St. Louis Cardinals: Hopes Still High For Kolten Wong?

In his third full season in the majors, St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong had a bit of a down year. However, the Cardinals still appear to have faith in the 26-year-old.

In 2014, during his first full MLB season, Kolten Wong was quite impressive for the St. Louis Cardinals. Through 113 games, Wong batted a decent .249/.292/.388 (89 OPS+) with 12 homers, 42 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He also played well-above average defense, according to metrics such as Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR).

Wong’s solid season earned him a third place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year Voting, finishing behind only Billy Hamilton and Jacob deGrom. Wong had another solid season the following year, hitting .262/.321/.386 (93 OPS+) with 11 homers, 61 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He also played great defense once again as well.

However, the 2016 season was a tough one for Wong. The 26-year-old was demoted to Triple-A Memphis during the summer, and by season’s end, he had a .240/.327/.355 (83 OPS+) slash line with only five home runs, 23 RBI and seven stolen bases. Through he still provided value on defense, Wong’s 1.2 fWAR was the lowest full-season mark of his career (not counting when he first came up in 2013).

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Over the offseason, there have been a few trade rumors surrounding Wong, with teams such as the Los Angeles Angels said to have shown interest. Recent rumors have also hinted that St. Louis may actually be interested in making a trade with the Minnesota Twins for slugging second baseman Brian Dozier, further adding to the speculation about Wong’s future.

However, a recent article written by Derrick Goold on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch details how the Cardinals organization still thinks quite highly of Wong. St. Louis also appears to be quite optimistic about his future.

In Goold’s article, Wong himself admits that last season “took a toll,” but he appears to be very focused on going forward. It is noted that both GM John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny have described Wong’s defense at second base as “Gold-Glove caliber.” Mozeliak also described how Wong’s stellar defense is a plus for a club that “is built around groundball pitching.” Matheny added that “exciting things” are on the horizon for Wong.

Prior to the 2016 season, Wong inked a $25.5 million extension, which keeps him signed through 2020 with an option for 2021. With the ability to provide stellar defense, base-stealing ability and left-handed bat, Wong still carries an interesting and well-rounded mix of tools to the ballpark each day.

If he can get back to being the player he was from 2014-15, Wong could still end up being somewhat of a bargain.