Charlie Tilson

Tilson continued to progress during the 2016 campaign. In his first taste of the Triple-A level, the former second-round draft pick pieced together a solid .282/.345/.407 line thanks to the fact that over a quarter of his hits went for extra bases. Despite this strong performance, the Cardinals' outfield was jam-packed, which led the Cards to deal him to the White Sox over the summer. This move turned out to be great for Tilson, as he was immediately sent to Chicago to make his major league debut. It only lasted two at-bats before he tore his hamstring running down a flyball, ending his season. The 24-year-old has proven that he can hit pitching at each level of the minor leagues, and given the middling production from Avisail Garcia in right field last season, Tilson has a legitimate chance to garner a starting role out of spring training. His excellent plate discipline (33:51 BB:K) paired with decent speed could make for an intriguing under-the-radar outfield option.

It seems like people keep waiting for Tilson to stop hitting. He has not obliged. The 5-foot-11 center fielder hit .303 in 100 games at Low-A in 2013. He followed that up by hitting .308 in 89 games at High-A in 2014. Then last year he hit .295 in 134 games as a 22-year-old at Double-A. It is not just batting average with Tilson, as he has gotten on base at around a .350 clip at each of those stops, and last year he swiped a career-high 46 bases, although it took him 65 attempts to do so. In addition, he has not posted a K-rate above 20 percent at any of his full-season stops, so the upside of a leadoff hitter remains in tact. Players with his profile never get fully appreciated until they show they can continue to produce against big league pitching, and Tilson is about a year away from getting that chance.

Tilson proved more than ready for High-A Palm Beach in 2014, posting a .308/.357/.414 line with 54 runs and 10 stolen bases before being promoted to Double-A Springfield. One of the Cardinals' better outfield prospects, Tilson struggled in his 31 games at Double-A, hitting just .237 and striking out 28 times while recording only six walks. Granted he's playing against guys that are, on average, over three years older than him. Tilson will likely start 2015 in Double-A and may spend the entire season there. It's possible he could get a September callup if he has success but it's much more likely that he'll have to wait until mid-2016 before seeing some MLB playing time.