Growing up in Phenix City, Ala., Colby Rasmus didn't experience many white Christmases. And he liked it that way.

After all, if the weather conditions were anything other than ideal, Rasmus and his three brothers wouldn't be able to break in the only gifts they received.  

"Growing up, pretty much all we had was baseball," said Rasmus, commenting on his humble beginnings. "Every Christmas we'd get a glove and that was it."

The funny thing was, for Rasmus, the excitement of Christmas can come in December, July or even October. Any day he's on a baseball diamond is Christmas.

"[Baseball] is something I want to keep on doing and get as far as I can and have fun with it," Rasmus said.

It appears Rasmus, rated the St. Louis Cardinals' No. 1 minor-league prospect by MidwestBaseballMagazine.com (courtesy of Scout.com), will not have to be weaned of his baseball addiction any time soon. In 2006, the 20-year-old left-handed outfielder, in his first full season as a professional, hit .288 with 16 homers and 85 RBIs (between low and high Class-A ball).

Like eye color or blood type, Rasmus' passion for all things baseball seems to be an inherited trait. His father, Tony, is a former minor-leaguer who coached all four of his sons through high school.

In his youth, Tony was quite the ballplayer himself. A 10th-round selection of the California Angels in 1986, Tony competed against several future major-league stars, including Ken Griffey Jr., on whose lap Colby sat in as an infant. Tony’s baseball career, however was short-lived. When it ended, he took up a second one--coaching his boys.

Tony was an assistant coach when Colby and his younger brother, Cory, advanced to the championship game of the 1999 Little League World Series. In 2005, he coached the Russell County (Ala.) High School team, which included all four of his sons, to a state title and a No. 1 ranking in USA Today’s final high school baseball poll.

His two youngest sons, Cyle and Case, still are in high school while Cory now is in the Atlanta Braves system and Colby with St. Louis.

Colby said the 2005 season remains one of his fondest memories on the baseball diamond.

"That year was a great year," he said. "We had a lot of fun. I played with all the kids I grew up with. Having my brothers on the team and my dad as coach made it was one of the best times I've had in baseball. It was really something special."

Although Rasmus has a championship pedigree, his baseball ability speaks for itself.  

Consider this: After his sophomore season at Russell, a season in which he primarily pitched and hit only one home run, Rasmus switched to the outfield. Over the next two seasons, his power number’s skyrocketed.

“I could always hit a bit, but I never really worked on it a whole lot,” he said. “Everybody thought I was going to be a pitcher. … I started taking a lot of swings off the tee and in the cage and that got me to where I am today.”

That power surge culminated a 24-home run campaign in 2005. His 24 homers broke the Alabama state high school home run record previously held by Bo Jackson.  

And although he won’t be donning shoulder-pads anytime soon (he says he never played football opting to concentrate on baseball), Rasmus’ athleticism is comparable to Jackson’s.

In a workout prior to the ’05 draft at Fenway Park, Rasmus showed a bevy of skeptical scouts that he is a five-tool player. The tremendous show he put on that day was highlighted by a 6.7 seconds time in the 60-yard dash, and a catapult arm; his throws from the outfield were clocked above 90 mph.  

Those impressive displays led the Cardinals to select the 18-year-old with the 28th pick overall in the ’05 draft.  A year later, Rasmus was busing around the low Class-A Midwest League as a member of the Quad City Swing.

Rasmus said his struggles early in the season were more mental than physical. The combination of the grueling minor-league schedule (he played 100 more games in ’06 then he did as a senior in high school) and leaving home was tough on him.  

“I struggled with it a bit at first,” he said. “You’re with a bunch of people you don’t know, but I got used to it.”  

As Rasmus got more comfortable, he began to thrive on the diamond. After hitting .310 in 81 games in low-A ball, he was promoted to high Class-A Palm Beach. Rasmus held his own in the pitching-rich Florida State League, hitting .254, with five homers and 35 RBIs in final 53 games of ’06.  

Although Rasmus has gotten off to a slow start this season (.212 through eight games), optimism about his future is very high.  Following his successful 2006 season, he was named the Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year and numerous publications named him as the organization’s top prospect. Moreover, his potential and youth have many pundits saying that he could be the heir apparent to Jim Edmonds in centerfield.

Rasmus, who formed a bond with Edmonds in St. Louis’ spring camp, said he was flattered by the comparisons.

“[Edmonds] is one of the best,” he said. “If I can be half as good as he is that’d be great.”

There is no timetable for when Rasmus will join the big-league club. He’ll likely have to prove himself against tougher pitching at the Double- and Triple-A levels before joining the team.  

“I am not trying to take anybody’s spot, but when the Cardinals think I’m ready, I’ll go,” Rasmus said.  

When he takes the field in a big-league ballpark for the first time:

“I probably won’t be thinking about anything," he said. "I'll just try to soak it up as much as I can.”

And it’ll be Christmas in July, or August or May…

 This story is part of MidwestBaseballMagazine's Ballplayer Series