During Tuesday’s 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 26th, Matt Adams hurt his leg while running to second base, and is now out for the season (estimated at three to four months) with a strained right quadricep. Which adds another player to the list of those who have been hurt on the Cardinals roster this season.
Regardless, veteran Mark Reynolds will take his place in the starting lineup until further notice.
Now, Cardinals fans have seen positive moments out of Reynolds, including a huge grand slam against the Cubs a few weeks ago. But just how talented is the veteran player, and how has his career shaped up to be so far?
Let’s take a look.
Reynolds was a top college baseball player during his days at the University of Virginia. In fact, he is tied for second in Cavaliers history with 35 career home runs, which were hit over the course of three years. The Arizona Diamondbacks saw his talent and potential, and capitalized by drafting him 476th overall (the 16th round) in the 2007 MLB Draft.
When an injury to Chad Tracy struck Arizona, Reynolds was called up to the big league roster all the way from Double-A Mobile. During his first 15 games as a Major League Baseball player, Reynolds drove in 14 total runs. But unfortunately, one issue he has had over the years is the number of strikeouts he’s had.
In his rookie campaign, Reynolds struck out 129 times (which was ranked third among National League rookies), but was in the top five in runs scored (62) and triples (4). His strikeout number increased to 204 in 2008, 223 in 2009, dropped to 211 in 2010, and dropped to 196 in 2011, and has not been on a level as high since.
2009 was arguably the best season of Reynolds’ career, despite his 223 strikeouts. In that season, he garnered 150 hits, scored 98 runs, doubled 30 times, hit 44 home runs, and hit 102 RBI’s while having a .260 batting average. After the 2010 season, Reynolds headed to the Baltimore Orioles, where he played for two seasons. During those two years, he had decent success hitting 60 home runs, hitting 155 RBI’s, scoring 149 runs, and garnering 219 hits.
Over the next two years, Reynolds had one year stints with the Indians and Yankees, but struggled, as, in total, he only hit 21 home runs, and as he played in under 100 games both years. However, he had much more success with Cleveland than he did with New York.
He bounced back with a one year stint with the Milwaukee Brewers, in which he hit 22 home runs, played in 130 games, garnered 74 runs, and hit 45 RBI’s.
And after the 2014 season, Reynolds signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, bringing another good veteran to a team that has other good veteran leaders such as Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright (despite being injured), and Matt Holliday.
Adams being out for the season hurts, but Reynolds’ versatility and power (he has hit 226 career home runs) will be a welcomed addition to the daily Cardinals lineup. And if St. Louis has proven anything so far this year, it’s that injuries only lead to the next man stepping up.
