When the St. Louis Cardinals traded Dexter Fowler, they did it with the stated goal of opening up more at-bats for their young outfielders. With Harrison Bader, Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Lane Thomas, Austin Dean, and Justin Williams are ready to play at the major league level, it is clear why the team was unable to guarantee at-bats for Fowler, and opted to get rid of him instead.
With this many young players, it is smart that the Cardinals are willing to give them all a chance in order to see what they have. This will help the team determine what its future outfield will look like as each of these six players should get a shot to seize a starting job.