By Rob Rains
JUPITER, Fla. – Dylan Carlson was a teenager when he established himself as the best prospect in the Cardinals’ organization. At 21, he became only the third player that age to hit in the cleanup spot in a postseason game in franchise history, a feat previously accomplished only by Stan Musial and Albert Pujols.
At the age of 22, Carlson was a finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year award. His future seemed limitless, the kind of young player every organization covets.
Carlson’s career path was bright and promising just two seasons ago when he came to spring training in 2022 ready to build off that success. What he didn’t see coming were all of the looming roadblocks that would affect the trajectory of his career.
“It’s definitely not how I would say I drew it up after how it started,” Carlson said. “It’s all part of the journey. It’s all part of the process.
“I’ve had some ups. I’ve had some downs. We’re still here. That’s the most important thing. All we can do is keep trying to push forward.”
Baseball’s roadside is littered with prospects and young players who, for one reason or another, never were able to fulfill their promise and potential, providing only flashes and glimpses of that talent before suddenly disappearing from view.
Carlson, who has had to deal with one injury after another the last two seasons, came to Florida this spring determined to not let that happen to him.
All Carlson wants is a chance to show why – now at the still-young age of 25 – he believes his best baseball is still ahead of him and how much he has grown, especially mentally, because of everything he encountered over the last two years.
“You can’t dwell on what happened or what’s in the past,” he said. “You’ve just got to be ready for what’s to come.”
“Something to prove”
An injury to his right wrist in 2022 was the start of Carlson’s problems, a precursor to a more severe injury last season.
On May 14, he hurt his left ankle during an at-bat against the Red Sox in a game in Boston. The injury would affect him the rest of the season and eventually force him to undergo season-ending surgery.
The injury, first reported as a sprained ankle, actually was an avulsion fracture, a rare injury in baseball.
“It’s basically where the ligament gets pulled so hard that part of the bone comes off,” Carlson said. “I had a fracture and other stuff going on in there. It definitely was more than a sprained ankle or whatever it was perceived as. It’s an injury that is more common in football or with professionals competing in stuff like the X games.”
Trying to play through the injury before the eventual surgery led to Carlson hurting his back, then his oblique. As he spent this past winter in Arizona, going through hours and hours of rehab and training, remembering what that experience was like was one of the biggest motivating factors that pushed him to work harder every day.
Carlson knows some people were starting to wonder if he was injury-prone; if he could recapture the success he had as a rookie when he hit 18 homers, drove in 65 runs and posted a .266 average, a performance that left him third in the Rookie of the Year voting.
“It’s the big leagues,” he said. “You’ve got to prove it every chance you get. There’s always someone right there in the wings. It’s no secret the Cardinals have had a lot of outfielders over the years and it’s just part of the game. I’m still here, that’s all I can control, my ability to show up every day and be present and give myself an opportunity to compete and help this team win games.”
Carlson came to spring training projected to be the team’s fourth outfielder, behind a starting trio of Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman and Jordan Walker. Even though Carlson has more career games in the outfield than any of the three, the uncertainty of his recovery from surgery and his offensive struggles the past two years, especially from the left side of the plate, lowered the team’s expectations for Carlson.
It’s his own expectations, however, that are important to Carlson. They haven’t changed.
“I always feel like I have something to prove,” Carlson said. “Ever since I started playing here it’s always been a competition during spring, during the season. It’s really nothing new to me.
“I’ve got to focus what I can do to put myself in the best position to go out there and compete whenever I get the opportunity.”
What has changed over the course of spring training is Carlson’s opportunity. Edman has not been able to swing a bat as his recovery from off-season surgery on his wrist has gone much slower than anticipated. Nootbaar fractured two ribs when he collided with the outfield wall. Both could begin the regular season on the injured list.
The competition for playing time in the outfield also includes Alec Burleson, who has had a good spring, and hard-charging prospect Victor Scott II, who has forced the Cardinals into having to make a decision on whether to promote him to the major leagues now or have him start the season in Triple A as they had planned.
Carlson hit his second home run of the spring on Sunday and drove in another run with a double, both off left-hander Framber Valdez, the expected opening day starter for the Astros.
It was more validation for Carlson that his comeback is on the right path.
“I like where I am personally,” he said. “I like the strides that I have made; I like the changes I’ve made. I like where I’m headed.
“In my mind I have a lot of baseball left and a lot that I want to go out there and show that I can do … It’s always great to try to evolve and grow in the game. If you just kind of stay stagnant the game will pass you up. You have to be ready and find ways to get better.”
Two words that manager Oli Marmol has used often this spring when talking about Carlson are “intent” and “impact.” He wants him to have more intent with his swing, and more impact behind his swing, especially when he is batting lefthanded.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” Marmol said. “The expectation isn’t homers to be clear, but it is the intent behind his swing.”
Carlson knows, and understands, what his manager is talking about.
“I’m going up there looking to do damage as opposed to I do a decent job of putting the ball in play, and that sometimes gets you in trouble because you put those pitches that sometimes you don’t want to hit in play.” Carlson said.
“That results in weaker contact and not the most optimal stuff. Swinging with the intent of going up there knowing what I want to do and being able to execute along with getting my best swing that I can put out there that day.
“The biggest thing I learned from the off-season, different things, different places I’ve been and things I’ve heard is that you kind of have to train it to have it, to have that tool in your tool box. You have to kind of train it and know that it’s there to kind of tap into it. That’s been a focus for me; I’ve kind of somewhat changed my perspective going up there to hit.”
A game like he had against the Astros only reinforces Carlson’s belief that he is where he wants to be – with the knowledge that everything he experienced the last two years is only going to make him better.
“I’ll just leave it at this,” Carlson said. “It definitely wasn’t how I drew it up in my head, but it kind of taught me to keep showing up and keep putting in the work and just be ready for your opportunity. I wouldn’t say it made me more grateful for being able to play every day early on, but it did kind of allow me to feel excited for what’s to come.
“I don’t want to sit here and say I did it all by myself. There’s definitely been people I’ve been able to talk to along the way, but ultimately it’s on you to show up and get your work done and put yourself in a position to compete.
“It’s your numbers. It’s your career. You’re the one who’s accountable for it in the end.”
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
Photos by AP courtesy of KSDK Sports
