Zac Gallen: A Traded Star
Ex-Cardinals Whose Careers Might Have Been Bolstered by the Current Youth-Focused Methodology
Zac Gallen, a New Jersey native, didn't find his Major League success with the St. Louis Cardinals, his original draft team. The Cardinals, however, picked him in the 2016 draft's third round, and Gallen worked his way through High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A for the team in 2017.
Back then, Gallen was the Cardinals' 14th-ranked prospect, not exactly the poster boy for overpowering pitches. But his game relied more on command and control. His low-90s fastball could play up thanks to his great command and arm angle. His changeup demonstrated potential to be a top-tier pitch, and his breaking stuff averaged out pretty good. Gallen, in essence, was a college pitching prospect prized by the Cardinals for his low-ceiling, high-floor profile.
Traded for Marcell Ozuna in 2018, Gallen debuted in the Majors with the Miami Marlins in 2019, compiling a 2.72 ERA in 36.1 innings across seven starts. Later that year, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2019 deadline, resulting in the acquisition of infielder Jazz Chisholm by the Marlins.
Since then, Gallen has become a force to reckon with in the National League. He boasts a 3.42 ERA over the last six seasons and has finished in the top 10 of Cy Young voting thrice, even securing a third-place finish in 2023. Gallen has struck out 9.7 batters per nine innings as a major leaguer and excels at limiting home runs.
Looking back on the landscape of pitching prospects for the Cardinals in the 2017-2018 offseason, the organization overlooked Gallen, who was a polished college prospect at the time. Despite his 2.93 ERA across three minor-league levels for the Cardinals in 2017, they never seemed eager to let him take a proverbial spin at the big leagues.
Fast forward to today, and if Gallen were a prospect in the Cardinals' fold, he wouldn't have been traded for a power-hitting corner outfielder to augment the major-league roster. Instead, he likely would've been prioritized as starting pitching depth in their minor league system.
- If Zac Gallen were still with the St. Louis Cardinals, he might have been prioritized as starting pitching depth in their minor league system, rather than being traded for Marcell Ozuna.
- Gallen didn't find Major League success with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2016 draft, but he did excel with the Miami Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks.
- In 2019, Gallen was traded from the Miami Marlins to the Arizona Diamondbacks during the trade deadline, a move that brought infielder Jazz Chisholm to the Marlins.
- In his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Gallen has become a top-tier starting pitcher, finishing in the top 10 of Cy Young voting three times, including a third-place finish in 2023.
