(MiLB.com)

As Spring Training dwindles towards the tail end of the exhibition slate, rosters begin to take shape and position battles appear to become clearer. For Matthew Bowman of the St. Louis Cardinals, the path to his first major league Opening Day roster isn’t as straightforward.

After being selected from the Mets in the first round of the Rule 5 Draft this past winter, the right handed pitcher has seen a mixed bag in terms of results so far this Spring. He missed the first week of Grapefruit League action with an eye bruise after being struck in the face by a ball. Once he finally got into action he struggled initially allowing eight runs in five innings over his first three appearances, before tossing two perfect innings between Saturday and Wednesday.

As a Rule 5 selection in the major league phase, the 24-year-old Bowman must remain on the Cardinals’s 25-man roster for the entire 2016 season, or else he will be returned to New York. The Mets are not oblivious to the situation, as they both selected a player (Sean Gilmartin) and had a player returned (Logan Verrett) in 2015.

The Cardinals rotation is full as well as the back end of their bullpen, they are hoping that Bowman will fit as their long man. It is still tough to see where he would fit in their bullpen that has five virtual locks in Trevor Rosenthal, Seung Hwan Oh, Jonathan Broxton, Kevin Siegrist and Jordan Walden. They also have Seth Maness, Tyler Lyons, Sam Tuivailala, and former Met farmhand Miguel Socolovich who all pitched for them in 2015.

Bowman was originally drafted by the Mets in the 13th round of the 2012 draft from Princeton, where he played mostly as a shortstop, occasionally starting on the mound. He made his professional debut with the Brooklyn Cyclones (SS-A) that same year, and spent most of 2013 with the St. Lucie Mets (A+), where he was named a post-season All-Star. After a promising 2014 campaign, Bowman hit a wall in 2015 with the Las Vegas 51s (AAA), going 7-16 with 5.53 ERA in 26 starts in the Pacific Coast League. His failure to take the next step resulted in the Mets leaving him unprotected in the 2015 Rule 5 Draft, where the Cardinals nabbed him with the eleventh and final pick of the first round.

Should Bowman find himself pitching in the Mets’ organization this season, they’ll be getting back a low-90s fastball with, at times, pinpoint accuracy, and a Tim Lincecum esque delivery. Look for him to fall into the back end of Las Vegas’ rotation, or become a swingman out of the bullpen.