The St. Louis Cardinals have had a very up-and-down start to the 2022 season. When the Redbirds are humming on offense, this club is one of the most explosive and exciting teams in baseball. However, when the bats go cold, the team looks like it couldn’t hit a high school pitcher, and it is often unbearable to watch.
Lucky for the St. Louis Cardinals, their two highest minor league affiliates (Triple-A Memphis and Double-A Springfield) are home to some of the hottest hitting players in MiLB. Let’s see if St. Louis decides to make some tweaks in their lineup to spark their consistency, utilize their high-performing prospects, and bring them up to The Show.
Here are some possible moves that St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak should seriously consider.
1. Call up Nolan Gorman
Nolan Gorman leads AAA with 12 homers so far this year. He is a left-handed bat who can add serious pop to this lineup. The 19th overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft is turning 22 on Tuesday and could provide the clubhouse with youthful energy to pair with the veteran presences of Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols.
Gorman would have to play second base, which means Tommy Edman would slide to shortstop, and Paul DeJong would have to forfeit his spot in the lineup. DeJong is batting .130 in 24 games and frankly has been in a slump for two and a half years. This moment has been a long time coming for DeJong.
Edmundo Sosa got his shot at the shortstop position. He also struggled to find any consistency at the plate or in the field. Look for the Cards to trade either Sosa or DeJong to clear some room for Nolan Gorman to come up and begin his much-anticipated career in St. Louis.
1 swing, 1 homer.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 8, 2022
No. 2 @Cardinals prospect Nolan Gorman jumpstarted the @memphisredbirds' bats with his 12th roundtripper of the year: pic.twitter.com/x6QBW5HRA5
2) Stick with Juan Yepez
This could be recency bias, but I think Juan Yepez is the answer for the Cardinals as a bench bat and offensive spark going forward. “Super Juan” has been incredible since making his MLB debut in May. In his first five games, he slashed .474/.500/.789. I understand this is a minimal sample size, but Yepez has passed the eye test from manager Oliver Marmol, who has given him the nod in five straight games.
The Cardinals have struggled to find answers when it comes to bench productivity. Lars Nootbaar is back down at Triple-A, and Brendan Donovan is highly regarded for his defensive versatility. However, he does not show the poise at the plate that Yepez does. That poise could be a crucial tool for the Cardinals as they could turn to Yepez for pinch-hit opportunities, DH duties, or a plug-and-play in the outfield or at first base.
For the first time in the big leagues, @Cardinals rookie Juan Yepez blasts a home run. pic.twitter.com/HW7Y774WLs
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 8, 2022
What do you think of these moves? What would you do? Let us know in the comments section below.