As you’ve probably already read, toolsy outfield prospect Rick Ankiel hit three home runs yesterday, giving himself a share of the PCL home run lead with nineteen. It is, admittedly, not the most glorious of home run crowns; he shares it with former Expos prospect/Japanese gaijin Val Pascucci and AAAA corner guy Mitch Jones. And he’s still not a finished product: although he’s hit almost .300 since May 1, and shown the ability to club both righties and lefties, his walk rate is still pretty low.

But he’s on top, and who could’ve predicted that? Even if he doesn’t develop into a solid big league outfielder, he’s gone from the top pitching prospect of his generation to a laughing stock to a guy who hits tape-measure home runs on a relatively regular basis.

After he hit the third home run, but before he walked up to the plate with a chance to hit his fourth, I was thinking about his place in the Cardinals’ plans when I realized that it was the first time I’d ever thought about Rick Ankiel, Outfielder, completely outside the context of his 20-year-old self and that jaw-dropping curveball. So let’s take this opportunity, as we’re in between Rick Ankiel, major league pitcher and Rick Ankiel, major league hitter of long home runs, to think: holy crap, how did this happen?

Fill in all the events yourself: the wild pitches, then the near-comeback followed by arm injuries, then the other near-comeback foiled by an apparent lack of desire… it all seems so distant, now, so much so that I can’t believe there was a time in 2004 when I and the rest of Busch Stadium gave him a standing O on the field before the NLDS–the conquering hero, back from who-knows-what and throwing The Curveball again. All that’ll fade away, though, leaving these numbers to flummox people:

Year LVL AGE   G   AB   H  2B  3B  HR  BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG  K%  ISO
2000 MLB  21  33   68  17   1   1   2   4  20 .250 .292 .382  29  132
2001   R  22  41  105  30   7   0  10  11  26 .286 .364 .638  25  352
2005   A  26  51  185  50  10   1  11  27  37 .270 .368 .514  20  244
      AA  26  34  136  33   7   0  10  10  29 .243 .295 .515  21  272

That was it. There was his surprising hitting as a member of the Cardinals–during which, no doubt, several people made jokes about putting him in the outfield that they would later regret. There was the half-season he spent DHing in Johnson City for fun, in between starts. Then there was his intermittently successful first year as an outfielder. But all the while he was developing, I guess; his AA line should actually be two separate ones, a 1-20 stint prior to his low-A ball debut and a return trip in which he hit .276 with much the same power he’s showing this year

That said, after a truly depressing 2006, when he missed the whole season with an injury that initially seemed like it would be only a minor setback, I can’t believe anybody expected this.

But here he is, doing, well, this:

Year LVL AGE   G   AB   H  2B  3B  HR  BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG  K%  ISO
2007 AAA  27  57  213  60   8   2  19  11  54 .282 .317 .606  25  324
       APRIL  24   85  21   4   1   7   3  18 .247 .280 .565  22  318
         MAY  20   77  24   3   1   5   5  18 .312 .349 .571  23  259
        JUNE  13   51  15   1   0   7   3  18 .294 .333 .725  35  431

Say what you will about Ankiel, but the guy knows how to develop in a hurry. Before I get caught up, as we all no doubt will, in whether he’s completely ready for the big leagues, or what role he would fill on the roster, think about it: how great is it that we’re even in a position to ask these questions?