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February 21, 2023 at 9:16 pm #213040
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/02/tyler-oneill-targeting-cardinals-center-field-job.html
O’Neill wants to play CF. Defensively I’d prefer Carlson in RF and Nootbaar in LF, but I don’t want O’Neill in CF. I’d actually prefer Walker to be ready sooner rather than later and be in RF and Carlson to step up and be the CF and move on from O’Neill. Which is why I say O’Neill hitting 8th vs RHP, 5th vs LHP, because of his splits and make him prove himself. Because outside of 2021, with huge outlier numbers, he’s been nothing special to be an everyday player.
February 21, 2023 at 9:31 pm #213041I don’t think we’ll see much of O’Neill in CF.667, unless Carlson either really struggles at the plate or comes down with some mysterious or obvious ailment.
February 22, 2023 at 4:49 am #213042O’Neill’s interest in CF is sensible with Walker likely to make the corner outfield slots more competitive, and with potential free agency approaching. It is potentially possible that Tyler out hits Carlson by a wide margin. Who does what and how often will be an item of interest once ST games get underway 5 days from now.
Two other items to mention. First, ever since seeing Ankiel out there, I prioritize a cannon arm among attributes for a center fielder, so would give the edge to Nootbaar over O’Neill if anyone is going to displace Carlson. Second, lets not forget we need to see how Walker’s arm plays in MLB, as well as his bat, before casting a bronze statue of the future outfield.
February 22, 2023 at 6:14 am #213043We saw Carlson and O’Neill time share CF late last season, mostly due to their IL time down the stretch.
February 22, 2023 at 7:58 am #213050O’Neill offers the elite ceiling that no one else in the OF offers right now. For that reason, I suspect he’ll stick around. Hopefully he’ll have one of his lucky years in 2023. As a LF or CF, his defense and power give him a decent floor as well. Despite those wishing he’d be gone (and for what, who knows?), I’m thankful he’s on the team.
February 22, 2023 at 11:00 am #213059Walker was also playing some CF. He played almost the same number of innings in CF as in RF when he playing in the AFL. He might make it as a CFer.
February 22, 2023 at 11:32 am #213060I noticed that, Forsch, but don’t you think there’d be more than a little reluctance to toss him out there into the most difficult OF position until well after he’d retained a firm foothold in the Big Leagues?
February 22, 2023 at 12:00 pm #213063IMO, Walker fits in RF the best.
February 22, 2023 at 12:07 pm #213065I won’t get down there until next week, but it was my understanding that Walker is not working with the center fielders so far this spring.
He did play in center part of the time in Springfield and a bit in the AFL, but he is almost certainly going to be a right fielder with St. Louis. If O’Neill wins CF and Walker makes the team, my feeling is that Nootbaar would be moved to left. But there are a lot of ifs there.
February 22, 2023 at 12:11 pm #213067Guys do lots of stuff in the Texas League.
February 22, 2023 at 4:15 pm #213079The takeaway from all of this to me is that Dylan Carlson does not have a full time starting job locked up at all. I guess you could say that about all of the OF’s but the Cards went out of their way last year before the deadline saying that Carlson was the man in light of the Bader trade and the Soto non-trade. This seems to be an important spring camp for him.
February 23, 2023 at 8:04 am #213106With Walker on the doorstep, it feels like Carlson is definitely in his prove it or lose it year.
February 23, 2023 at 9:32 am #21310814NyquisTParticipantBling stated:
O’Neill’s interest in CF is sensible with Walker likely to make the corner outfield slots more competitive,
With Walker on the horizon…. O’Neill will have to restore the organization’s confidence at another position that’s not a corner. I’m thinking that Walker won’t be thrown into CF as he is still learning how to play in the OF. Anyway we shouldn’t be going into the season with just one guy to play CF (Carlson). Sure there will be intense spring training competition for the OF slots and that’s a good thing.
