St. Louis Cardinals’ All-Prospect Lineup: Pick a 3B
JUPITER, Fla. — A few weeks ago, asking who was the top prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals at third base would have produced a yawner of a poll, a runaway favorite plucked straight from the universal top 10 rankings of prospects. No doubt: Brett Wallace. Signed. Paid. Promoted. Delivering. Next question.
The same is probably true today, meaning the real interest is for who finishes second.
Both Wallace and David Freese are back with the major-league club today and will be available for one — or perhaps both — of the doubleheader games Friday. Freese could start at designated hitter, manager Tony La Russa said this morning. Neither really has made their mark this spring training. Freese has been hampered by a foot injury sustained in a January car accident, and Wallace never really got the opportunity.
“He just signed last summer,” La Russa said about a week ago. “This is a great break for him to come to big league camp and see what the big leagues are like. There are a lot of guys on the pecking order for at-bats that mean something for our club in ‘09. He’s not on that.”
But he could be for 2010.
That is where this exercise is headed. Using this position-by-position polls it will be possible near the end of spring training to complete this series of blog entries by constructing what you think should be the lineup for the 2012 Cardinals. Who’s the ace? Who’s the second baseman? And what position is clearly going to need a free agent infusion? Keep that in mind as you cast your vote for third base. Wallace, who will also be featured in an entry I plan to put up shortly after this one, is clearly the favorite. But Roberto De La Cruz arrived with the minor leaguers, and people have been watching the team’s highest-paid EVER international signing. He fills out his uniform, digs into the batter’s box and swings without batting gloves. He gets a good crack! on his hits, enough that coaches were drawn to watching him the other day. Too early to put him on the depth chart, probably, and maybe too soon to call him a prospect. But it’s a name worth knowing.
The poll for the Cardinals’ top prospect — you choose how you define that word — at third base, and their ranking in the Baseball America Top 30 is in parentheses.
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Previous position-by-position prospects polls: Catcher … First Base … Second Base.
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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. 
The pick has to be Brett Wallace, but there is more of a question whether or not he can play 3rd base. This is the point where we should stop and consider whether he can stay at the position defensively, but with Tony LaRussa having second baseman play the outfield and outfielders playing infield positions, who knows? I get that there players who have the ability to change positions but since last August it’s like anyone can play any defensive position as long as they can hit.
Ultimately, the club has to hang on to Wallace and make him work at 3rd base. After Pujols is officially inked to that long-term extension, only then should the Cardinals consider trading this guy if he is to only be a 1st baseman.
1-Wallace
2-Craig
3-De la Cruz
4-Freese
Craig is forever underrated. Had he been given a fair opportunity to win the 3B job, he would be running away with it.
I voted for, the obvious selection here, and that would be none other than Mr. Walrus. I do think he’ll hit we’ll enough to complement his bat, and his arm is above average at third base, so I think if he hits the way he’s expected to then that will be enough to compensate for his slightly below average mobility at 3B.
Jermaine Curtis is a young player I’ll be keeping an eye on this year. I hadn’t realized how well he performed at Batavia in limited action, and I think he might turn into a solid utility man for somebody. I think he probably makes the move to 2B eventually, as I’ve heard his arm isn’t great.
Just to clear up my previous comment, as I noticed it wasn’t quite clear: “I think he’ll *defend* well enough to complement his bat.
Sorry, I didn’t present my points in a clear way in my previous post … keep up the great work, DG!
You guys are going to be surprised at how S-L-O-W Wallace is in the field and on the bases. He has a good looking swing but he has a ways to go before he’s ready.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If Craig keeps hitting .500 you can’t sit that bat. Very Albert-esk the way he is hitting his way onto the team.
Craig will also be good trade bait for a team for that needs a 3rd baseman and has an abundance at 2b. It’s great to have so much talent crammed into our minors and major league club. A self sustaining farm system is what a lot of clubs are aiming for. The Cards are on the right track!
I voted for Freese, as I see Wallace as our left fielder in 2012.