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Tito Landrum IV: Cardinals’ prospect Dylan Carlson has precisely one minor league season where his batting average was above .251 and his slugging percentage was above .426 (with non-elite BB%). Why is there such consensus prattle about him being such a top prospect?

Craig Edwards: For one, scouts say he’s really good. For another, even if you were to look at just the stats, more context is needed. In 2017, he was in low-A Peoria as an 18-year-old, several years younger than the majority of players there and he held his own, showing good on-base skills. The next season, he played nearly all year in Palm Beach, still very young for his age in a league and park that kills offense. His .138 ISO was better than average and he still showed good OBP skills. Then, still young for his age, he crushed everyone. He’s advanced quickly after being drafted at 17 and held his own against older players before breaking out, and that matters.

DC in STL: What to make of Dylan Carlson? Pretty disappointing year. Do you think he has a shot at being a multiple All Star, or is he going to be an average-ish player for his career? Jon Jay with more pop and less speed.


Jay Jaffe: Carlson’s offense has been a disappointment so far, but at the same time he’s shown that he’s an above-average center fielder, which wasn’t really the expectation two years ago (Eric called him “a situational center fielder” in his 2020 writeup). He’s still just 23 so I wouldn’t give up on him and I certainly don’t see the Cardinals doing so; on the contrary, they traded Harrison Bader