Cardinals say Lars Nootbaar's consistency has been key in rise to MLB

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - There might not be a St. Louis Cardinals player having more fun than rookie Lars Nootbaar right now.

The 23-year-old outfielder is quickly becoming a household name in Cardinals Nation. But he's someone that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak says he's had his eye on for a while.

"I think he's just one of those guys that you look at his college career, it was a little bit of an up and down," Mozeliak said to Sports on a Sunday Morning host Tom Ackerman. "When he entered pro ball you started to see a little bit more consistency and he's a name that for the last couple of years has been on my radar, in terms of, if everything goes right he's going to get to the big leagues. He's making the most out of his appearance right now."

Mozeliak says Nootbaar was likely going to make his MLB debut even sooner than June 22, but a slight injury set him back a bit.

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New Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar worked on fighter jet parts last summer
New Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar worked on fighter jet parts last summer

Although it's unclear how much playing time will be in Nootbaar's future, especially once Dylan Carlson comes back on the IL, here's a few things you need to know about the man with one of the best names in baseball right now:

Lars Nootbaar
Photo credit (USA Today Sports Images)

Already in the record books

Nootbaar became the 69th player in MLB history to homer in consecutive games in which he had only one at-bat. He had pinch-hit homers on Thursday and Friday against the Pirates and Royals, respectively. Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter also pulled off the feat earlier this season.

Lars Nootbaar
Photo credit (USA Today Sports Images)

Putting his college science studies to good use

He's been debating with Nolan Arenado about the science of baseball. As detailed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the 23-year-old says baseballs fly farther in humidity, but Arenado – who has 260 career homers compared to Nootbaar's 2 – says clean air is better. Nootbaar says he majored in molecular biology and physics at USC.

Lars Nootbaar
Photo credit (USA Today Sports Images)

No. 30 prospect for Cardinals

Nootbaar just barely made the list of Cardinals top-30 prospects at the start of this season. He did it by zipping through multiple levels of the Minor League system in 2019, before loosing out on a 2020 season due to the pandemic. He advanced from low-A, through high-A and into AA in his last full summer of baseball with a .264 average and .712 OPS.

Lars Nootbaar
Photo credit (USA Today Sports Images)

He almost didn't pick baseball

Nootbaar was a quarterback in high school and two-time league MVP for El Segundo High. He picked baseball over football at USA saying he comes from "a baseball town." Now, he's playing in another one with St. Louis. His brother, Nigel also went to USC to play baseball and was drafted by the Orioles but is no long playing MiLB affiliated ball.

Lars Nootbaar
Photo credit (USA Today Sports Images)

Scouting report says fielding, speed are most valuable assests

The main reason you probably hadn't heard the name Nootbaar before this season was because nothing on his scouting report jumps off the paper. He's projected to be a solid fourth outfielder in the bigs, but only if he find a little more power at the plate. How does 2 HR and a double in his last four games sound?