Stop me if you have heard this before. The Cardinals draft a young phenom in the first round destined to lead the franchise to another title. Colby Rasmus first comes to mind but thankfully had enough value to help another way in 2011. Kolten Wong could fall into this category as well although St. Louis ended his tenure under the Arch early. Brett Wallace helped acquire Matt Holliday, Pete Kozma is beloved by fans in Atlanta and Washington, and Zack Cox made his own kind of history.
The point becomes for every Stephen Piscotty, you also have a James Ramsey that doesn’t make it. Dylan Carlson helps cover up the selections of Delvin Perez (TBD but not looking good) and Nick Plummer (Mets) for the Birds on the Bat. While it does seem the Cards get more attention on the pitching side, that all might be changing thanks to the help of a pair of bats.
Nolan Gorman finally did enough in Memphis to make it impossible to keep him away, and the results speak for themselves. He has locked down second base, provided the pop needed from the left side and for the most part put to rest the worries about his defense. Yes, he will strike out and could see his days off come when a tough lefty starts but make no mistake about it – St. Louis has the top of the lineup locked up by each of their current infielders.
Not to be outdone, Jordan Walker just turned 20 and carries an OBP north of .400 into his second month of action for Springfield. While it isn’t out of the question that he could help in September, it is much more likely that he spends the end of this season exploring the outfield in Memphis. Walker has the frame to handle a corner outfield spot and well much like Gorman won’t be spending his big league time at third base for the foreseeable future.
Finding enough playing time for everyone honestly is a very good problem to have but also not anything to stress now that the DH will always be available. The recipe to make it work for the Cardinals has been on display already, especially when you factor in getting days off for the starters. Gorman and Walker hitting in the middle of the order surely makes the upcoming Draft one to watch on the position player side. It hasn’t been called a strong pitching draft, so the board may add another bat to the flock with big shoes to fill!
