Cardinals recall outfielder Oscar Taveras; Matt Adams placed on 15-day disabled list

The St. Louis Cardinals announced that they have recalled rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras from Memphis (AAA) and placed first baseman Matt Adams (left calf strain) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 29.

The 21-year-old Taveras, who will be making his Major League debut, was batting a team-leading .325 (62-for-191) at Memphis with 7 home runs and 40 RBI in 49 games. The left-handed hitting outfielder was batting a lofty.479 (23-for-48) with runners in scoring position and he was hitting at a .344 clip against lefties.

A native of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Taveras was signed by the Cardinals as an international free-agent in November of 2008 and has produced a .321 batting average with 52 home runs and 315 RBI in 423 career games in the minors. He won batting titles in both 2011 (Quad Cities, Midwest League; .386) and 2012 (Springfield, Texas League; .321) and was named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year and the Texas League Player of the Year in 2012 while helping Springfield to the league championship.

The 6-2, 200-pound Taveras has been rated by Baseball America as the Cardinals top prospect each of the past two seasons.

Taveras has been assigned uniform no. 18.