The wait for prospect Stephen Piscotty will soon be over for Cardinals fans, as the 2012 first-round draft pick will be promoted from AAA Memphis to join the Cardinals for the first game of a two game series against the White Sox in Chicago on Tuesday. General manager John Mozeliak confirmed the news to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after it was first broken by Rob Rains of STL Sports Page in the early afternoon.

The 24-year-old Piscotty, who has appeared almost exclusively in the outfield over his last few seasons in the minors, has been getting the opportunity to play first base in the last few days (making six appearances) in order to prepare him to play the position at the big-league level.

Since starting first baseman Matt Adams went down with a season-ending quad injury in late May, the Cardinals have gotten little production offensively from the first base position. Mark Reynolds, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason to serve primarily as a bench bat and corner infield backup, has been pressed into nearly everyday duty in Adams’ absence. The 31-year-old is hitting just .229 with 8 home runs and 33 RBI on the season. The team will likely give Piscotty a chance to prove he could be a viable option down the stretch before making a potential trade prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

It’s worth noting the the Cardinals’ upcoming series against the White Sox is in Chicago, meaning the team will be able to use the designated hitter in those two games. Matt Holliday will likely be the DH for at least one of the games, so Piscotty could see action in the outfield as well as at first base.

In his last 26 games at the AAA level, Piscotty is hitting .309 with 4 home runs and 15 RBI. He’s hitting .272 with 11 home runs, 28 doubles, and 42 RBI on the season, and was recently ranked as the organization’s top prospect by MLB.com.

It’s unclear who Piscotty would replace on the 25-man roster. Two corresponding moves will need to be made, though, as Piscotty is not currently on the 40-man roster.

Update: Outfielder Tommy Pham is no longer listed on the team’s 25-man roster on Cardinals.com, indicating he likely has been/will be optioned to Memphis as part of multiple roster moves to clear a spot for Piscotty on the 40-man roster. More will be known on Tuesday.

Wacha to get nod Tuesday

As expected, Mike Matheny told Hummel that Michael Wacha will shift forward in the rotation to pitch Tuesday after Carlos Martinez threw four innings in relief on Sunday. Matheny said Wednesday’s starter is still undecided, although he’s leaning to shifting up all the starters, meaning Lance Lynn would get the ball for the second and final game of the series.

 

Feature image used under Creative Commons from Ron Cogswell. No changes made. Image License.