Ankiel Watch

Former pitcher Rick Ankiel, who was overcome with severe control problems seven years ago, is trying to make the Cardinals as an outfielder. How's he doing? SI's Ankielometer tells all.

AFTER A HOT start (he homered and doubled in his first spring game, an intrasquad scrimmage) Ankiel, 27, has cooled off: He's 4 for 18 with no extra-base hits in nine games against big league opponents. Still, he has shown impressive maturity at the plate—ask Dodgers ace Brad Penny, who last week got Ankiel to pop up on an inside fastball, then watched the leftfielder stroke the same pitch for a line drive out in his next at bat. "It was an out, but you could see the adjustment he made," Penny said. "That's the kind of thing that good hitters do." Ankiel, who missed all of last season after injuring his knee, is likely to begin the season at Triple A. But, said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa earlier this spring, "If you were a scout and you didn't know anything about him, you would say he's a definite prospect.... As long as he stays healthy, he'll play in the big leagues [again]."