Jeremy

Hazelbaker

Hazelbaker spent all of 2018 at Triple-A, hitting just .204/.298/.385. The 31-year-old is a career .258/.327/.500 hitter over parts of two major league seasons.

The homer, off Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson, was his 10th of the year and his second in three games. Hazelbaker started in left field on Saturday, and with Matt Holliday sidelined he could see more starts, especially since he can play all three outfield positions, going forward. The 29-year-old is hitting .249/.306/.497 in 86 games overall.

Grichuk left Thursday game with lower-back tightness. Manager Mike Matheny said he’s not sure if Grichuk will be available off the bench. Jeremy Hazelbaker is in center field Friday. The Cards also have Matt Carpenter at first base and Ruben Tejada at third and Jedd Gyorko at second over Kolten Wong.

Nothing is official yet and the Cardinals have yet to announce a corresponding roster move, though they have a couple of players dealing with nagging injuries. Hazelbaker was optioned to the minors last month after cooling down significantly from his surprising hot start to the season.

Hazelbaker batted .250/.286/.484 with seven home runs and four stolen bases in 61 games earlier this season for St. Louis. He probably isn’t going to play as regularly this time around and can be ignored in standard fantasy leagues. Jhonny Peralta (thumb) was placed on the disabled list in a corresponding 25-man roster move.

Piscotty is in the midst of an 0-for-12 stretch with eight strikeouts, so he’ll get a breather. Jeremy Hazelbaker is in right field.

RotoGrinders.com Daily Slant: With Piscotty on the bench, the strikeout prone Jeremy Hazelbaker will slide into the six spot in the order. Hazelbaker is available at or near minimum price across the industry, and this particular match-up seems to play to his favor. His biggest weakness is strikeouts (27.9% vs. RHP), but Marlins starter Jose Urena owns just a 2.55 K/9 rate against LH bats over his short career. Hazelbaker is also capable of swiping bases which only further elevates his upside. He’s sporting a ,333 wOBA and .222 ISO against RHP this season.

Mike Montgomery drilled him with a pitch in the 10th inning. Jeremy Hazelbaker pinch-ran for Holliday with Brandon Moss taking over in left field. Holliday is headed for X-rays. He went 1-for-3 with a walk before exiting.

Grichuk registered his third straight multi-hit game on Wednesday, homering and singling in a loss to the Cubs, but the Cardinals will go lefty-heavy on Thursday versus Washington righty Joe Ross. Jeremy Hazelbaker is starting in center field and batting leadoff.

Hazelbaker cooled off after a red-hot start and hadn’t been playing much of late. He’ll get another shot eventually.

Grichuk is in another offensive rut and batting just .225/.290/.420 for the year. Jeremy Hazelbaker will start in center field and bat sixth Wednesday afternoon against Brewers right-hander Zach Davies.