St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training Opportunity Tracker: An Introduction

There are only so many innings to be thrown and plate appearances to take during spring training. Given this reality, we're launching a new feature here at VEB–the Jupiter Opportunity Tracker. Periodically, we'll check in to see which players the Cardinals are giving the most springtime opportunities to as the exhibition season plays out. The players are broken down into the following categories:

• Likely 25-Man Roster Members. At the end of March, the Cardinals will head north with 25 ballplayers on their major-league roster. Many of these players are givens (Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Allen Craig, Jhonny Peralta, etc.). These players are not so much fighting for a job in Jupiter as they are tuning up for the regular season.
• Other 15 Members of the 40-Man Roster. To be on the 25-man MLB roster, a player must also be on the organization's 40-man roster. Of the players on the 40-man roster, about 15 will be assigned to a minor-league team out of camp. Fourstick has been profiling these players in VEB's Other 15 series. These players are competing for a 25-man roster spot.
• Non-Roster Invitees. MLB clubs typically invite minor-leaguers who are not on the 40-man roster to major-league camp during spring training. Some of these players are invited with the genuine possibility that they will make the 25-man roster out of camp. Others are invited to expose them to big-league camp, veteran players, and how things are done on the highest level. It's interesting to see how the club deploys these players as it can give us an indication of how the organization views that player (i.e., Michael Wacha in 2013).

We're only three games into the Cardinals' springtime slate (and some were split squad contests). Nonetheless, getting an early start provides us a nice baseline as we move deeper into March and the likely 25-man roster members begin taking up more and more of the springtime opportunities at the bat and on the hill. Without further ado, let's get to the charts. The likely 25-man roster members are in light red, the Other 15 players are in light blue, and the non-roster invitees are in yellow. Players who were on the 25-man roster last year but who find themselves in an ostensible battle for a roster spot this spring are in purple. I've also included their stats to date for a bit more perspective as to what might be motivating the number of opportunities being given to a player (but don't put any stock in them as being at all indicative of true talent levels).

SPRING TRAINING PLATE APPEARANCE (PA) LEADERS

SPRING TRAINING INNINGS PITCHED (IP) LEADERS