It doesn't require a lot of time being around St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson to know he's a ball player through and through.
"Every day when I show up to the ballpark I try to find a way to get better," Carlson told the News Tribune prior to the Cardinals Caravan last month. "So for me, that's just my goal every single day is just find at least one thing that's gonna make me a better player, learn something new every day."
It's a very cliché answer, but that response comes from a 21-year-old trying to prove he's worth the first-round pick St. Louis used on him four years ago.
He was raised a baseball player, being guided by his life-long coach and father, Jeff Carlson, who coached Elk Grove High School in California to more than 400 wins in nearly two decades.
"For me to be able to be around the game always at a young age, just my whole life, that's all I knew," Carlson said. "So I definitely say my dad influenced my game a lot."
Carlson's dedication to the game has led him to a chance to make the opening day roster for the Cardinals this year.
There's no reason why that should not come to fruition March 26 when St. Louis opens the season at Cincinnati, especially how spring training has gone for the switch hitter.
Through six games, Carlson is batting .500 with two doubles, a triple, four walks and just three strikeouts.
"Last spring I was able to spend spring training with the team and kind of get to know Paul Goldschmidt, Dexter Fowler," Carlson said. "Guys like that really reached out and made me feel comfortable right away and it really meant a lot. I've just tried to follow their lead and really try to make myself the best player I can be."
Although it's a small sample size, he's out-playing them and everyone else this spring.
Everything's been put into place for Carlson to make his MLB debut in Game 1 of the 2020 season. Left fielder Marcell Ozuna is in Atlanta and part time right fielder Jose Martinez is in Tampa Bay. That leaves an opportunity for the reigning Texas League Player of the Year to be in the starting lineup right away.
There's no reason he shouldn't be in the outfield later this month at Great American Ballpark.
Except there is one reason why players like Carlson don't get the major-league call when the season starts: service time.
If Carlson logs 172 of the 187 days of an MLB season on the active roster, he'll have a year of service time.
Teams have taken advantage of that rule by keeping their top prospects in the minor leagues long enough to avoid having the rookie season count toward the player's service time, delaying the player from entering free agency an extra year.
It makes sense. Clubs want control of their players for a long as possible.
But it's a selfish, business-like approach to do that to guys like Carlson, who've devoted their young years to baseball with the goal of making a life in the majors.
If Carlson is ready for the big leagues, reward players like him by putting them on the roster on Day 1.
This isn't the time to worry about Carlson reaching six years of service time. Give him and his family an opening day they'll never forget and enjoy the time he's wearing the birds on the bat.