Matt Adams A Classic Example Of St. Louis Cardinals’ Player Development

By Drew Jenkins @DrewJenkins77 on October 8, 2014

The St. Louis Cardinals have been known as one of the best teams in baseball at developing their young players. The club is fairly conservative with their prospects, especially in transitioning them to the big leagues. That may go away from the norm, but the Cardinals have proven over and over again that it works. First baseman Matt Adams is just one more classic example of a Cardinals’ developmental success.

Adams was drafted by the Cardinals in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft out of Slippery Rock University, and has been on the fast track to the big leagues ever since. In his first partial season in the minors, Adams hit an outstanding .355/.400/.547. The Cardinals bumped him up to Low-A, and he proceeded to hit .310/.355/.541 with a 138 wRC+.

Adams continued to tear up the minors, skipping High-A, tearing up Double-A to the tune of a .299/.354/.560 line, and needing just 67 games at Triple-A before he made his big league debut.

In many cases, a team would have seen Adams’ outstanding minor league numbers and immediately given him a crucial role on the big league team. Where the Cardinals differed, however, was how they transitioned Adams to the big leagues. Adams had a 27-game big league cameo at the end of 2012 that gave him a bit of exposure to big league pitching. In 2013, Adams spent almost the entire year on the big league roster, but he was in a part-time role that allowed him to get big league experience without having the pressure of a starting job.

In 108 games in this role, Adams hit a solid .284/.335/.503. This was the key year to Adams’ transition to the big leagues.

This year, the Cardinals finally gave Adams an everyday job at first base, and he responded with a solid .288/.321/.455 line. When many prospects would have struggled in their first go-around at an everyday big league job, Adams had benefited from a year of a part-time role in which there was less pressure on him. Thus, he had success in his first year as an everyday player.

We have seen the Cardinals employ this kind of strategy time and time again. The Cardinals used Adam Wainwright in the bullpen before giving up a starting job, and he became one of the best pitchers in baseball. They are also doing something similar with Carlos Martinez right now. Infielder Matt Carpenter was similarly given a part-time job in 2012 before having two great years as a full-time player in 2013 and 2014. Many teams would have given all of these guys much bigger roles in their rookie seasons, but the Cardinals gave them a smoother transition, and it has paid off.

The Cardinals seem to have figured something out in their player development methods. The club transitions players into the big leagues with a year of a part-time role, giving them valuable experience before they take on the added pressure of an everyday role. They have had plenty off success stories with these methods, and while Adams’ career story hasn’t been completely written yet, he appears to be the Cardinals’ next player development success.

Drew Jenkins is an MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DrewJenkins77, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google