After six years with the Chicago Cubs organization, PG’s Jared Young is looking forward to a fresh start with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 28-year-old was claimed by the National League Central division rival after being taken off the Cubs 40-man roster.
In an interview with MyPGNow.com, Young is feeling pretty good about the change of scenery.
“Certain things kind of fall into place for certain reasons. I am really excited to be a part of the Cardinals. I had a great run with the Cubs for the last few years but I am quite excited to get things going in St. Louis.”
“It’s kind of one of those things where my team is coming to an end here (in Chicago) but I am looking forward to the future. To hear I was going to the Cardinals was amazing, I was pumped to be selected by them and go somewhere where they have faith in me.”
“It’s a storied team and I think it’s going to be exciting,” added Young.
Young believes his ability to play several positions puts him in a pretty good place with his new team.
“If you look at their team and you look at the guys they have cemented at certain spots, being versatile and being able to go all over the field kind of makes sense for the Cardinals and is a pretty good fit. I will probably play multiple spots and I am looking forward to it.”
“I think they are expecting me to play hard, be who I am, and kind of contribute when I can. I know they took me as a left-handed bat that can hit and they are hoping I do that. It’s one of those things where I won’t try to do too much and embrace being in a new place.”
In 22 career MLB games with Chicago, Young batted.210 with two home runs and eight RBI’s.
Last season, with the AAA Iowa Cubs, the 28-year-old blasted 21 home runs and 72 RBIs to go along with a .310 batting average.
Young’s batting average in the minors rose 80 points from 2022 to 2023 (.230 batting average in 2022). Furthermore, his OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) was a tantalizing .994.
While Young admits his game is in a pretty good place, he is looking to take another step over the winter to become an everyday major leaguer.
“The more opportunities you get, the more chances you get to play – the more you got to show yourself. The team knows that if you don’t have a ton of at-bats and you didn’t have success, that kind of major league at-bats you’ll have to wait your time again for them. They are not just giving away a lot of big league at-bats – that is not the league to do it. If you go up early and have success early that is when you stick and get a lot of true at-bats in a lot of games. If you go up and you do scuff up a little bit like me, you gotta go back to the minors and wait to prove yourself again.”
“I think every year you get older and stronger and just a little bit better. You can tap into some new things and I am 28 years old this year and it was one of those things where things are really starting to click. I have been a pretty good baseball player for a long time now but you can always get better and learn different things along the way.”
The Cardinals finished 71-91 last season, which ranked at the bottom of the NL Central.