TOWER GROVE — A couple summers ago, a young shortstop was available in the June draft that fit so many of the “buckets” that the St. Louis Cardinals look for in a high pick. He played a premium position. He played a position of some need for the team. He had strong, reliable numbers in a major NCAA conference, and his stats projected well through the metrics the Cardinals use help identify future performance. He had it all.

Gordon Beckham just went five picks before the Cardinals got a shot.

Beckham, taken eighth overall out of Georgia in 2008 by the Chicago White Sox, played more than 100 games in the majors this past season. The Cardinals picked 13th overall in that draft and took Brett Wallace, viewed by many as the best bat available at their pick. Had Beckham slid it would have been interesting to see what the Cardinals did with their pick. It also would have continued a run of highly drafted shortstops for a team that remains in need of a standout shortstop prospect.

Ryan Jackson: The lastest shortstop drafted by the Cardinals, in 2009's fifth round out of the Miami.

It’s not a surprise at all that a team would draft a lot of shortstops. It is the position often played by the best high-school player on the field. It is also a position that leads to others — how many second basemen, third basemen and even center fielders and such were shortstops in high school or college? But, the Cardinals, have also been searching for one.

As discussed in this morning’s paper, they found one — for now.

Brendan Ryan, who seized the starting job at shortstop this past season, was a highly touted prospect a few years ago. Several members of the Cardinals front office saw him as an athletic and defensively gifted player who could handle the everyday role of shortstop — if he proved he could be relied on beyond gobbling up groundballs. He had big fans in the right places, but had also carved a niche as a utility player for the Cardinals, adroitly handling third base for a time when thrown out there after an injury to Scott Rolen.

“In ‘07 I came up and this is the major leagues and this is it, there’s no where to go from here,” Ryan recalled a few weeks ago. “What do they expect from me? Nobody expects me to get a base hit. I’m just some scrub. As far as in the field, it’s like, ‘He’s here because he’ll catch it if it’s hit to him and maybe make a good play here or there.’ Talking to my brother at that point, it was like, ‘Man, you’ve got nothing to lose.’ I remember taking all kinds of chances. There were chances I was taking because I had nothing to lose. I was playing third base. When had I ever played third base?”

Yunier Castillo: The highest-ceiling shortstop prospect? (Source: TheCardinalNation.com)

Entering 2009, Ryan projected as a utility player with a plus-glove and good speed. The eyes of the organization were actually on Tyler Greene as the next shortstop. Greene had had a strong second half in 2008, but had really won fans by playing at a variety of positions in the Arizona Fall League. Reports the Cardinals received from their scouts said Greene had a breakthrough and was showing the talent that made him a first-round pick in 2005.

After Ryan, Greene is next on any shortstop depth chart. But after him …

One element of Ryan’s arrival at shortstop is that he fills a need now and for awhile. He has two years of major-league experience and is a year away from arbitration eligibility. It’s possible that buys (almost literally) the Cardinals time to see if any of their current shortstops on the depth chart blossom or if the search continues. Pete Kozma, a first-round pick, struggled offensively in Class AA this past season. Others haven’t had the glove to stay at shortstop. Some of the glove, but haven’t shown the bat, and still others are young, raw and athletic, but need experience to reveal where they really are as prospects, let alone shortstops. When you scan the thumbnails below the lack of offense will leap out of the pixels.

The below snapshot of the shortstops coming up the ranks was originally conceived as a 10@10 entry. But then 10:59 zoomed by this morning and the list grew to 11 to 12 to … well, the 10@10 continues to look for a toehold in the postseason.

In the meantime, here is a Where Are They Now look at the seven players the Cardinals drafted at shortstops in the 10th round or higher since 2005, and then a handful of international signings who are playing the position now:

DRAFTED PLAYERS

TYLER GREENE, 2005, 1st round (30th overall): The Cardinals saw improvement from the infielder who was overmatched toward the end of his first taste of the majors. He showed the ability to play second base well and handle third, but his best fit is shortstop. If the power comes like it did in the minors, Greene represents the organization’s first true 20-20 candidate this side of Colby Rasmus.

