TOWER GROVE — It was one of the shortest and more direct answers St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak gave in his chat this afternoon here at StlToday.com. The question was essentially who was going to be the next Kyle McClellan, the next “surprise player in the system” who could turn March into a spot on the big-league roster for 2009.

Mozeliak’s answer:

John Mozeliak: Don’t rule out Tyler Greene, he is having a strong Arizona Fall League.

Greene, 25, is the former Georgia Tech shortstop who finally found some traction as the as-advertised prospect this past season. Taken 30th overall in the 2005 draft, Greene received a higher signing bonus than the Cardinals’ first pick of that draft — Colby Rasmus – and was viewed as the more polished playing, especially coming out of college. Greene was rated as the organization No. 3 prospect in 2005, and his 33 steals in 2006 led the system. But he scuffled at the plate and had to get through a problematic knee injury. At one point he dropped down a level so that he regain his confidence and slingshot back, possibly to Class AA.

St. Louis Cardinals prospect Tyler Greene (Source: Checkoutmycards.com)

I spoke to him about all that this past season in Memphis, where he finished the year in Triple-A.

Memphis figured to be where he picked up next season — starting shortstop for the Redbirds — until Wednesday’s name drop by the GM. A quick look at the Arizona Fall League’s statistics reveals what Mozeliak was referencing. A deeper look offers a hint to what the GM means.

Greene, who must be added to the 40-man roster this offseason or potentially lost to the Rule 5 Draft, is hitting .324, reaching base at a .452 clip and slugging .618 for the Peoria Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League. His on-base-plus-slugging percentage of 1.070 ranks seventh in the league. Six of his 11 base hits so far this month have gone for extra bases.

Last week, he drove in three runs in a game, and earlier this week he ripped three doubles to help fellow Cardinal prospect Adam Ottavino to his first AFL victory.

The infielder’s gaudy average is helped by a 6-for-7 turn against lefties this October, good for a 2.603 OPS against lefthanded pitchers. But more notable than the three doubles Greene hit on Oct. 25 was the designation beside his name in the box score.

2B

Greene is playing on the same team as the only two 2008 first-round position players — the Cardinals’ Brett Wallace, a third baseman, and the White Sox prospect Gordon Beckham. Taken eighth overall this past June, Beckham is a touted shortstop. Greene has found his playing time elsewhere this fall, including second base — the position the organization has long felt was his big-league future. (In the same chat, Mozeliak mentions he does hope to honor Adam Kennedy’s request for a trade and that second base may come from within the 2008 roster (Read: Felipe Lopez, possibly.)) Greene has started five games at second for the Saguaros, three at third and one at shortstop. He’s playing in Arizona for Springfield Cardinals manager Pop Warner, who saw him crank 16 home runs and strike out 99 times in 409 plate appearances at Double-A this past summer.

After his promotion, Greene hit .234/.320/.297 at Triple-A Memphis.

It’s not the line of a guy primed to make the leap into the majors. But others have channeled soft Triple-A stats — or no Triple-A stats, in some cases — into strong springs and a big-league roster spot. You know, like McClellan did to start the season. As Joe Mather did later in the season.

Elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere …

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Other Cardinal minor-leaguers from around Winter Ball

The Cardinals’ lack of depth on the left side of their bullpen has been well-covered, and there is ample room for one of the prospects to seize an opportunity and reach the depth chart. Three such lefties are pitching in Peoria this month, and only one is really slowing the stats of a specialist. LHP Justin Fiske has struck out three of the nine lefthanded hitters he’s faced, but he’s 0-1, 3.60 in 5 IP overall. … LHP Brad Furnish, out of TCU, is 0-0, 11.05 in 7 1/3 IP overall, and lefties are hitting .455 with two strikeouts in 11 at-bats. … LHP Tyler Norrick, a Festus native, is 0-0, 9.35 in 10 2/3 IP overall. He does have nine strikeouts in those 10 2/3 innings, and he’s struck out four of 18 lefties.

Brett Wallace, the aforementioned first-round pick, went 3-for-4 Tuesday batting cleanup, and that raised his averages in Arizona to .211/.268/.395. … Steven Hill, who is playing catcher for the Saguaros, is batting .227/.269/.364. … And outfielder Shane Robinson, who contended for a batting title in Class AA before a promotion, is hitting .271/.357/.417.

Ottavino, a former first-round pick, is 1-1, 4.22 in 10 2/3 IP with nine strikeouts. He is out in Arizona working on his mechanics, having already ditched his high-hand lift before wheeling into his delivery.

Out in Hawaii, Tony Cruz is cranking. Though they drafted him as a third baseman, the Cardinals are giving Cruz ample time at catcher to see if his skills translate. So far, so good. Because the bat will play. Cruz is hitting .408/.444/.592 with 20 hits and seven doubles for the Honolulu Sharks. … Jim Rapoport, an outfielder, is hitting .281/.379/.404. … The Sharks’ pitchers with Cardinal ties include highly rated prospect Tyler Herron, who is 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 3 2/3 innings. … Blake King is 0-0, 4.15 ERA in 13 innings with 10 strikeouts and 14 walks.

In Venezuela, Lafayette High grad David Freese, Baseball America’s pick as the Cardinals’ organizational player of the year, is hitting .243/.300/.378 for Caribes de Anzoatequi.

And in the Dominican Winter League, the legend grows: outfielder Amaury Cazana Marti leads the league with 13 RBIs. Five of Marti’s 13 hits have gone for extra bases. The thirtysomething Cuban who was the Cardinals surprise draft pick a few years back also has eight walks against six strikeouts, and he’s got a hitting line of .317/.453/.561.

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