St. Louis Cardinals Send Kolten Wong to Triple-A
By Nick Fustor
Kolten Wong has struggled mightily to start the 2016 season, and with a wealth of infielders, the St. Louis Cardinals have sent him down to Triple-A to figure things out.
Three months ago, the St. Louis Cardinals signed second basemen to a five-year, $25.5 million extension that looked like a bargain. The 25-year-old flashed a combination of power and speed over the past two seasons – while hitting .262 with 11 homers and 15 steals last season, despite a second-half decline.
But this year, Wong has struggled to replicate his previous success, and as a result, the Cardinals sent him to Triple-A with Jhonny Peralta‘s impending return.
With Aledmys Diaz riding a hot bat at shortstop, general manager John Mozeliak announced last week that Peralta will take over everyday duties at third base while Matt Carpenter will shift to second base. In the meantime, Wong will look to work on his woeful .222/.306/.286 slash line under less pressure in the minors.
To Wong’s credit, it’s not uncommon for players to struggle following extensions, as noted by ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon following a conversation with him.
"“It was more pressure on myself,” Wong said via Saxon, “knowing these guys are paying me this much money to be here and they want me to be here and I’m not doing what I need to do, instead of understanding my teammates and the coaches see me out there every single day working as hard as I can.”"
Things looked to be turning around in mid-May as Wong put together a five-game hitting streak in which he hit .412 while providing solid defense at second. But shortly after, Wong’s struggles resurfaced with a vengeance, which resulted in a platoon with Jedd Gyorko.
In his last 15 games while splitting time with Gyorko, Wong has hit .171/.227/.195 with only seven hits, eight strikeouts and one walk. More consistent at-bats in the minors may be the best way to resolve Wong’s problems at the plate.
The root of Wong’s problems aren’t uncommon for young hitters. While Wong is swinging at less pitches than the past – 45.6 percent this season, which is down from 50.1 percent last season – he’s pulling the ball more than ever, which is resulting in more outs than season’s past.
Last season, Wong hit .310 in 187 at-bats in which he pulled the ball. This season, however, he’s only hitting .156, while hitting over .400 on balls hit to center and over .300 to the opposite side of the field. It’s also worth noting that Wong’s BABIP is only .265, down from .296 last season, which could be a result on his pull tendencies.
Here’s a look at Wong’s spray chart from the 2015 season.
And here, the 2016 season.
See the difference? Wong isn’t collecting nearly as many opposite field hits, while his hits to center are almost equally sparse.
With his new contract and power potential, Wong’s struggles could simply be attributed to the fact that he’s looking to hit more homers, which is resulting in a significant decrease in quality at-bats.
With Diaz dominating at the plate in his rookie season, there’s even more pressure on Wong to perform. In 206 plate appearances, Diaz is hitting .328 with a .906 OPS and eight home runs and 30 RBI.
The Cardinals have more than enough depth in the infield, so it may be a while before Wong earns another chance in the majors – but that may be best for him. Escaping the pressure of a fierce division battle with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh can be a big strain on a young player struggling at the plate.
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But once Wong is back up, he’ll have to be in peak form in order to regain an everyday spot from the veterans occupying his place.