Drafted out of Georgia Tech. Age: 26. Stats: .291/.369/.482. 2009: Memphis, SS.

Pete Kozma: Cardinals top pick in 2007 got high marks for defense in Class AA. (Source:MLB.com)

PETE KOZMA, 2007, 1st round (18th overall): Kozma, a prep shortstop when drafted, has lived up to the defensive billing. The opposing managers in the Texas League, as mentioned before, voted him the best defensive shortstop in the league. This despite 25 errors at the position. Errors are tough judge in the minors — some forced throws that shouldn’t be made, some are actually the 1B fault and fixed to the SS. Whatever the case, 25 is a lot. But then Ryan had 31 in a minor-league season and Greene had 33 in one minor-league season, stirring talk of a possible 20-20-20 season. The larger concern is Kozma’s offense. He hit .216 in Springfield, the lowest of any regular. That included a .183 average after the All-Star break. The Cardinals can cling to this: Kozma hit .130/.231/.182 in his first taste of High-A Palm Beach. He returned there to start 2009 and hit .315/.381/.384. His trend to is to struggle for half and then get traction. This coming season will be a test of that as he is position to play his way to Triple-A.

Drafted out of Owasso HS. Age: 21. Stats: .231/.302/.323.  2009: Springfield, SS.

NIKO VASQUEZ, 2008, 3rd round: Considered a sleeper pick coming out of that draft, Vasquez has struggled to be the power middle infielder some believed he’d become. Still young, he’s moved off of shortstop and wasn’t expected to last there long-term. His bat must develop for him to be back in the middle-infield mix.

Drafted out of Durango HS. Age: 20. Stats: .204/.288/.274. 2009: Batavia, 3B.

RYAN JACKSON, 2009, 5th round: Had the reputation coming out of college of being an exceptional glove with an inconsistent, even meek, bat. His first turn at pro ball only underscored that perception. Jackson is an athletic shortstop with an obvious nose for the ball. Scouts who saw him lauded both his ability to get to grounders and his clean, refined fundamentals in the field. If he can improve as a hitter — or, better yet, if the Cardinals can improve him as a hitter — then he’ll zoom up the depth chart as a prospect.

Drafted out of Miami. Age: 21. Stats: .216/.297/.241. 2009: Batavia, SS.

OLIVER MARMOL, 2007, 6th round: Led his collegiate league in runs scored and seem every bit the leadoff-hitter, middle-infield prototype when the Cardinals’ drafted him as one of their small-college finds. He’s since moved over to second base and bounced around the lower minors. Always had a knack for getting hit or taking a walk.

Drafted out of the College of Charleston. Age: 23. Stats: .204/.321/.301. 2009: Palm Beach, 2B.

ALLEN CRAIG, 2006, 8th round: Yes, Craig was a shortstop at Cal before being drafted. He was also a first baseman and an outfielder and a third baseman. He played all over and everywhere — whatever it took to get his bat in the lineup. Sounds familiar. Save, he’s no longer an infielder.

Drafted out of Cal-Berkeley. Age: 25. Stats: .322/.374/.547. 2009: Memphis, LF.

JASON STIDHAM, 2009, 8th round: The infielder came out of a major-conference college with an impressive line — .363/.465/.650 — and was the first of the his draft class to be assigned to a full-season club. He also shifted positions to second base, as expected and even identified when he was drafted. He played second for FSU this past spring.

Drafted out of Florida State. Age: 21. Stats: .261/.326/.374. 2009: Quad Cities, 2B.

