Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been pressing third baseman Matt Carpenter to be more aggressive at the plate at informal workouts before the official start of camp, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
"It’s great to walk and have long at-bats but he’s got the potential to hit 50 doubles. We’ve seen it," Holliday said. "He’s got the potential to hit 15 to 20 homers. We saw that in the postseason. It’s fine that first at-bat of the game if you want to take some pitches. But I’d like to see him be a little bit more aggressive. It’s in there. He showed it. It’s in there for all of us."
Carpenter, slugged three home runs during last year's National League Division Series after adopting a more aggressive approach, hit .272/.375/.375 with eight home runs and 59 RBI in 595 at-bats in 2014. The infielder also led the league in base on balls by drawing 95 walks.