Could Evan Mendoza be a potential secret weapon for the St. Louis Cardinals? Now that our young baseball writer has predicted he will make the team, the young prospect has to hold up his end of the deal.

As the young and talented Caleb Van Grack noted in his Caleb On The Cardinals column debut on Wednesday, Mendoza can supply the team with a variety of tools and assets. After his column went public, and hit social media, Mendoza read the piece himself and sent our newest sportswriter a message on Twitter.

Who Is Evan Mendoza

Mendoza also gives them an underrated bat that could suit the team’s need for a true utility option off the bench. Mendoza has posted a career .289 batting average and .342 on-base percentage in 256 minor league games. While he lacks pop, the 24-year-old has shown an ability to collect a hit or at least get on base. 

Looking at Mendoza’s strengths, I think of Jose Oquendo’s presence back in the 1980’s for the Cards. A guy who didn’t excel at one single thing in the game, yet thrived at being an everyman for the team. Being whatever they needed. If he needed to play third, second, or short-Oquendo was game for it. If he had to pitch or take a pitch, the man was game. Mendoza can carve a similar path to the 2021 roster (let’s hope not on the pitching part).

Mendoza has drawn 74 career walks to 198 strikeouts in 973 at-bats. While he’s no stranger to a punch-out, Mendoza can work a count and find a way to contribute. According to MLB.com, he’s also shown the ability to hit line drives to all fields. 

That to me is more important right now than simply seeing a young guy slugging home runs and smoking doubles. The Cardinals have extra ammunition. With the quality of pitching variating at each level, you can be fooled by a few nice-looking long flies. At the age of 20, Mendoza displayed a knack to get on base all the way back with the State College Spikes, a team that also included outfielder Harrison Bader’s debut. Maybe they could be teammates again here real soon. 

2021 will tell a more defined story, but for Mendoza, making the team is the goal-not angling for a lot of playing time right out of the gate. By the All Star Break, he will be 25-years-old, which isn’t exactly ancient for a prospect, but shows the tooth starting to grow a little in diameter. The pushback against a promotion to the big league level is that Mendoza has only experienced six games at the AAA level. But with the state of the minor leagues in flux-or fighting back against their extinction-the Cardinals shouldn’t worry too much about experience with this particular player. Does he fill a need, or should he keep waiting? 

With Kolten Wong gone, the Cards will need extra juice off the infield backup part of the dugout. Someone to field all four positions, or at least the tougher ones. With Tommy Edman set to get most of the action at second base, Mendoza could be an off-day lineup slot for regulars like Nolan Arenado, Paul DeJong, and Paul Goldschmidt. He could be a different element in late inning games, where versatility helps win all-night battles. 

If things lined up right and Mendoza showed he could handle MLB pitching, at least on a part-time basis, the active roster could get deeper with homegrown talent. Someone who has fought long and hard for a chance. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2017 draft, Mendoza had a chip planted into his shoulder upon entry onto the professional level. He hasn’t wasted any time, and if given the chance, could win the team a game or two in a pinch. 

But if it takes another year, I only think Mendoza’s talent will endure and evolve. As long as he is getting to play or learn somewhere, at some level on a baseball field, the man has time-and now he has a young fan to impress and hold up his end of the bargain.