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
4 of 4
Next
St. Louis Cardinals Anthony Garcia
Jul 16, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Puerto Rico right fielder Anthony Garcia (44) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a three-run home run in the eighth inning against Canada during the 2015 Pan Am Games at Ajax Pan Am Ballpark. Canada beat Puerto Rico 11-4. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Not Likely

Anthony Garcia, Jeremy Hazelbaker, Charlie Tilson

As is typically the case with major-league teams during spring training, the Cardinals will be bringing fewer excess outfielders to camp than they will at any other position. While Brandon Moss and Matt Carpenter can fill in at the outfield corners if injuries occur, the organization’s outfield depth is rather thin at the moment, meaning that all three of Anthony Garcia, Jeremy Hazelbaker, and Charlie Tilson could end up seeing big-league time in 2016 if injuries occur  in the outfield.

The 24-year-old Garcia is an interesting case in that the organization decided to voluntarily add him to the 40-man roster this offseason, despite the fact that he had previously passed through the Rule 5 Draft untouched. Garcia had a very good season split between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in 2015, hitting .283/.391/.477 with 13 homers and 64 RBI, but his real time to shine was in the Pan-Am Games last summer, when he hit .393 with five homers and 17 RBI in 30 at-bats for Team Puerto Rico. Considering that he’s got some Triple-A experience under his belt now and still seems to have some upside at age 24, Garcia might be a prime candidate for a call-up this year if one of the Cardinals’ outfielders goes down.

Hazelbaker, a 28-year-old lefthanded hitter, was signed by the Cardinals in May of last year after being released from the Dodgers organization, and after impressing in Double-A, he was promoted to Memphis, where he absolutely raked over the final two months of the season, hitting for a spectacular .998 OPS with 10 homers and 46 RBI in 207 at-bats. In a way, the fact that he’s a seven-year minor-league vet and doesn’t have much room for growth is a negative, but in another sense his experience is a plus for a Cardinals organization that is short on outfield depth. Much in the same way that Tommy Pham broke out as a 27-year-old in 2015, it’s possible that Hazelbaker could take advantage of an opportunity if one presents itself in 2016.

Next: Evaluating All the Starting Pitchers in Cardinals Camp

Lastly, the 22-year-old Tilson will continue trying to live up to his reputation as a former second-round pick as he figures to get his first crack at Triple-A. The key for Tilson, a .296 career hitter as a pro, is to keep making solid contact, as his greatest skill comes on the basepaths (he stole a career-high 46 bags last year, though he was thrown out 19 times). Tilson, a natural center fielder, may have a greater lead on big-league playing time than anyone else outside the projected top four outfielders, for the sole reason that there’s not much center field depth outside of Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham.

Home/St. Louis Cardinals