the minor leagues since there's no clear spot for them on the 26-man active roster in the bigs. More on these two players in a bit.
So frequently do Major League Baseball players get shuffled back and forth between the major and minor leagues, especially when they are right at the beginning of their respective careers. There are countless examples of this actually affecting the player's development and perhaps slowing their path to becoming a consistent big league contributor.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals are not a team that's immune to such decisions. There are a handful of current (and former) players who were mishandled a bit by the team. Whether it's a string of promotions/demotions, unstable roles on the active roster, or being traded away before they found their stride, the list continues to grow longer for this club. Here are three of those players
Juan Yepez
Ever since breaking into the majors last season, Juan Yepez has felt like an MLB-caliber talent without a spot to play. The Cardinals have consistent presences in the outfield corners and at first base, all three positions Yepez can play on defense, and just have not been able to find a spot for him.
Through 79 games in the majors, he has a combined 13 home runs and 31 runs batted in with an OPS+ of 112, suggesting he's been 12 percent above league average when he's played. He has always had a strong and reliable bat, but it's just been impossible for him to be an everyday player for the club.
As things currently sit, Yepez is in Triple-A with the Memphis Redbirds. He has hit six doubles and three home runs with 13 runs scored and 14 driven in across just 16 games. Last season, he hit .277 with 16 home runs in 50 games for Memphis, clearly showing that he's above a Triple-A-caliber player.
So, where would the Cardinals even plug him in? Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Tyler O'Neill, and Dylan Carlson are the top four outfielders on the big league depth chart at the moment, so there's no obvious fit there. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman are the club's everyday options at first base and DH, respectively, so there's not an obvious spot there either.
At this point, it's getting close to crunch time for the Cardinals and Yepez. He is not a player that can be stashed in the minors for much longer, so is the best move to trade him? Perhaps. Even if O'Neill gets moved after all of the drama with Oli Marmol, Yepez would, at best, be the club's fourth outfielder, which is still not a direct path to consistent playing time.
It remains to be seen how Yepez will be able to fit into the big-league roster picture. Right now, the Cardinals are doing everybody a disservice by keeping him down in Memphis.
Sandy Alcantara
The unfortunate truth is that there will never be this type of list again without mentioning Sandy Alcantara.
Sure, he had only shown brief glimpses of promise during his tenure on the Cardinals, but it's hard not to feel like the Cardinals just cut bait way too early and are now forced to pay the price.
Alcantara had joined the organization as an 18-year-old all the way back in 2014. He quickly established himself as a major strike thrower who had some minor control issues, but did a great job of limiting home runs. Through and through, he was a fast riser through the system.
Just a few years after his professional debut, he was on a big league mound as a 21-year-old. The only caveat here is that the Cardinals only used him in a relief role in 2017. He performed fairly well, posting a 4.32 ERA and 102 ERA+ in eight games and 8.1 innings of work, but his 6.04 FIP suggested that some of this success was based on luck.
As we all know, the righty was flipped to the Marlins in the 2017-2018 offseason. His rise to stardom didn't take long for his new club, and he has since made a pair of All-Star Games and is the defending NL Cy Young Award winner. This one will forever hurt, because the second he was put into a consistent role as a starting pitcher, he blossomed. He has improved more and more in virtually every full season he's had in the big leagues.
When all is said and done, Alcantara will likely be one of the biggest "what ifs" in Cardinals franchise history.
Jordan Walker
Jordan Walker, much like Juan Yepez before him, is already being shuffled back and forth between the major and minor leagues. After cracking the Opening Day roster at just 20 years old, it seemed like the next wave of prospect talent was finally going to be excelling in the bigs.
After just 20 games, the Cardinals made the semi-surprising move to option Walker to Triple-A. Prior to his demotion, he had been hitting fairly well, mashing two home runs with eight runs scored, 11 runs driven in, a .274 batting average, and an OPS+ of 98. Sure, the OPS+ suggests he was two percent below league average, but to have this early production at 20 is extremely impressive.
It's unclear at this stage if his early-season demotion will have any long-term effects (it likely will not), but for what it's worth, Walker has struggled mightily since he was forced to pack his bags and report to Triple-A Memphis. In five games (an extremely small sample size), he is just 3-for-19, with a home run, which comes out to a .158 batting average and .589 OPS. Again, this is such a small sample size and it's to be taken with a major grain of salt, but for someone who seemed to be doing well in the majors, this is a bit puzzling.
Just last year, the team's top prospect tore up opposing pitching in Double-A Springfield, which is what put his name on everyone's radar, to begin with. In 119 games, he hit 31 doubles and 19 home runs, scoring 100 runs and driving in 68 of his own. He even showed off some wheels on the bases, stealing 22 bags.
Walker should not have any issues making it back to The Show. Hopefully, his next promotion will be a permanent one and he can avoid being stuck in limbo like Yepez has been for years.
Next. 6 players the Cardinals should trade as sellers. dark