St. Louis Cardinals’ All-Prospect Lineup: Pick a 1B
JUPITER, Fla. — For the St. Louis Cardinals, the plan is to never need a prospect to fill the position of first base — at least not for another decade or so — but that doesn’t alter the value of having some options at the position and the possibility to deal a player or two for help elsewhere.
The Cardinals depth chart at first base has one prospect likely be moved there, another prospect who started there and moved elsewhere, and a 2008 league MVP.
Allen Craig, the prospect being moved there, has to be considered for this position, even though he has played mostly third, doesn’t have the glove to stay put any at one position — but has the bat that speaks. Craig is 6-for-11 so far this spring for an opening line of .545/.583/.909. Steven Hill, the prospect possibly being moved there, is running a distant third in the voting for the catcher (Bryan Anderson is the runaway pick, of course). Hill, like Craig, has a potent bat but couples that with ample experience at first. If you want to vote for a sleeper this may be the fit.
Then there is Curt Smith. Just drafted out of the University of Maine — one of the college players ID’d by the Cardinals stat hounds and then double-crosschecked by the scouts — Smith cranked his way through the Appalachian League. He hit .378/.418/.585 with eight homers, 23 extra-base hits and 49 RBIs in 47 games, and the day after he was promoted to Low-A Quad Cities, he learned he won the league’s Player of the Year. This spring, he’s been picked up by the Netherlands team for the World Baseball Classic. He’ll get some swings on a big stage and then get the rest of March to hit his way into a full-season lineup for the Cardinals.
Those are some candidates; Mark Hamilton also has his fans within the organization. The poll:
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Other thoughts - Brett Wallace and Xavier Scruggs. If you look at Wallace as a 1B he’s obviously number 1. Hopefully he sticks at 3B, or in the alternative, LF.
If Allen Craig is to be considered a 1B then I will have to pick him. Craig deserves some consideration for the Glaus-vacated 3B spot. He has outhit all challengers for the position.
If Craig improves his defense at 3B, which I think he will, I’d say go with Curt Smith.
I put “other” for Brett Wallace, because I think that Brett Wallace is most likely to end up as a first baseman if he is traded or if Pujols signs elsewhere after his contract expires. (Of course I hope that neither of those things happens!)
As far as I’m concerned, AAA First Baseman this year should be Chris Duncan. ut Baby Dunc’s defense will cost us a few games if he plays the outfield, (although he does continue to generate laughs at ESPN and the MLB network.)
Mark Hamilton: K’ed in 33% of his plate appearances this past year at Springfield. Walked in only 12.5% of those plate appearances. No thanks.
Allen Craig: Solid plate discipline, doesn’t strikeout a lot, and I think he’ll develop into a solid major league player. I think he’ll end up at 1B. I’ve heard is range is poor at the hot corner.
Curt Smith: Was tearing it up in limited action this past season in the low levels of the minor leagues. I’ll definitly be keeping an eye on his bat this summer.
I’ll vote Craig. I certainly see a move in store across the diamond for him, I think he’ll develop into a nice versatile player someday for a team.
DG, Hill is another guy who was sort of all over the diamond this past season. Is the plan to try and make a first basemen out of him, or is he a catcher or an OF’er? Thoughts?
I voted for Brandon Buckman. There were other guys on the list that I felt overall were better, but they are also likely to be moved to other positions. Buckman is 6′ 6″ & left-handed and still has to potential to mash at the plate, but there isn’t any other position he can play.
I would agree with the posts that say Allan Craig deserves the first shot, & I like Andrew Brown and Steven Hill. Craig could end up as a corner OF/corner IF like Speizio was and Mather is trying to be now. Brown & Hill could move to a corner outfield spot and at least Hill can still catch. Buckman is intriguing, so I picked him.