Arch Authority
Fansided

St. Louis Cardinals: Evaluating All the Outfielders in This Year’s Camp

By Patrick Karraker

Oct 9, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (7) reacts after swinging at a strike during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs in game one of the NLDS at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Cre/sdit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (7) reacts after swinging at a strike during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs in game one of the NLDS at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Cre/sdit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
twitterfacebookreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
"
" /

Safe and Sound

Randal Grichuk, Matt Holliday, Stephen Piscotty

The Cardinals will head into 2016 with a remodeled outfield that figures to feature two players making their first-ever Opening Day starts. After breakout rookie campaigns, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty are expected to lock down starting jobs this spring, and as long as his body holds up during the exhibition schedule, they’ll be joined by 36-year-old Matt Holliday, who’s hoping to rebound after a career-worst, injury-plagued 2015 season.

The Cardinals are hopeful that the 24-year-old Grichuk can settle in as their center fielder for many years to come, even after a concerning elbow injury severely limited his ability to throw from the position as 2015 came to a close. As if the elbow wasn’t enough of a concern, Grichuk also underwent sports hernia surgery during the offseason, so it will be interesting to see if he can come close to matching his production from last season, when he hit .276/.329/.548 with 17 homers and 47 RBI in just 350 plate appearances.

Piscotty is perhaps the most intriguing bat, if not the biggest unknown, in the Cardinals’ projected 2016 lineup. He hit .305/.359/.494 with seven homers and 39 RBI as a rookie in 2015, which was good enough to earn him sixth place in NL Rookie of the Year voting despite the fact that he had just 256 plate appearances after being recalled on July 21. If he approaches that level of mastery at the plate this season, he’ll be one of the Cardinals’ most weapons, as he’s an extremely disciplined all-around player and theoretically can be plugged in at all three outfield positions, as well as first base.

Holliday will look to salvage his value in what’s likely to be the final season of his current deal with the Cardinals (assuming that they opt for the $1 million-dollar buyout, rather than paying him $17M in 2017). He’s worked on a limited basis at first base this spring, but with the Cardinals having so many other options at that position this year, it may not be realistic to think he’ll ever actually get any game action there. For the immediate future, he’ll be back in his traditional left field spot, and if he can’t rise to the challenge in 2016, the Cardinals will just have to compensate and find a way to get by without him.

He put up the worst numbers of his career in 2015, establishing career lows in games played (73), home runs (4), RBI (35), slugging percentage (.410), and OPS (.804). With that said, Holliday isn’t too far removed from being the player that hit for an average of at least .290 every year from 2004-13 and hit at least 20 dingers each season from 2006-14, so if he can rediscover that form, his still elite on-base skills should enable him to be a great player once again.

Next: On the Bubble

Home/St. Louis Cardinals