Oscar Taveras starting in right field for Cardinals
By Matt Fisher
St. Louis Cardinals fans will potentially have to wait until the second inning of Saturday’s game to see their top prospect come to bat. They’ll have to look slightly towards right field to find him in the top of the first.
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Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has tracked down Manager Mike Matheny’s lineup for the Saturday afternoon game against the Giants and it has the 21-year old in a fairly high-pressure spot in the batting order. Taveras will bat in the sixth spot in the lineup, behind catcher Yadier Molina and ahead of shortstop Jhonny Peralta. He is getting the start in right field today, as predictably, Allen Craig moves back to first base in place of Matt Adams. Adams was placed on the 15-day Disabled List after Friday night’s game with tightness in his left calf.
Taveras is no stranger to right field, although he has played the majority of his games, 228, in center field. Taveras has 80 games logged in right field in the minors, but it is almost assured that he will end up getting time at center field as well. Jon Jay gets the start in center for the Cardinals for Saturday’s game and is viewed as the everyday center fielder. Both Taveras and Randal Grichuk could see time at both corner outfield spots with Peter Bourjos’ role being reduced to that of pinch runner or pinch hitter.
Taveras, the number 3 prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America, will be expected to produce at the level he has during his time in Triple-A. With Memphis, Taveras has a .325/.373/.524 slash line with 7 home runs and 40 RBI.