About six weeks ago, I wrote about the extreme struggles of top prospect Colby Rasmus at Triple-A Memphis and how those struggles may prevent him from being a viable option for the Cardinals before September 1. Rasmus’ batting average was significantly under the Mendoza Line, and things got so bad at one point that there was even some talk of him going back to Double-A Springfield in an attempt to get him back on track.

It turns out that Rasmus didn’t need a demotion, just some confidence. Over the last six weeks he’s been one of the most productive hitters in the minors, and now the Cardinals have a legitimate reason to consider adding him to their roster in the heat of a pennant race. Instead of trading for another bat, why not take the few weeks that remain before the trade deadline to see if Rasmus is ready to produce?

I’m excited that the Cardinals have such a premium prospect knocking on the major-league door, and I’m counting the days until Rasmus shows up at Busch Stadium. Maybe I’m a little biased as a result of my affinity for the kid, but I know that Bernie Miklasz is also banging the Rasmus drum pretty hard, along with many fans. It’s pretty easy to promote Rasmus and demote Chris Duncan, since such a move would appear to improve the team both offensively and defensively.

Sure, Rasmus has struggled early on each time he’s moved to a new level, and he may not prove to be much of an offensive upgrade over Duncan right away. Still, given his skill set and the way he’s swinging the bat right now at Triple-A (he has cooled a bit lately, I will admit), I think it makes sense to see if he can make an immediate impact. It’s nice to know that Rasmus hangs fairly tough against left-handed pitching (.277 BA in 94 at-bats, albeit with only home run) despite being a left-handed hitter. The Cardinals are awash with left-handed batters who can’t hit lefties (Duncan, Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker and Adam Kennedy) and three of those guys are benched almost every time a southpaw takes the mound as a result. A guy who can be penciled into the starting lineup regardless of who is on the mound would be nice to have.

In addition, Rasmus would almost certainly improve your outfield defensively; allowing Ankiel and his world-class arm to move to right field, but the Cardinals don’t seem to like Ankiel in right as much as in center. That’s a little baffling, because Rasmus, a terrific defensive center fielder, will be here at some point soon, and Ankiel will have to move to a corner spot eventually. Why not now?

The bottom line is that Rasmus is one of the best players not currently in the major leagues, and the Cardinals have the ability to add him to their roster at no cost. Sometimes the best trade deadline acquisitions come from within. This is the benefit of now having a farm system that is so productive. Instead of trading future assets to acquire an impact player, you have the potential to promote one and see if he can significantly improve your team. Unless Duncan goes on a tear sometime before the All-Star break (he has homered in two of his last three games and looked better in Kansas City over the weekend, so maybe this is the beginning of a tear), I see no reason not to bring Rasmus up any later than the beginning of the second half. We’ll find out soon enough if John Mozeliak agrees.