How the Cardinals' can save the development of each of their young bats

If there's anything that's seemed to unite the fanbase about the St. Louis Cardinals this season, it's an agreement across the board that the way they have managed their young position players has been odd at best.

Jordan Walker made the Opening Day roster and was supposed to be "here to stay", but as things got hard for both him and the club, they sent him down. Dylan Carlson was a valuable piece for the Cardinals all offseason, and yet he's mostly been a fourth or fifth outfielder this year. Tyler O'Neill was called out for effort, Alec Burleson has gotten a lot more opportunities than expected, and Juan Yepez is sitting in Triple-A.

That's starting to become a theme with the Cardinals' infielders as well. Paul DeJong is back from the IL and is basically an everyday player now with his resurgence. Tommy Edman has been moved back and forth between shortstop and second base because of this. Brendan Donovan now doesn't play nearly as much as he did before, and Nolan Gorman, despite being their best hitter this year, doesn't play versus lefties.

How the Cardinals should go about it moving forward is where fans will continue to disagree though.

I do think there are some pretty clear decisions the Cardinals can make here soon to help clear up the logjam some more and help both their chances of winning games and the development of their young guys. If the Cardinals are not careful, they could stunt the growth of a lot of players.

Here is how I would handle the young position players so that they can continue to grow as players and the Cardinals can start winning more ballgames.

Dylan Carlson

Send down to Triple-A to get everyday at-bats and improve vs. right-handed pitching

Dylan Carlson is still a very valuable asset for the Cardinals. At worst, he's a good defensive outfielder who can rake against left-handed pitching. That is a valuable player in today's game, but the Cardinals should be helping Carlson become more than that.

The glaring hole in Carlson's game is the ability to hit right-handed pitching. Despite making major adjustments this offseason, Carlson is slashing .194/.256/.278 in 39 PA against right-handers. What's even more concerning is that this is what he has been his entire Major League career. In 972 PA, he's slashing .224/.305/.375.

Right now, the Cardinals rightfully do not trust Carlson against right-handed pitching, which has basically relegated him to starting against left-handers, pinch hitting late in games against southpaws, and coming in as a defensive sub. That's not a wise use of a 24 year old outfielder with so much more potential than that.

I'm not saying Carlson needs to be in the Cardinals' long-term outfield, but if they want him to have a chance to stick in center field for them, or be a valuable trade asset, the best thing for him is to go down to Memphis and figure things out at the plate.

If Carlson can even be league-average against right-handers, that's a very valuable player.

I'm sure Carlson wouldn't love the idea of going down to Triple-A, but it's the best thing for him and the club right now. If he continues to sit on the bench most of the time, that's not going to help him fix his major flaw.

Juan Yepez

Call up in place of Dylan Carlson, start against left-handed pitching, and utilize as a pinch-hit weapon off the bench.

You might be thinking "Doesn't that create the exact same issue the Cardinals are already in?". No, as Juan Yepez is better built for this kind of role than Carlson would be at the moment.

Yepez is a player who does not have major splits against right or left-handed pitching, so he becomes a very valuable bench bat in any game. In 53 at-bats for Memphis this year, Yepez has a .842 OPS and his bat is clearly Major League quality.

With Paul DeJong's hot start since returning from the IL, Brendan Donovan is a guy who can find more playing time in the outfield, so the Cardinals don't need to worry about not having quality enough defensive option to sub in for a Yepez or Burleson if needed.

When the Cardinals face left-handed pitching, Yepez can DH, two of DeJong, Nolan Gorman, and Tommy Edman can play in the middle infield, and the outfield can consist of Tyler O'Neill, Lars Nootbaar, and Brendan Donovan.

Yepez is a great bat to plug into the lineup whenever the Cardinals need an off-day for one of their corner infielders or outfielders and can pinch hit as a powerful bat in any spot. Yes, he would benefit from more playing time like Carlson, but Yepez doesn't need to "work on" his bat right now as Carlson does, so he can afford to play this reserve role right now.

Brendan Donovan

Get back to playing almost every day by finding more playing time in the outfield

As shocking as it still is for many of us, DeJong's bat and defense are too good to keep out of the lineup right now. If that continues, the Cardinals can still get Brendan Donovan consistent playing time by allowing him to fill in for their primary starters all across the diamond.

Before the season, I said the Cardinals really need Donovan to be their "Ben Zobrist", which is really the role he needs to fill today. If Carlson is off the roster, Donovan becomes the "next man up" at every position on the diamond outside of center field and catcher. Donovan can realistically play 75%-80% of the Cardinals' games just by spelling their primary starters.

Donovan can also find playing time in games he doesn't start as a late-game substitution, whether it's defensive or offensive. And let's be honest, DeJong's hot start can easily flip the opposite direction at some point, or Edman could need his playing time reduced if Donovan and Gorman are outplaying him.

Tyler O'Neill

Play every day for the next few months, allow the club to determine if he's "back" or it is time to move on

The next few months are going to be huge for Tyler O'Neill's future with the Cardinals.

St. Louis needs to see what they have in O'Neill. When right, he is a powerful bat in their lineup and an elite defender in left field, and that is something the club will need in their lineup every day if they want to climb out of the hole they have dug themselves.

I know people sometimes have strong feelings against advanced analytics, but I do think the Cardinals are looking at the underlying numbers with O'Neill and see a guy ready to break out in a huge way. His xSLG, xBA, and xwOBA are all in the 77th percentile or above, and things like his Barrel% and HardHit% rank in the 87th and 80th percentiles, respectively.

So all I ask from the Cardinals is that they give him some time to prove if the "expected" numbers are going to be the reality for him, or if they are an anomaly. If we get to the end of May or June and O'Neill isn't hitting like the numbers say he should, then hopefully Jordan Walker or Dylan Carlson are ready to take over for him.

No, there's nothing flashing about a .256/.318/.385 slash line from O'Neill, but I do think we may over-exaggerate how bad it has gone for him to this point. If the Cardinals actually want to unlock his potential, they have to give him some time to prove it, not just a few-game stretch.

Alec Burleson

Start against right-handed pitching, weapon off the bench otherwise.

Similar to Yepez, Alec Burleson is a great bat to have on your team and should factor into the lineup a good amount, but his playing time comes behind other guys on this list.

Burleson has proven this year that he should be in the lineup against right-handed pitching. He has struggled as of late though, which gives him a pretty short leash on the club.

If Burleson cannot get his bat going consistently again, I actually think he's a guy who could find himself in Memphis and either Carlson or Walker can replace him, or Donovan can start out there. But at least for the near future, I am comfortable riding with him.

The Cardinals really could use his left-handed bat producing in their lineup, and even if he's not starting, he's a nice option for Marmol off the bench to have.