GRAND CENTER — It was about 300 at-bats ago center fielder Rick Ankiel made his debut as a major-league outfielder, and tonight’s home run was his 18th since he made his return on August 9, 2007.  Track that statistics from that day forward and Ankiel ranks with baseball’s best sluggers — and one sudden star coming to town this week — in such numbers as homers, RBIs and slugging.

From August 9 until the start of tonight’s game, here is where Ankiel ranks in some statistics:

• 17 home runs … tied 22nd.
• 58 RBIs … 21st.
• 67 strikeouts … tied 35th.
• .515 slugging percentage … 30th.

Who he ranks with adds better context to the numbers. Starting with home runs, lead by Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena’s 28 home runs since August 9. The others around Ankiel:

• Ryan Braun … 20 HR, 332 AB
• Mark Teizeira … 19 HR, 314 AB
• Dan Uggla … 19 HR, 311 AB
• Nick Markakis … 19 HR, 332 AB
• Raul Ibanez … 18 HR, 342 AB
• Alfonso Soriano … 18 HR, 229 AB
• Chase Utley … 18 HR, 281 AB
• Mike Jacobs … 18 HR, 288 AB
• Carlos Beltran … 18 HR, 302 AB
• Ankiel … 17 HR, 301 AB
• Nate McLouth … 17 HR, 284 AB
• David Wright … 17 HR, 316 AB
• Hanley Ramirez … 17 HR, 343 AB

Boston designated hitter David Ortiz leads the majors with 77 RBIs in that span, and the group around Ankiel includes: Ryan Howard (62), Miguel Tejada (61), Miguel Cabrera (60), Jim Thome (59), Markakis (59), Ankiel (58), Alex Rodriguez (58), Brad Hawpe (58), Troy Tulowitzki (57).

Ankiel is down a bit further in the slugging percentage, but the top 10 includes a predictable name (Albert Pujols) and not the Pirate that you’d expect, but the one off to a tremendous start this season:

1. Lance Berkman … .699 SLG
2. Chipper Jones … .652 SLG
3. Alex Rodriguez … .632 SLG
4. David Ortiz … 609 SLG
5. Chase Utley … .605 SLG
6. Matt Holliday … .598 SLG
7. David Wright … .592 SLG
8. Albert Pujols … .590 SLG
9. Nate McLouth … .588 SLG
10. Carlos Pena … .584 SLG

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Q: My questions involve a couple of remarks regarding prospects in the last PostCards edition. You mentioned that Brian Barton was identified as “the guy” using the STOUT system of scouting. Can you maybe spell out that acronym and give us an explanation, or is that a trade secret? Is that more of a Jeff Luhnow/scouting thing, or do Tony La Russa/Deacon (Dave Duncan)/John Mozeliak use that as well when putting together the roster? They say that baseball is a game of inches, so I understand if that info shouldn’t be disseminated in a public forum, but still, I am curious as to how it differs from, say, Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projections or Szymborski’s ZiPS. Also, does it include any defensive metrics? There doesn’t seem to be much consensus on defining glove skills statistically amongst position players in the SABR world, so I wondered if maybe the pros have a different look at it that uses more scout/eyeball based ideas.

Second, you mention Ryan Ludwick as a “six-year free agent” I assume that is regarding how many years since he was drafted, which is why Luddy is 29 and just now getting his first full-time gig in the bigs. How many other older “prospects” do we still have kicking around down on the farm, and do any of them really have a chance at breaking the big league roster? We’ve already heard about Rico Washington and Amaury Marti, but are there any other oldsters still waiting patiently for that Crash Davis moment?

– Jon Witte

DG: The “STOUT” acronym stands for the fusion of “STats” and “scOUTs”. It’s a system that has been around longer than it’s nickname, but basically it’s the Cardinals attempt to splice the information from statistical analysis with the information harvested by the scouts who go out and see the players. The Cardinals have said it’s not a straight 50/50, that it leans more toward the scouts and the values they place on a pitch (yes, numbers are assigned).  The Cardinals system is based on runs — runs produced (hitting), runs stopped (defense), and, for lack of a better way to say it, runs not allowed (pitching).

A couple six-year free agents that are on the roster in Triple-A Memphis that could have a role this year are catcher Mark Johnson and depth starter John Wasdin. The number of six-year free agents the Cardinals have has dropped in the past two seasons — on purpose. They didn’t want Triple-A to only be a depth squad, as it had been, philosophically, before. During the winter before the 2007 season, the Cardinals made a decision to not sign six-year free agents and put them in as “blocks” for prospects. It’s a decision that frustrated some internally and led them to point to it as the reason why there was such a scramble for starters throughout the season (Tomo Ohka, anyone?). From an article printed in 2007’s spring training:

… The Cardinals pursued fewer six-year free agents and signed just one minor league veteran pitcher because of the wish to expose their rising prospects to big-league camp. That means fewer Blaine Neals, Chris Gissells, Dennis Tankersleys and Toby Borlands to dutifully handle innings, and more youngsters.

Ludwick, clearly, has been the gem of the six-year free agent mining.

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