An unlikely name is getting the starts at shortstop recently for the St. Louis Cardinals during their race to the playoffs, 2007 first round pick Pete Kozma. Judging him by his work in AAA, he probably wouldn't be playing for a major league team at all but he has had quite a debut first few games for the Cards.
His career slash line in Memphis has been .223/.286/.324, but Kozma has hit an astounding .310/.333/.517 in 29 big-league at-bats. That included a big three hit game against the San Diego Padres.
Manager Matt Matheny has started giving him the playing time that he has clearly earned with his recent form while replacing Rafael Furcal. He has been something of a spark for the team in their playoff push:
"There's no secret here," Matheny said after the victory Tuesday, "how much we needed someone to step up and take that position right now."
His most recent performance saw him hitting a triple and earning a run against the Astros in the 4-1 win on Tuesday night.
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