Carlson diligently prepared this offseason for what should be an extended major-league opportunity in 2021 and has a chance to win a starting job ahead of Opening Day, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 22-year-old had a couple of stints with the big-league club during the abbreviated 2020 season, each with markedly different results. Carlson finished his initial tour of duty with St. Louis slashing just .162/.215/.243, but he bounced back to generate a .278 average and .936 OPS over the final 12 games of the campaign. Carlson then hit .333 over his three playoff appearances, giving him some momentum heading into the offseason. He subsequently put his time off to good use, working on further refining an already impressive swing and putting on some additional muscle. Carlson has a chance to push for the right field job in spring training if he can pick up where he left off, and Silver adds that the currently vacant leadoff role could be a good landing spot for him in the lineup.