Position Change Helps Oscar Mercado Break Through

One of the best things to ever happen to Oscar Mercado at the plate was the Cardinals moving him farther away from it.

The 22-year-old Mercado spent his first four pro seasons at shortstop and the “constant failures”—his words—in the field had eroded the rest of his game, following him off the field, trailing him home, and, yes, polluting his approach at the plate. Then he met center field.

“He’s in the middle of everything,” Double-A Springfield manager Johnny Rodriguez said.

At Springfield this season, Mercado had the breakout year he had been seeking—both in the field and in the batter’s box.

In 120 games, the 2013 second-round pick out of high school in Tampa hit .287/.341/.428 with 13 home runs and 37 extra-base hits. He led the Texas League with 38 stolen bases.

Internally, the Cardinals felt Mercado was the best defensive center fielder they had in the organization not named Magneuris Sierra or Tommy Pham, and scouts saw the gap even narrower between Mercado and his teammate Sierra.

Mercado received an invitation to the Arizona Fall League as a reward for his season—and as an extended opportunity of evaluation for the Cardinals.

Mercado must be protected with a spot on the 40-man roster this offseason or else he will be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft. Not even a sluggish finish to the season dulled the Cardinals’ interest in Mercado, who is athletic and one of the organization’s true threats to steal.

In past winters, the Cardinals would consider leaving a player like Mercado unprotected and gamble that he wouldn’t stick in the majors for the entire season. Having lost Luis Perdomo and Allen Cordoba to the Padres in successive Rule 5 drafts, however, their view as changed.

Mercado will test their new viewpoint because the Cardinals are stacked with outfielders and will look to make trades this offseason.

“For me, outfield has been the answer,” Mercado said. “That has allowed me to open up my game, to be more natural. It has given me a route.”