The 2023 season has been over for the St. Louis Cardinals for a while now.
However, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been active on social media.
In fact, they congratulated one of their young outfielders on Monday: Dylan Carlson.
Happy 25h Birthday, Dylan Carlson! #STLCards pic.twitter.com/b0Fka2koF8
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 23, 2023
Injuries derailed Carlson’s season to the point in which he had arguably the worst performance of his career in 2023.
However, that doesn’t take away the fact that he is a really talented young player who is turning 25 years old.
That means his best years, at least in theory, are still ahead of him.
2023 was rather forgettable, though.
In 76 games and 255 plate appearances, he hit .219/.318/.333 with a .651 OPS.
The on-base skills were there, but the contact and power were not and that ended up affecting his final line.
Still, let’s not forget that this is a player who posted consecutive 2.5-WAR seasons in 2021 and 2022 without even reaching 150 games in any of them.
WAR means Wins Above Replacement, and while 2.5 may not seem as much, it’s a very good tally and makes him a fine contributor.
Oblique and ankle injuries limited him to 76 games and 0.2 WAR in 2023, though.
He underwent ankle surgery but is expected to be ready for spring training.
There might be untapped potential in Carlson still, but he needs to stay healthy.
There have been rumblings that the Cards might be looking to flip him to another organization as they look to add some much-needed pitching.
The offseason is still very young and anything can happen.
For now, all we can say is that if Carlson reaches spring training in full health, he might surprise a few people.
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