Ranking the Cardinals' 10 most important young players for their future

#8 - Dylan Carlson

Dylan Carlson is still so young and has so much potential in his game. It's far too early to look at a guy like him and count him out from being a very productive big leaguer, but the holes in his game are glaring and caused him to fall down this list.

Carlson is just awful against right-handed pitching, and considering that's about 70% of the guys pitching in this league, that's a big deal. He crushes lefties for the most part and plays great outfield defense, but he's really got to figure out why he can't hit righties if he wants to be more than a nice complementary piece.

The Cardinals have a lot of talent in their corner outfield right now, but Carlson represents someone who can be a true center fielder for them, one of the three most important positions on the field. He also represents someone who could be a valuable trade chip, so maintaining his value could be dividends in pursuit of bigger pieces later on.