TOWER GROVE — Less than a year after the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him 13th overall, third baseman Brett Wallace made his Triple-A debut this past weekend and while he is clearly going places, the club is certain of only the place they don’t expect him to go again — back in Class AA.

Wallace, 22, went 3-for-4 in his first game with Memphis and finished the weekend 3-for-8. He’s the first of the top 15 picks from last year’s draft to reach Triple-A. He’ll be Memphis’ starting third baseman for the foreseeable future. But what this means for Wallace’s distant future is fascinating. He’s on the cusp of the majors, but that doesn’t mean he’s zooming toward the majors. There are a few moves he’ll likely to make before then.

A lot will hinge on David Freese.

The Cardinals’ top third-base prospect and St. Louis native, Freese is in town today to have his ankle checked by the team doctors. General manager John Mozeliak said he will have more detailed information this afternoon about Freese and the lingering injury, but the expectation is for Freese to be prescribed rest — an extended, absolute amount of rest. The belief is that he has aggravated the January injury by trying to play through it. As long as Freese is out with his injury, Wallace is the starting third baseman in Memphis. When Freese is ready to return, numerous things can happen.

A couple Cardinals officials said it’s possible Freese will return only briefly to Memphis and then emerge back in the majors as the Cardinals’ third baseman. Mozeliak went down to Memphis recently for a number of reasons — one of which was to gauge how well Freese had been playing since being sent back to Class AAA.

Prospect Brett Wallace, shown here at Busch Stadium last season, is in Triple-A less than a year after the club drafted him 13th overall. (P-D/Chris Lee.)

If Freese returns to Memphis to be the third baseman, that doesn’t mean Wallace will shuttle back to Springfield to get playing time at the hot corner. The club expects him, barring a plummet in his performance, to stay at Triple-A. While the Cardinals acknowledge Wallace’s value to them is increased by his ability to play adequate defense at third base, they are keen to find a way to get his bat in the lineup when it’s ready. That means Wallace will see playing time in left field and at first base, in that order of preference, when/if Freese returns to Memphis.

The notion that percolated this weekend that Wallace is speeding toward the majors is premature.

He was hitting .281 in the Texas League, though several people who saw him this season said the third baseman was being pitched around and very often being pitched inside at Double-A. And there is the glove. Wallace has followed his bat through three levels of professional baseball — he skipped High-A last season — and needs to prove his glove has caught up before making the last step. There is also the off-field considerations.

• Options.
• 40-man.

There is a lot for the Cardinals to like about bringing Wallace to spring training next year like they did Colby Rasmus this year. Meaning: As a non-roster invitee who doesn’t have to be optioned out of camp and therefore can stick around to the end of camp or until he makes the team and is then placed on the 40-man roster. Calling up Wallace at any point this season — including September — means putting him on the 40-man roster and likely burning an option a few years before needed and one year before desired. That is the lesser of the concerns, one Cardinals official said.

The 40-man could get quite crowded this coming winter. The willingness to place Shane Robinson on the 40-man roster for his recent promotion was partly because he was going to have to be on it this winter anyway to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. There are a handful of prospects in the same situation. This winter, the Cardinals must add high schoolers drafted in 2005 (i.e., Rasmus) or college players drafted in 2006 (i.e., Robinson) to the 40-man roster.

The list of players who must be protected from this December’s Rule 5 draft includes Daryl Jones, Bryan Anderson, Jon Jay, Allen Craig, Tyler Herron and first-round pick Adam Ottavino. The Cardinals will want to keep spots available for the best of them, Tyler Greene, lefty Jaime Garcia (of course), and any free agents they want to pursue. To promote Wallace they have to be willing to use one of those spots a year before they really have to, or want to.

Wallace is ascending. But he has a few places to go before the majors. Like left field.

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