Cardinals' Nathan Church looking to make the most of his early opportunity

Nathan Church played college baseball for the University of California, Irvine. By his junior year, he would be a leader on the team, hitting .309 across 53 games. 

He would catch the attention of the St. Louis Cardinals, who drafted him in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He would make his way through the minors, and Church would go on to make his MLB debut on August 17th last season against the New York Yankees. 

The young slugger would play in 27 games last year with the Cardinals. He hit .179 with one home run and eight runs batted in. 

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Cardinals' Nathan Church looking to make the most of his early opportunity 

Nathan Church would go on to make the Opening Day roster for the Cardinals this season. This was mainly due to the fact that Lars Nootbaar was placed on the IL on March 25. 

Nootbaar is on the 60-day IL due to recovery from an October surgery to correct bilateral Haglund's deformities or bone spurs in both heels. 

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter is high on Church's abilities. So, while fans would love to see Nootbaar out there, they should give Church a chance. 

"An injury to Lars Nootbaar has given Church a path to playing time early in the season by being the starting left fielder on Opening Day. An 11th-round pick in 2022, he broke out last season with a .329/.386/.524 line in 384 plate appearances across three minor league levels. Now he offers a high floor and intriguing upside for a rebuilding Cardinals team."

So far, he is showing that he can be an everyday outfielder in the big leagues. Across 12 plate appearances, the outfielder is hitting .250 with two runs batted in. 

Don't be surprised if he starts to get comfortable and really starts to shine in the batter's box.

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