February 23, 2023 at 10:27 am #213109I still see Walker as more of a mid season call up but I guess we will know more within the next 30 days.
February 23, 2023 at 10:42 am #213112I don’t expect the FO to veer from the Gorman call up. If there is room for Walker to start… Or if he forces his way into the starting lineup… He needs to start consistently, somewhere.
February 23, 2023 at 1:34 pm #213126If O’Neill wins the CF job, then Carson might become trade bait. Add to that a couple of the other talented players the Cardinals have in Jupiter, and we have the makings of an impressive package to show other ball clubs that have front line pitching like Cleveland and Miami.
February 23, 2023 at 8:08 pm #213139We looked to really have it settled in the outfield in 2021 when O’Neill, Bader and Carlson were the regulars. All three athletic enough to play center if needed.
Now we are back to hoping a couple of guys step up. There is certainly great potential. It is not hard to visualize all four top guys, O’Neill, Carlson, Nootbaar and Walker being stars. We just need two of them to step up and be 4-5 WAR guys this year, or to put an old school twist on it, give us say 50 ding-dongs between them and 75 to 90 RBI a piece.
February 23, 2023 at 8:20 pm #213140Sorry BikeMike, but I have a hard time believing that Nootbaar is going to be a star. I mean, what has he ever done? What has he done so far? I guess because people like his name that they are enamored with him and think he’s going to be just about a 2nd Coming.
I hope I am wrong and he goes .335/44/126 in 2023.
r/Esteemed Rat
February 23, 2023 at 11:01 pm #213149Rat, it’s been way too long but sooner or later the Cards will have another one of their draftees become a star while wearing the birds on bat. Since something always seems to go awry with the “best” prospects / high ceiling guys, Noot just might be the guy. Maybe the Cards algos are better at identifying the mid-tier draftees who develop into solid producers and near stars such as Edman, Donovan, and Noot. I’m far from banking on it, but Noot does have some promise in each of the 5 tool areas.
February 24, 2023 at 9:54 am #21315714NyquisTParticipantI’m wondering if Carlson’s adding weight to increase his power will slow him down a bit. If so, he becomes another corner OF candidate. Then he’ll have competition from Nootbaar-Burleson-Mercado and perhaps Donovan. Its a little bit of a gamble on his part especially with O’Neill challenging for the CF spot. It may shape up to be LF Burleson-CF O’Neill and RF Carlson with the 4th OF being Nootbaar and Walker lurking.
February 24, 2023 at 10:32 am #213158Bike Mike, I totally agree on last years outfield! We were calling ONeill, Bader and Carlson the best young outfield in baseball! I bought it hook line and sinker! Not again! The best of the three IMO is now on the Yankees and the other two did so little last year I doubt either one is truly an everyday player on a contender! Out outfield is weak and Walker has to come through for us!
February 24, 2023 at 3:42 pm #213168From an article in today’s Belleville paper.
“In addition to changing up his bat, Donovan spent the winter at the team’s Florida complex breaking down other aspects of his biomechanics . . ”
Oh boy, they got to him. He’ll be talking biomechanics gibberish like PDJ any time now. Good news for Gormam, I guess.
February 24, 2023 at 4:19 pm #213170Biomechanics? Sounds like when you use a lightning bug to replace a tail-light bulb until you can get to the Auto Zone…
February 24, 2023 at 5:09 pm #213174Yeah 1!TD, the article was pretty disheartening. Here’s a couple daggers in my heart: “diving into data on his swing and integrating technology like Blast Motion sensors into his work” and “it’s your lower half turning it, and obviously the barrel is the last thing to go. So if you can sequence its more efficient”.
I just hope now that he’s out there on the grass and smelling the pine tar he’ll snap out of it. The polo shirt crowd took a wrecking ball to Paul’s career so its an alarming development.
February 24, 2023 at 5:23 pm #213175Haha!…That ain’t even fair. Any young guy can be easily influenced and swayed by a marketing campaign that contains a logo like, “Blast Motion”…
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