If you know Kolten Wong, even just a little bit, you know where he stands on The Slide.

And you also know his take on the Cardinals’ Matt Holliday’s takeout of the Giants’ Marco Scutaro in Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday isn’t fully based on the fact that Wong might be in the St. Louis lineup next season.

"That’s baseball," Wong said in a phone interview this week. "Some people might call it bush league. But it’s baseball, playoff baseball. Matt was just trying to break up the double play. Same thing like if you have to blow up a catcher. It’s part of the game."

The 2011 first-round draft pick from Hilo and the Cardinals’ second baseman of the future was a catcher — and a star running back — at Kamehameha-Hawaii. That preceded three stellar years at the University of Hawaii; one in center field and the last two at second.

While there’s no doubt which sport Wong was "born and raised to play," in his own words, in some ways his approach while at UH reminded me of that of a football player. Aggressive and physical … A style reminiscent of Pete Rose, Rickey Henderson and Shane Victorino. But sometimes there’s a problem with playing pro baseball like there’s no tomorrow: There usually is one.

The just-completed season at Double-A Springfield was Wong’s longest with one team. He performed well enough (.287, 9, 52) to be a Texas League All-Star. But the most important stat in his development might be the 126 games played.

"You learn that you’re going to get tired, that’s going to happen, so you learn how to pace yourself and constantly take care of your body," said Wong, who turned 22 earlier this month. "I’m going to do more lifting during the season. You get tired, so I got in the habit of sleeping in after night games. But I’m going to go back to getting up early, that’s better in the long term."

One of Wong’s attributes coming out of UH was his versatility, but other than two games as a DH, the Cardinals have played him exclusively at second. As far as he knows, he is meeting the organizations expectations.

"They just told me to keep doing what I’m doing," he said. "At this point, you have to know what you’re doing. It’s not like high school or college where they’re holding your hand. If you’re doing something wrong, they will step in and work with you. But they’d prefer you figure out your mistakes on your own."

No one is surprised at Wong’s progress. And no one is surprised he’s in Surprise — Surprise, Ariz., where he is playing for the Saguaros of the Arizona Fall Invitational League. Wong’s batting .423 in 26 at-bats, good for third in the league.

It’s another investment, one that could pay the ultimate dividend a year from now. Can he see himself in the postseason with the big team next October? Or on Opening Day?

"That’s the plan, the whole reason for coming (to Arizona)," he said. "That’s why I’m working so hard in the fall league."

Wong skipped High-A after tearing it up at Quad Cities in 2011. Maybe he can skip Triple-A, or maybe his stay in Memphis won’t be long. The Cardinals don’t rush their prospects, but it’s not like they’ve got Rogers Hornsby playing second now. If he performs well enough in spring training, who knows?

"Everything feels right," Wong said. "I’m excited because I know I have it in me to be a good player."

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.