Carlson is considered "a lock" for the big-league club this coming regular season now that expanded rosters are strongly expected to be implemented, Mark Saxon of The Athletic reports.

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Saxon adds that the one challenge attached to getting the promising 21-year-old into the big-league ranks this season is the fact he's not on the 40-man roster. That means bringing Carlson into the fold will necessitate another player being removed from the 40-man or getting placed on the 60-day injured list. Nevertheless, it appears highly likely the organization will opt to take this step, which will give Carlson a potential head start on a big-league career that otherwise may not have begun until September at the earliest if the season had unfolded normally. Although Carlson has only logged 79 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports he's already made a significant impression on the major-league coaching staff, including former outfielder Willie McGee. "Oh, man. Hits the ball hard from both sides of the plate. Runs better than it looks,"McGee said. "Outstanding outfielder. Just a good athlete. And the most impressive thing about him is that he's a lot more mature than his age. He's ahead of the game, mentally, knowing situations."