Cards' Carlson cranks pair of homers
Dylan Carlson led off two innings on Wednesday night and homered both times.The second-ranked Cardinals prospect went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo dingers -- his first career multi-homer effort -- in Double-A Springfield's 5-2 win over Amarillo at Hodgetown.
The second-ranked Cardinals prospect went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo dingers -- his first career multi-homer effort -- in Double-A Springfield's 5-2 win over Amarillo at Hodgetown.
The switch-hitting right fielder opened the game against Sod Poodles left-hander
Batting second in the third inning, Carlson lined a 2-2 pitch to center for a single. Leading off the fifth, MLB.com's No. 88 overall prospect sent a 1-1 offering just to the right of dead center for another solo shot. Margevicius finally retired Carlson in the seventh, when he grounded sharply to second.
Gameday box score
The 20-year-old raised his July average to .339 with five homers and seven RBIs in 13 games. He leads the Texas League in homers, extra-base hits (41), total bases (176) and runs scored (69) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.529) and OPS (.900). Carlson also started for the National League at the Futures Game and delivered an RBI single.
A 2015 first-round pick, Carlson split last season between Class A Peoria and Class A Advanced Palm Beach and batted .246/.348/.390 with 36 extra-base hits, including 11 homers, 62 RBIs and eight stolen bases.
"It's definitely been a buildup," he told MiLB.com's Sam Dykstra. "It's been a process all throughout the Minors. I'm real grateful for all the struggles I've had because I don't think I would be here without them."
Cardinals No. 18 prospect
Padres No. 17 prospect
Shlomo Sprung is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @sprungonsports</a