3 players the St. Louis Cardinals need to remain patient with and 2 they should not

1 of 6

The St. Louis Cardinals clawed their way back into the National League Central race during the month of May, in part due to their improved play and mostly due to the rest of the teams in their division struggling.

The Cardinals do look a lot better though, and it's important to remember that. This team looked hopeless in early May and now has some very encouraging signs of life. A variety of individual players turned their performance around in a big way to help the team out, and some units, specifically their offense, really bolstered this team.

Still, there are some players who have either slowed down in recent weeks or still haven't gotten it going overall this year.

There is not a one size fits all approach to players when they are struggling. Some players need to be trusted that they can get themselves out of the funk they are in, so you continue to play them as normal.

Other guys may need time to work on some things in the minor leagues or just need to be benched for a time period. And then there are some that unfortunately, it's time for the team to cut bait with them.

So how do you determine which players the team needs to be patient with and which players it's time to make changes with? Let's try to determine that.

Here are 3 players the Cardinals need to be patient with, and 2 players they cannot wait on

Remain patient with: Jordan Walker

No, the Cardinals and hopefully none of their fans have come close to giving up on Jordan Walker's future as a high-level talent. But what the Cardinals need to do now that they have called him up to the big leagues is remain patient with him.

They already used up some relational capital with Walker when they sent him down the Memphis after his brief stint with the club to start the year. If he struggles in St. Louis, they need to ride it out with him for a longer period of time than they did last time, or risk really creating a mess.

I addressed this in an article recently (you can read that here), but much was made by the media and fan base about the decision to send Walker down to work on his swing. While I would have preferred the Cardinals to keep Walker on the Major League roster, he did have a league-high ground ball rate that indicated huge regression was coming, and so they wanted him to make a few minor swing adjustments to help him in the present and the future as a player.

Now that he's back in St. Louis, the Cardinals must let him go through his struggles as they come. Every single player has slumps, just look at this year's roster. I can't name one player who has not had at least a week-long slump during this season alone. All baseball players go through that. Walker needs the freedom to fail now, and with how talented he is, I'm sure he'll find great success most of the time.

Do not be patient with: Tyler O'Neill

This is coming from the guy who has been on the Tyler O'Neill hype train since basically the moment they traded for him.

This is not a shot at O'Neill as a person or even as a teammate. I've always really liked him and thought he had all of the potential in the world, but injuries had continued to rob him of opportunities.

At this point though, I think the relationship between the Cardinals and O'Neill has soured too much to have any confidence that O'Neill will find his bat again here in St. Louis.

O'Neill last played in a game on May 4th due to a lingering back issue and was just shut down again for at least another 10 days before he can begin a rehab process. He's likely out until late June at the very earliest, but with all of the setbacks he has experienced so far, I wouldn't be surprised if it's delayed even more.

O'Neill's situation reminds me a lot of Colby Rasmus back in 2011. There are differences for sure, but at the end of the day, both the Cardinals and their once-promising outfielders needed a change of scenery.

Even with how in flux the Cardinals' outfield situation is, I'm not sure it makes much sense for them to try and work O'Neill back into the fold, or at least try to beyond rebuilding any trade value before the deadline or serving as a backup outfielder.

Remain patient with: Alec Burleson

One of the things fans tend to do with Cardinals' prospects when they first come up and make immediate opinions about them. Some become "our guys" and fans "ride or die" with them, while other prospects fans will give up on after a small sample size.

Alec Burleson was drafted in 2020, the same draft class as Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, and Tink Hence. He hit so well during the start of his professional career that he rose all the way to the Major Leagues in under two seasons of work. His start to his MLB career hasn't been the flashiest, but there's a reason he cracked MLB's top 100 prospect lists last year, and why the Cardinals are so high on him.

Burleson has the potential to be a very good hitter in this league, someone who can hit for a good average and bring a nice amount of pop to the plate as well. He's never going to be a good defender, but he's also someone that should continue to improve out there.

I'm not arguing that Burleson has been some kind of stud so far during his Cardinals' tenure, but he's also beginning to heat up for the club. Over the last 7 days, Burleson has a .794 OPS, and he has very encouraging underlying numbers courtesy of Baseball Savant.

Fans and media have killed the Cardinals publically for not giving their young outfielders of the past (like Randy Arozarena and Adolis Garcia) enough playing time to prove that they belong. Right now, the Cardinals have three outfielders on the IL and are currently playing Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan out there. The Cardinals don't have to play Burleson every day, but to give up on him now or dramatically reduce his opportunity seems like it has the potential to backfire long-term.

Do not be patient with: Paul DeJong

No, I'm not saying Paul DeJong should be designated for an assignment or should lose all of his playing time, but with Jordan Walker being brought back onto the Major League roster and other options waiting in Memphis like Luken Baker and Moises Gomez, it's time for the club to have Tommy Edman take over at shortstop while DeJong is in this funk.

Over the last 15 games, DeJong is slashing .196/.293/.471 with 4 HR and 11 RBIs. While the average isn't very good, his .764 OPS over that stretch is fine. The problem is, that is a significant drop from how he began the season, and over the last 7 games specifically, his slash line has dropped to .120/.185/.160 with 0 HR and 0 RBI.

I still believe DeJong can have a significant impact on this roster for the remainder of this season, but for now, it's time to ride other hot hands and have DeJong earn additional playing time. Edman or Donovan can find playing time at shortstop, and the Cardinals can have some freedom to craft their outfield and DH situation accordingly.

If DeJong begins to hit again in spot starts and pinch-hit situations, then by all means, ride the hot bat once again. But he should not be playing every day right now when he's struggling the way he is.

Remain patient with: Giovanny Gallegos

I know, it hasn't looked pretty recently, and that's really frustrating for the Cardinals and this fanbase. But Giovanny Gallegos has been one of the best relievers in baseball since coming over to the Cardinals and giving up on him now would be an overreaction.

Since 2019, Gallegos is tied with Edwin Diaz for 5th in WAR among all relievers in baseball, ahead of guys like Emmanuel Clase, Devin Williams, and Kenley Jansen. During the first month of the season, Gallegos has a 1.00 ERA in 9 innings of work and he looked like one of the best relievers in baseball this season until the last few weeks.

We all know things can go south very quickly for relievers, so I'm not saying that the concerns around Gallegos are unwarranted or that he will for sure get past these struggles, but throwing the towel in on him right now is far too early.

Maybe it's time to let Jordan Hicks take more of his opportunities. I know he did not look great in his last appearance, but he was coming off of a 14-game stretch where he allowed just 7 hits and 3 runs in 17 innings, and had six days between appearances. Relievers need to be in a rhythm like other players, so allowing two hits on Friday does not freak me out.

feed

But even if Hicks takes more of the high-leverage spots, it doesn't mean Gallegos should not receive important opportunities as well. He's earned the trust of this Cardinals team.

Next. 3 flourish 2 not. 3 Cardinals prospects doing well and 2 who aren't. dark

Home / St Louis Cardinals News