INTERNATIONAL FREE AGENTS

Donovan Solano: Utility-fielder type moved around this season, by position and level. Seen here in winter ball. (Source: eltiempo.com)

DONOVAN SOLANO, 2005 free agent, Columbia: Bounced between Triple-A and Double-A this season, carving a home in the utility role. Listed as both a third baseman (where he finished with Class AAA Memphis) and a shortstop, he’s sturdy defensively and will benefit from showing versatility in the field.

Age: 21. Stats: .251/.307/.296. 2009: Memphis, 3B.

CESAR VALERA, 2008 free agent, Venezuela: The Cardinals held a private workout for Valera and Yorman Rodriguez, the toolsy outfielder who signed with Cincinnati for a sum of around $2.5 million. The Cardinals, according to officials, first became attracted to Valera when they went to scout Rodriguez. Valera is advertised as having gap power that could grow with him. He’s still young, and whether he’ll stay at the position isn’t yet clear.

Age: 17. Stats: .242/.304/.333. 2009: GCL Cardinals, SS.

DOMNIT BOLIVAR, 2005 free agent, Venezuela. Was one of the more advanced international signings — especially for his age. He doesn’t walk much, and he’s been moved around to third and second as he’s roamed the lower minors. There’s a lot to like tools-wise for Bolivar, but probably at another position and he needs to take a steady leap this coming season to confirm his standing.

Age: 20. Stats: .223/.276/.323. 2009: Quad Cities, 3B.

YUNIER CASTILLO, 2008 free agent, Dominican Republic. Arguably the most exciting prospect in the lower levels, and especially at this position. Castillo drew raves from his coaches in the Gulf Coast League a year ago, and his turn this past summer did nothing to diminish the regard for this athletic, wiry shortstop, who is among the best defensively a this position. It should be noted that he had 19 errors this past season. The switch-hitter was discovered at a Miami baseball academy and signed as a free agent. Something does stand out about him: He has almost 100 games pro and only six walks. He did not walk at all in 50 games with Johnson City this past season.

Age: 20. Stats: .259/.263/.365. 2009: Johnson City, SS.

HECTOR ALVAREZ, 2007 free agent, Dominican Republic. Also appeared at shortstop in Johnson City. Need to track down more information about Alvarez before waxing wise about his defense. Will do so, and then update this entry. He did get a promotion to Batavia this season before the draft picks arrived and a jam of middle infielders in Quad Cities became a jam of middle infielders at Batavia and Alvarez returned to JC.

Age: 22. Stats: .229/.331/.314. 2009: Johnson City, SS.

GRABIEL HERNANDEZ, 2008 free agent, Dominican Republic. When the Cardinals announced his signing after the July 2 opening of the Latin market in 2008, farm director Jeff Luhnow lauded Hernandez’s — whose first name is pronounced “Gabriel” — feel for defense at his position. Luhnow reiterated that scouting report to Future Redbirds a few days later: “For us, the top fielding shortstop in this year’s crop. Not a big guy, so he can get lost in the crowd, until you see him pick the ball over and over again and he is truly impressive.” Hernandez had some silly numbers in the DSL that included a .324 average, nine triples and 14 steals in his first 36 games. Hard to put those in context with a league on these shores, so getting a feel for the switch-hitters offense will have to wait.

Age: 18. Stats: .308/.392/.448. 2009: DSL Cardinals, 2009.

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THE POST-DISPATCH’s POSITION BY POSITION SEASON RECAP

Starting last week and continuing through this week, The Post-Dispatch baseball writers are touring the Cardinals’ roster to recap the 2009 season and take a look at what to expect in 2010. The above entry is a companion online element for Shortstop. Other articles in the series (schedule subject to change):

• First Base — Oct. 16, “Pujols’ Comments Surprise Cardinals”
• Second Base — Yesterday, “Schumaker Settled In at Second”
• Shortstop — Today, “Given Chance Ryan Didn’t Come Up Short”
• Third Base — Tuesday
• Catcher — Wednesday
• Starting Rotation — Thursday
• Bullpen — Friday
• Outfield — Sunday

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