The Cardinals adding Matt Scherer to the forty man roster was something I certainly didn’t see coming. Is he really worth a roster spot?
The stats
Scherer was drafted in the 16th round 2004 draft out of Le Moyne College. In case you were wondering, Le Moyne in french means “The moyne.” Glad I could clear that up for you. Moving right along. Prior to being drafted, Scherer was the Metro Athletic Conference pitcher of the year, going 10-3 with a 2.18 ERA despite a low strikeout rate. Scherer was used as a starter in his debut, posting an unspectacular 4.80 FIP in 134 innings. The following season he was moved to the bullpen, and was part of a pretty fearsome trio that included pyscho-sinkerballer Dennis Dove and submariner Mike Sillman. His results were middling as a starter, but as reliever he had a solid 2.79 FIP over 80.1 innings. He struck out 106 to just 20 walks. John Sickels ranked him as the Cardinals 13th best prospect, giving him a C+ grade. Baseball America not only didn’t rank him in their top thirty, he didn’t even crack their depth chart in the 2007 Prospect Handbook.
Making the jump from the Florida State League to the Texas League can prove a challenge for any pitcher, but Scherer held his own in AA last year. His FIP went up to 3.52 and his strikeout per plate appearance rate dipped from a spectacular 32% to a passable 23.7%, 18.5% of which were swinging K’s. His ground ball rate stayed roughly the same, 44% at PB, 46% at Springfield. He was Rule 5 eligible last year but was not added to the 40 man roster or taken in the draft.
Moving up to AAA, Scherer put up some pretty pedestrian stats this past season. His K/PA % dropped to 13.9% and his groundball rate plummeted to 35%, yet he did a fine job keeping the ball in the park. He was rather hittable, as 1/4 of the pitches he threw ended up in play (compare to teammate Jason Motte’s 12.6%). Despite that, his BABIP was only .282, as he was fortunate to have defensive stalwarts behind him like David Freese and Brian Barden.
The scouting report
Scherer is someone I wouldn’t want to tango with, he stands at 6-5 and weighs 230. He doesn’t throw out of a wind up and throws out of a high 3/4 arm slot. His fastball comes in anywhere between 87-89 MPH with some sink, but he’s been known to get it up to 92 at times. His breaking ball is slurvy and his other pitch-a splitter-is effective but inconsistent.
The sentence
Matt Scherer is a remarkably unremarkable pitcher. He wasn’t taken in the Rule 5 last year despite being eligible, and if anything I would think his stock would be down. He’s not the kind of pitcher your team would miss a lot, and unless I am not understanding the Rule 5 draft properly, I don’t see how he could be protected over the hard throwing Luis Perdomo. He’ll be coming to camp this year, but barring a fantastic showing in spring training, he’ll be back pitching in middle relief in AAA.
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Huh. Very puzzling. No offense to Mr. Schere, who I am sure is a man amongst men, but I really don’t see him as being a player that just absolutely cannot be replaced. Guys like Perdomo have better stuff, while guys like Gregerson are just plain better. Colour me a bit confused as to why this move seemed necessary.
Have to agree. I’m sure they must see something that we have missed. I also have to believe that Perdomo is no where near ready for the show and thus will not be plucked.
I agree with Casey. I think who will get picked has more to do with who gets added than who is better.
Paul Depodesta brings up a great point in maybe it being better to leave players exposed to the Rule V that you would rather keep than ones that you protect. Maybe be Mo’s thinking here…
“When weighing the risk of a player getting taken, it can be counterintuitive. It would seem logical that the best way to protect a player would be to put him on the 40-man roster. That is often, but not always, the case. Sometimes, for players who are borderline roster considerations, you may be safer by leaving him OFF the 40-man. The reason is that if he’s taken in the Rule V, he has to stay in the Majors or else be offered back. However, if for some reason (add a free agent, add someone through trade, need someone during the season due to injury) you need to add a player to the 40-man at a later date, you may be forced to outright someone to make room. When you outright a first year roster player, he still has all of his minor league options, so teams can claim him and send him right into their minor league system. In short, it’s much easier to lose a player trying to remove him from the 40-man than it is to lose him via the Rule V draft. ”
http://itmightbedangerous.blogspot.com/2008/11/roster-changes.html
Paul DePodesta may be able to explain why this happened. This was posted on baseballmusings.com as well.
“When weighing the risk of a player getting taken, it can be counterintuitive. It would seem logical that the best way to protect a player would be to put him on the 40-man roster. That is often, but not always, the case. Sometimes, for players who are borderline roster considerations, you may be safer by leaving him OFF the 40-man. The reason is that if he’s taken in the Rule V, he has to stay in the Majors or else be offered back. However, if for some reason (add a free agent, add someone through trade, need someone during the season due to injury) you need to add a player to the 40-man at a later date, you may be forced to outright someone to make room. When you outright a first year roster player, he still has all of his minor league options, so teams can claim him and send him right into their minor league system. In short, it’s much easier to lose a player trying to remove him from the 40-man than it is to lose him via the Rule V draft.”
That makes sense.
umm…did that really just happen?
Looking at his numbers Scherer appears to be a pitch to contact guy
Scherer = not a major league pitcher
I am kinda disappointed to see McCormick not be protected. I know he has struggled at times, but Jimeniez and Flores get multiple chances with this team and even Scherer gets protected over MM?
DePodesta’s post explains why they wouldn’t protect somebody, but it doesn’t explain why they used a roster spot on Scherer. I guess he’s supposed to be RH reliever depth.
I thought Perdomo had enough service time (six years) to be a minor league FA if he wasn’t put on the 40-man roster.
Maybe Perdomo is about to me moved? Mo is cookin’ something.
I actually grew up right next door to Matt Scherer..I played baseball locally in NY with him as well as watched him throughout his career in baseball. He has matured within the game so much from a young thrower to a controlled pitcher. Not only because I have known him my entire life, but I feel that Matt truly has what it takes to be a major league pitcher. Yes, numbers on paper do not completely show that, but I truly feel that the Spring will bring a different outlook to everyone. Good luck Matt!
Matt is my baseball trainer and he seems to be a pretty nice guy, altough i haven’t seen him throw. Non the less, he’s a really great guy!