Once upon a time, Paul DeJong didn't have a set position.
The St. Louis Cardinal spent time at third base in the minors before moving to shortstop. He played 20 games at second base in the 2017 season. Perhaps a rotation was in order. When I spoke to a younger DeJong on 590 The Fan years ago, he talked about being very comfortable at shortstop, having gotten time there in his high school and college career. Since the Cardinals didn't have a future arm at the position, DeJong got a chance to shine there, earning more than a simple pot of coffee.
He hasn't played a single inning anywhere other than shortstop since June 27, 2017. All he has done since is provide plus defense, a healthy bat with pop at the plate, and given the team a consistency they had previously lacked at the position. He doesn't just the make the plays like David Eckstein used to, or offer a fine arm that can take a second to flip over to first base like Edgar Renteria. DeJong has good movement to his right and left, taking away singles up the middle, and ranging deep in the hole to make a play most shortstops could not.
Take Saturday for example. The ball is hit up the middle with a predictable track for the centerfielder's glove to scoop up ten seconds later, but DeJong goes far to his left, grabs it and fires with what looks like one motion to get the out at first. A baserunner, and possible run later on, saved. Eliminated. On Sunday, when he gathered a grounder into his glove and took his time, DeJong still had the arm to get an out at first base. It helps to have a decent cannon to allow yourself the extra few seconds to dial in a potential single. Having a Gold Glover like Paul Goldschmidt resembling a human vacuum over at first is a nice asset as well.
After toying around with multiple infield positions, DeJong has found a home at shortstop. The lease was so good for the Cardinals that they gave DeJong, who was entering his first full season with the team at the time, a six-year contract extension before last season began. A modest yet bargain-worthy deal worth $26 million that runs through 2023. I doubt the 25-year-old sees action anywhere else outside of shortstop, which gives the team and player peace of mind. It's the Cardinal Way: a young player comes into the fold, does well and gets an early extension. John Mozeliak, President of Baseball Operations, did it with previous Cardinals such as Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong, Allen Craig and Stephen Piscotty. They come into the farm system, mature through the minors and come up with a shot to stay around. There's no deception here, just appreciation. It doesn't always work out, as the Craig situation can attest, but it's a solid strategy.
DeJong is a true weapon, and we haven't even talked about his work at the plate. This isn't a hopeful, seeing-eye-single producing hitter we are talking about here. DeJong bashed 25 home runs in just 108 games during his debut season two years ago, driving in 65 and slugging .532 at the plate. The Illinois State University product wasted no time enduring himself to Cardinals fans as a bat to look forward to. 2018 saw DeJong struggle in his sophomore effort at times, hitting just 19 home runs in more games while his overall slash line took a hard dip. A hit-by-pitch that led to a broken hand didn't help, halting a season that was just starting to heat up with the temperatures.
Entering this season with a clean bill of health and higher expectations (hello No. 3 spot in the lineup), DeJong hasn't disappointed. He's already put four baseballs over the wall and mixed in nine doubles and a triple. The .326 batting average and overall OPS of .982 is an eye-opener, but the biggest surprise is the decrease in strikeouts. In 115 games last year, DeJong struck out 123 times, 18 more than his total amount of hits. This year, he has 28 hits and 17 strikeouts. He'll never be the type of hitter to have a strikeout rate lower than 25%, but if he can reduce the K's even a little, the pitcher will have to think twice before serving up a certain pitch. You can see it in early at-bats. DeJong isn't chasing the dirty offerings of pitchers as much, waiting, instead, for a mistake to creep into his radar to destroy. It's early, but hitting coach Jeff Albert could be working some magic into that bat.
It's a performance that still surprises fans and writers, including myself. During the first week of the season, DeJong was wasting opportunities set up for him by Goldschmidt, which had me clamoring for a different hitter in the coveted third spot. DeJong made adjustments, reloaded, and has been tearing up the league ever since. As a certain portion of the fanbase shouted the name of Manny Machado over the winter, DeJong has given the Cardinals something to love at shortstop, a position that can serve as a catalyst for the entire defense.
Think about it. If the shortstop is making plays, the infield runs smoothly, which allows the outfield to be comfortable and keeps a pitcher off his toes. Yadier Molina can be comfortable calling certain pitches knowing that DeJong can handle the play no matter where it is hit. Believe it, DeJong is a plus defender and that means something at short. According to Fangraphs, he saved the Cardinals 14 runs at shortstop last year, and this year has already taken away two would-be runs scored. He was worth 3.3 fWAR last year, and currently stands at 1.3 fWAR through 21 games.
The player whose injury first allowed DeJong to be called up, Kolten Wong, has found a smooth rhythm with him up the middle. Wong's ability to go both ways on the field mixes well with DeJong's skill set, and the improved defense has allowed the Cardinals to bail out pitching that has been inconsistent at times and too charitable during others. One could look at this middle infield and see a long-standing relationship budding at just the right time for the team. Young pitching needs good infielders, and the Cardinals have created a synergy up the middle that most teams would kill for.
For the cool price of $1.6 million dollars this season, the Cardinals have found themselves a power-hitting shortstop with above average defense and an Ironman-type ability to handle the rigorous schedule of baseball at arguably the toughest position. Read that over again. The Cardinals could get 3-5 WAR from DeJong for less than $2 million this season. How about that?
Paul DeJong was once a player without a position, a value in flux. These days, he's a starting shortstop with a ceiling that hasn't been touched yet for a very manageable price. The future is bright for this young Cardinal. Just sit back, crack open a cold one and watch him work.