LOS ANGELES (KMOX) - The St. Louis Cardinals released its 26-player roster for tonight’s National League Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It includes infielder Juan Yepez who could make his MLB debut in the postseason.
If he does appear tonight, or in another game if St. Louis advances, he'll become just the fifth player in MLB history to make his debut in the playoffs. The others are Twins outfielder Alex Kirilloff and Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan in 2020, Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi in 2015 and Athletics infielder Mark Kiger in 2006.
The 23-year-old is St. Louis' No. 27 overall prospect. He was named a Triple-A East Postseason All-Star and the MLB Pipeline St. Louis Cardinals Hitting Prospect of the Year in a split season with the AA Springfield Cardinals and AAA Memphis Redbirds. The Caracas, Venezuela native crushed 22 home runs and 25 doubles in 92 games, batting .289 with a .382 on-base percentage and .979 OPS. He slashed .270/.387/.571 with five homers in over 63 at-bats with Springfield.
He was signed as 16-year-old for $1 million in 2014 by the Braves, then traded to the Cardinals in exchange for Matt Adams in 2017.
He's primarily a first baseman, but has also been used at third, in the outfield and as the designated hitter.
Here's the Cardinals 2021 National League Wild Card Game active roster:
PITCHERS (12): Gėnesis Cabrera-LHP, Jack Flaherty-RHP, Giovanny Gallegos-RHP, Luis Garcia-RHP, Dakota Hudson-RHP, Kwang Hyun Kim-LHP, T.J McFarland-LHP, Miles Mikolas-RHP, Andrew Miller-LHP, Alex Reyes-RHP, Adam Wainwright-RHP, Kodi Whitley-RHP;
CATCHERS (2): Andrew Knizner and Yadier Molina;
INFIELDERS (8): Nolan Arenado, Matt Carpenter, Paul DeJong, Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Rondón, Edmundo Sosa and Juan Yepez;
OUTFIELDERS (4): Harrison Bader, Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar and Tyler O’Neill.
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