Perspective: Rasmus comes of age in Texas

WICHITA -- Colby Rasmus' maturation process is certainly progressing nicely, so much so that it won't be long before folks in the Midwest start wondering when and not if the Cardinals will move him up from Double-A Springfield to Triple-A Memphis.

While his overall numbers may not show it, the former first-round pick is putting together a strong season in the Texas League, quickly earning a reputation as one of the circuit's more feared hitters. It's gotten to a point that many teams have begun to employ "The Shift" with regularity against him, stacking the right side and middle part of the infield in an effort to keep him off base.

Rasmus is a notoriously slow starter at each level he's played and had some shaky beginnings this season as well. He labored early last year in Quad Cities of the Midwest League and then again when he got bumped up to Palm Beach of the Florida State League. But in each instance he rebounded quickly and strongly, adapting to his new surroundings rather than letting the slow start bog him down.

Now, after having taken a few weeks to adjust to life in the Texas League, he's looking a great deal like the vicious hitter the Cards hope he will be. Rasmus has raised his average from .203 on April 26 to .277 through the weekend due in large part to a six-game hitting streak during which he hit .478 (11-for-23) with three homers and six RBIs.

Rasmus went 7-for-15 in a four-game series against Wichita last week despite the Wranglers' manager Tony Tijerina often employing the shift against him.

"He's shown us he pulls the ball, but he also shows that he drives the ball," Tijerina said. "He grows on you. You don't like to see him as the opposition, but as a player he has a good idea of what he's doing up there. He stays through the ball well, and he has success.

"He uses the whole field. Even with the shift, he drives the ball into the gap and to the wall. It's hard to defense that regardless. The shift is situational, and you want to make him earn it. We'll use it as the situation dictates."

Rasmus, 20, has been the one doing the dictating the last few weeks with his effort at the plate. He says he feels as if he's "grown up a lot" since he was chosen with the 28th overall pick in 2005. While he admits the shift is frustrating, he's dealing with it much better than he would have been if he were fresh out of high school.

He talks about dropping a bunt down the third-base line just to shake some teams out of the shift. Whether he will remains to be seen. For now, he's having more fun banging balls off the wall and lining them into gaps.

"When I came in I was young and dumb," Rasmus admits. "I've learned a lot about the game, but I've grown as a person, too. I'm staying late to get things done, and I'm coming in early. My first year was a struggle because I didn't want to stay late. I was fed up and was having a tough time in Johnson City [of the Appalachian League].

"I was tired of baseball. The high school season [when Russell County High finished as the top-ranked team in the country] was rough that year, and with the workouts and the draft and then playing after that, it was pretty tough. Everyone was pushing me, and I struggled. It was a tough time. But now I look at what I have to do to get things done instead of skipping out."

In many ways, though, Rasmus is still that kid who came out of southeastern Alabama. He says he likes to play video games and hang out with his friends. He still talks to his dad Tony, who was also his high school coach, every day and tries to speak with his brother Cory -- a Braves farmhand -- as often as possible.

While he doesn't rely on his dad for coaching anymore, he's still there to talk baseball. And really, that's all that matters in Colby Rasmus' life right now. He's a hot commodity in the Texas League and one of the prizes in the St. Louis system.

The slow start seems to finally be behind him and as the temperatures begin to rise in the Midwest, so does Rasmus' batting average. The kid is growing up a little more each day. And opposing managers in the Texas League are hoping the Cardinals will allow him to continue to come of age in the Pacific Coast League and beyond.