Cards prospect reaches third on infield popup

With fielders converging, Arozarena takes advantage of unoccupied bases

July 8th, 2017

Infield popups have turned into hits just 0.4 percent of the time in the Majors this season, but don't tell that to Cardinals prospect Randy Arozarena.
Playing for the Springfield Cardinals in Double-A on Thursday, Arozarena popped up a ball to the right of the pitcher's mound, and when the dust settled, he was standing safely on third base.

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Arozarena's popup was routine, but with all four Midland RockHounds infielders congregating around the ball, first baseman Viosergy Rosa took a late lunge, and the ball grazed off his glove.
Arozarena was nearing second when the ball landed, and he noticed nobody was covering second or third base. St. Louis' No. 15 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, Arozarena is known for his plus speed and easily navigated the bases without a chance for Midland to throw him out.
Unfortunately the play was ruled an error, so Arozarena didn't get the "Little League triple," but the play proved to be crucial as he would eventually come around to score in a game the Cardinals won by a run.
Arozarena was just named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month for June, and he earned a promotion from Class A Advanced Palm Beach after hitting .275/.333/.472 with 8 homers and 10 steals in 295 plate appearances.