I’m going to pick a player to have a very big season in 2009, causing immense confusion for a lot of Cardinal fans wearing #54 t-shirt jerseys.

Here are a couple of age-25 season lines:

These aren’t completely dissimilar lines from similarly sized (5’11″, 190-195) right-handed batters who bounced around the infield as minor leaguers. The two players hail from the same organization, in fact, and Player B was in AAA during Player A’s age 25 season, although a year younger.

After his age-25 season, Player A was taken in the Rule 5 draft, and ZiPS projected a .231/.302/.363 line for him that year. He far exceeded it, batting .282/.339/.480 with 27 HR in his rookie season. Player A is, of course, Dan Uggla and many Cardinal fans would be delighted if Mo would trade away valuable prospects for him now that he’s 29 and an established major league slugging 2B. Player B is Brian Barden—after his age-25 campaign in 2006, his OPS fell below .800 for the first time at AAA and he fell out of the Diamondbacks’ plans. After he was DFA’d, the Cardinals picked him up and he’s been a utility man in Memphis.

I don’t think that Brian Barden is going to have a season like Uggla had in 2006 or do to the league what Uggla has done, but I think he’ll be a useful piece on the 2009 Cardinals and am rooting for him to make the team. Barden’s slick with the glove, so the defensive dropoff from Kennedy to Barden would be negligible in the amount of playing time we’re likely talking about. He’s also an excellent defensive 3B and can play shortstop competently (i.e. far better than Miles, doubtfully as well as Ryan). He has power potential: he hit 9 HR last season in Memphis and hit 15 and 16 in consecutive years as his prospect star shone most brightly in 2005-2006. He’s right-handed, so would platoon well with Kennedy (in the PCL last season, his platoon split was .266/.325/.394 vs. rights and a robust .326/.400/.481 against lefties, although his career minor league splits aren’t quite that drastic.)

Brendan Ryan has an option year remaining and Barden does not, so as long as Barden shows up to camp ready to swing the bat, I expect he’ll make the team as the backup MIF, with Freese the starter at third, and six outfielders heading North when Spring Training ends. Last Spring, Barden went 2-11 with 2 walks. I expect he’ll get a longer look this go around and will be rooting for him all the way.

(As for that .231/.302/.363 line ZiPS projected for Uggla in 2006, league multipliers are a bastard… Barden is projected to go .254/.307/.359 this year. Here’s hoping he revives his career and surpasses those rates by a great deal.)

Baseball season can’t get here soon enough, but until then, we have Look Around You to keep us informed and entertained. And that reminds me of this.

Update: What the hell? The Cardinals are releasing Adam Kennedy… I did not see that one coming…

Per the irreplaceable Derrick Goold:

Mozeliak said the intent is to fill the position “from within the organization.”

Club says B-Ryan, Thurston, Barden, T. Greene and, yes, Schumaker are candidates. Free agents Hudson, Durham and Grudzielanek still unsigned.

It took me about ten minutes, but I’ve warmed to the idea. A Thurston/Barden platoon at second would cost twice the league minimum and produce quite a bit while providing good defense and positional versatility. Thurston hit .316/.367/.456 with 11 HR and 19 SB last season for Pawtucket.

Updated 4/14/2009: It looks like I’m full of it and Brian Barden was not on Arizona’s 40-man prior to the 2006 season. I’m pretty confused about why he was DFA’d by two teams in 2008, though…