By Aaron Schonfeld, from Cardsblog.com
The Cardinals have had a pretty solid start to the season offensively as Yadier Molina and Jose Martinez have both really broken out. Some players have had slow starts like Kolten Wong and Dexter Fowler, but the Cardinals are not too worried as others have made up for them.
The Cardinals’ bench has not been quite as organized because of injuries and poor performances. The Cardinals most recent move was that they sent Yairo Muñoz down to the minor leagues now that Jedd Gyorko is coming back from the disabled list. It was not a particularly surprising move, but Muñoz was on the Opening Day roster, so the Cardinals were choosing between him and Bader.
Muñoz was only hitting .111 in limited plate appearances coming off the bench, so the Cardinals did not see enough positives to keep him in the big leagues for an extended period. Greg Garcia has also been efficient this year offensively, so the Cardinals did not feel the need to keep another infielder on their roster.
Garcia is hitting .300 and had his first ever two home run game this past week. He also can play most of the infield positions.
When he was on the roster, the Cardinals did not have a true fourth outfielder on the roster, as Munõz and Martinez could fill in in the outfield if needed.
Bader is able to be that fourth outfielder and can bring that pop off the bench if needed. He is one of the Cardinals best prospects, so the Cardinals should expect him to be successful at the big league level.
On paper, he is not having a great start to the season, as he is hitting only .188, but he has the tools to be the perfect fourth outfielder for the Cardinals. He has the potential to hit very well and has shown that he is very good defensively.
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Some may argue that he should stay in the minors because he does not have a starting spot in the Cardinals outfield, so he should instead be getting regular at-bats in the Cardinals’ Minor league system.
Bader is only 23 years old and he has already conquered the Minor Leagues as he has a career minor league batting average of .282 and is versatile as he has posted double-digit home runs and steals in his years in AA and in AAA.
Bader and all of the Cardinals’ outfield prospects are blocked in the outfield because of the three Cardinals’ outfielders who are signed (or who the Cardinals want to keep) for the long term.
Harrison Bader is the Cardinals’ best option right now to be that fourth outfielder even if it is stunting his growth as a baseball player. He is ready for the major leagues, so the Cardinals should use him the best way they see fit.
He will be ready the second someone goes down with an injury to start and can also be used as a defensive replacement (even though two-thirds of the Cardinals’ outfield is very good at defense).
It is important for the Cardinals to have a good bench this season because they do not have an impressive history when it comes to the bench. Jedd Gyorko will be the leader of the bench, but they need another good bench bat like Harrison Bader when the game is on the line and a pinch hitter is needed.
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