Just when we see former River City Rascal Josh Kinney back in action in the big leagues again, we learn that the Cardinals have purchased the contract of 24-year old RHP Ryan Bird from the Southern Illinois Miners of the Frontier League. Bird was the Frontier League pitcher of the year, where he led the league with 13 wins and 152 strikeouts, just four strikeouts shy of the Frontier League record. Bird averaged 11.1 K/9 innings and held opponents to a .217 batting average against with a 1.15 WHIP, for what it’s worth.
Bird hales from Potomac, Ill. and pitched his college ball at SLU, where he has the school record for K’s. He was a non-drafted free agent of the Blue Jays, and posted a 1.80 ERA between the GCL and the NY Penn League in 22 relief appearances but was released at the end of the season.
The Southern has this scouting report on Bird:
Bird throws an average major-league fastball that runs anywhere between 87 and 90 miles per hour. He has a plus curveball that dive bombs with a hard downward break when it gets near the plate. Bird’s command of his curveball allows him to throw it in any count to any batter. His changeup is serviceable.
The article also has an interesting take his uphill battle to get noticed by a major league team.
It must be that slow time of the year for me to be reporting on the signing of an indy leaguer, but I often find myself rooting for these kinds of players, and especially considering he’s a local kid and a Cardinal fan.
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The indie leagues are a great source of supplementary talent. Beating up on a A-level league as a 24-year old isn’t all that impressive, but it worked out alright for David Freese.
Plus, the Frontier League is my favorite, even though my Springfield Capitals are no more. So it’s a win-win.
Go Miners! The team is 40 minutes from where I live. Great to hear that a guy is getting his shot. Tim Dorn came from the same team last year if anyone remembers him? He went back to the Miners after the season however.
I saw one start from Bird this season. His velo was more like 84-87 when I saw him, but the curve was legit. He did most of his damage by limiting walks and mixing pitches. I know for a fact a couple of other MLB teams had at least mild interest in him.
[...] it 24-year-old Frontier Leaguer pitcher Ryan Bird, the 2008 Brian Tollberg award winner? It certainly is. This is not a signing to get excited about, [...]
I played with this kid in college. The Cardinals definitely picked up great competitor and pitcher. Keep it up Birdie!!!
Played against the kid in highschool. He went to Potmac high, and always pitched against us in our regional champ game….I hit a 2 run blast against him our senior year…no bs!
It was actually Armstrong High School ^^
Yea but Armstrong-Potomac won that game