Comments on: 2008 Draft Preview

By: Brian Foley

Brian Foley — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:31:36 +0000

Alvarez got an injury today during warmups for the Arizona State game…It seems minor right now.

By: fewgoodcards

fewgoodcards — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:05:31 +0000

dykstra is very good, and he has a ton of power, but he is more of an end of the first round or supplemental round guy. he is in the next group of first basemen with brett wallace.

By: WakeFan

WakeFan — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:05:50 +0000

Alonso and Smoak… c’mon look at the numbers, for College career. Allan Dykstra has better numbers than both. Including Walks and KO’s, and Slugging and OBP and OPS, and HR/AB and HBP. All this and Dykstra doesn’t have half the support in his line-up the others do. Plus his physical size is imposing….

Check the numbers but last year with Willy Fox in the line-up Dykstra was hitting around .375 and then when Fox was hurt teams pitched around Dykstra.

Then check the Cape stats… at the time Playoffs were still at stake. On Aug 5th when Chatham beat Brewster to Clinch a playoff spot… Dykstra had a higher Batting Average than Alonso, and if you add HBP, Dykstra’s total is only 4 behind Alonso and with 22 less PAs

ALL college Games
Player 2007 AVG GP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR PA/HR RBI TB SLG% OPS BB HBP SO OB% All Bases All/PA
Pedro Alvarez, .359 130 613 512 146 184 36 4 40 12.80 132 348 .680 1.140 97 1 129 .460 446 .728
Allan Dykstra .316 118 566 411 99 130 32 1 33 12.45 116 263 .640 1.119 108 33 65 .479 404 .714
Justin Smoak .310 132 610 504 125 156 34 0 39 12.92 135 307 .609 1.027 94 5 79 .418 406 .666
Yonder Alonso .333 127 577 454 105 151 31 1 28 16.21 143 268 .590 1.034 96 9 68 .444 373 .646

ACC Games Career
Player 2007 AVG GP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR PA/HR RBI TB SLG% OPS BB HBP SO OB%
Allan Dykstra .304 59 281 204 47 62 16 1 13 15.69 55 119 .583 1.050 51 18 38 .466
Yonder Alonso .274 60 275 219 44 60 14 0 12 18.25 62 110 .502 0.895 45 3 26 .393

By: phinstd

phinstd — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:56:36 +0000

I love Alonso, and think he could play LF. You take him if he’s there IMO.

I’d also love Friedrich, but doubt he gets past Oakland.

Let’s just go for upside this year, as opposed to quick fix.

By: the red baron

the red baron — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:45:45 +0000

Yes, yes. Matt LaPorta was drafted as a left fielder. That does not, however, make him a left fielder.

By: fewgoodcards

fewgoodcards — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:31:28 +0000

i don’t think any of them will be there either, but you never know. however, if they all have good seasons and one of them is available it will be pretty hard to pass on someone that can hit like that. we all assume albert is going to be around forever, but you never know what can happen and it wouldn’t hurt to have somebody like that in the system. even if they don’t fit with the team, you can always trade a slugger. another thing, at this point last year who would have thought matt laporta would be drafted as a left fielder?

By: the red baron

the red baron — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:35:38 +0000

Nice job, FGC.

Personally, I highly doubt any of these players reach the Cards at 13, and they wouldn’t be my first choice anyway. I like Alonso; as you said, he has enough athleticism that he could possibly play in the outfield somewhere, but I think both of the others are limited and will end up career first sackers. All have the bat to still excel, don’t misunderstand me. Given the choice, though, I prefer to draft players at premium positions first; if they prove not to be able to stick there long term, you can always move a guy to a less demanding position.

All three of these players could be offensive monsters, though.

By: fewgoodcards

fewgoodcards — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:44:35 +0000

AAA or above this year? doubtful. most guys that can actually move that fast hold out and don’t get the required time in to actually advance that far the first summer. the only way that could happen is if they take another college closer, but i don’t think you will see them do that with the 13th pick.

however, there are guys that could be available that could contribute quickly. any of the three guys mentioned above are going to move fast as are guys like aaron crow, brian matusz, christian friedrich, and jacob thompson.

one thing to remember, the fast movers don’t always turn out being the best players. just look at the 2005 draft, guys like craig hansen and joey devine made the major leagues that year, but now guys like jay bruce and colby rasmus look like much better players even though it is going to take them 3 years longer to reach the major leagues. i think the important thing is to get the best player available. if that is a high school kid that is going to take 3 or 4 years to reach the majors you have to go that direction. i would rather wait the extra couple years on a guy that could be a #2 starter or all-star position player than get the quick fix with a #4-5 starter or average position player.

By: GForce9

GForce9 — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:08:44 +0000

FGC and all,

Since the Cards have a chance to get a real difference-maker this year, what are the chances of taking someone who could possibly end up in AAA or above as fast as this year? I know this is a foreign idea to St. Louis most of the time, and I may be in the minority on this. But I could really use a shot in the arm with the 08 Draft.