When one is the best team in baseball, at least by record and run differential, it would be expected that there would not be many holes on the roster. Such is the case with the St. Louis Cardinals, who are currently the class of baseball. It is certainly difficult to find many weaknesses on their roster.
However, the Cardinals do have issues at first base. Overall, Cardinals first basemen have a .657 OPS, 27th in all of baseball. Mark Reynolds just is not the answer, as he has provided a meager .229/.297/.386 batting line with eight home runs. As such, with the Cardinals in need of more offensive firepower from their first basemen, they are promoting prospect Stephen Piscotty to play first in time for today’s games.
The idea of bringing Piscotty up to play first is interesting. Primarily a right fielder over his minor league career, Piscotty had played a bit at third base as well, but had not played first before this season. In fact, he did not even play the position until recently, making his debut at first base on July 10th. Now, after six total games at first, the Cardinals are looking at him to be the answer after Reynolds has flamed out.
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Based on his performance this season, one can understand why the St. Louis Cardinals would look to promote Stephen Piscotty. He had produced a .272/.366/.475 batting line with the Memphis Redbirds this season, hitting eleven home runs and 28 doubles. In his two seasons at the AAA level, Piscotty has a combined .282/.359/.443 batting line, hitting twenty home runs and sixty doubles. He has even added 16 stolen bases. Quite simply, Piscotty has nothing left to prove offensively at Memphis.
The biggest question with the promotion of one of the Cardinals top prospects is whether or not he can play first at the major league level. While the Cardinals could use his bat in the lineup, Piscotty does have only those six games at first. While he has been solid defensively, making one error in his 56 total chances, it is a small sample size. And in the National League, with more bunting and a larger focus on the running game, Piscotty is going to have to sink or swim quickly with the glove.
As long as Stephen Piscotty is even close to average defensively, his offensive potential should be an upgrade over Mark Reynolds at first. With the St. Louis Cardinals in need of an upgrade offensively, and with his solid production at Memphis, Piscotty’s time has arrived.
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