Kolten Wong Set to See First Professional Action in Center Field Monday

After playing exclusively second base during his professional career to date, Kolten Wong will start in center field Monday night for the Memphis Redbirds.

When the St. Louis Cardinals sent Kolten Wong down to Triple-A Memphis one week ago today, with the inadequacy of his defense at second base and his lack of versatility being two of his biggest weaknesses, there was some speculation that maybe he would get some reps at another position besides second.

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After all, the Cardinals’ infield is rather crowded at the moment, with Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter, Jhonny Peralta, and Aledmys Diaz all having earned the right to play every day, so if Wong is going to make it back to the majors anytime soon (barring an injury), it would seem that he’ll have to at least come close to matching the versatility of Greg Garcia and Jedd Gyorko, who can both be plugged in at a multitude of different positions.

Considering Wong’s quickness and athleticism, it seemed that center field might be a logical spot for him to add versatility, especially considering that he started 58 games in center field during his freshman year at the University of Hawaii. However, the Cardinals’ brass denied this speculation last week when pressed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Derrick Goold, saying that the focus during Wong’s minor-league stint was to rebuild his confidence at second.

Those plans seem to have changed quickly, though, as Wong has a new position in the Redbirds’ Monday lineup, leading off and starting in center field:

The change will force Wong to adjust on the fly, as he’s played all 5,104 2/3 innings of his professional career to date at second base. Considering the way that middle infielders such as Dustin Ackley, Chris Owings, and Ian Desmond have been able to make the transition in recent seasons, though, it probably won’t be too radical of an adjustment for a player with as much athletic ability as Wong has.