JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizner is in maybe one of the most unenviable spots in baseball. He's a top prospect, but he has to follow up a legend.
Knizner is soaking up everything he can learn from Yadier Molina, while patiently waiting for his turn in the big leagues.
The 25-year-old Knizner has been anointed as Yadi's 'heir apparent' for the past two seasons or so. If you'll recall, Knizner is really the second Cardinals catching prospect to own that status, though. Carson Kelly was long thought to be the successor to Molina, but he never got playing time in St. Louis and was shipped to Arizona in the Paul Goldschmidt trade.
Now, it's Knizner who's in the Cardinals' catching holding pattern. Molina is in the last year of his current contract but has expressed his desire to play beyond 2020, "If the Cardinals will have him."
But Knizner is saying all the right things as he waits his turn, and is trying to soak in everything the Cardinals legend has to teach him.
"His (Molina's) ability to mentally focus just for practice. I say this all the time. He's so locked in, you know early in the cage early in the morning and we're doing our skill work and our catching defensive work. He's so locked in," Knizner said. "He's not talking to anybody. He's making sure he gets his work in, and I think that's what takes him to that next level of being a Hall of Fame-type catcher. He doesn't take a day for granted."
But make no mistake, the 25-year-old former third baseman is confident his skills can play in the Majors right now.
"Where I'm at now, where my skills are at, I feel great about where my body is at, so physically, mentally and skills-wise I feel really good. I think the point I'm at now in my career is needing that big league experience," Knizner said. "I need that consistent playing time in the big leagues to continue to grow and be that consistent producer."
So, when exactly is Knizner going to get an extended look at the Major League level?
With the Cardinals re-signing veteran Matt Wieters, the back up catching spot is spoken for. There was some thought that now since Major League rosters have expanded to 26 players, St. Louis could choose to roll with three catchers, but that possibility looks less and less probable.
So, Knizner will likely start his 2020 in Memphis, continuing to hone his talents and bide his time 'til his number is called. But right now, Knizner is only focused on what he can control, and not Yadi's contract status beyond this season.
"I don't really worry about anything outside of my control. Because obviously I can't control if he (Molina) signs, doesn't sign, whatever the front office wants to do," Knizner said. "My goal is to go out every single day, continue to get better and grow as a player, and I think when I look back at my career if I continue to do that I'll finish my career where I want to."
But what about when that day finally comes when he's tasked to take over for a franchise legend? Well, Knizner has a pretty good outlook on that as well.
"I don't see it as pressure. Because Yadier Molina didn't become who he was overnight. His story is 16 years long if you look back to the beginning. So it's taken him 16 years to get to where he is today," Knizner said. "So, I think whoever takes over for Yadi, it's a process and it's going to be something that over the years it's going to take adjustments to develop that new Hall of Fame, legendary type catcher."