Comments on: Prospect Discussion: Outfield

By: Kazahkstanny Danny

Kazahkstanny Danny — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:12:20 +0000

Jon Jay

Could end up being a good player, but not with the Cardinals, and not with Colby Rasmus and Daryl Jones as roadblocks.

By: Gruntosaurus

Gruntosaurus — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:27:58 +0000

Next question: Which one of these minor-league OFs would you guys be most willing to trade?

By: erik

erik — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:01:18 +0000

@philskill, I get your point, and you could be right. However I think and really hope Mo will be the overriding factor here.

By: philskill

philskill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:09:52 +0000

I love the post here guys. Very good stuff about our outfield. Fact of the matter is though, Colby will not be in St Louis in April barring injury or trade. The trade route is unlikely IMO because Mozeliak has stated several times that the team is set. To me, that not only means we will not be signing a free agent, but it also means that we will not be trading any of our potential starters. Colby has to hit .400 with much power and another outfielder (duncan) has to show little to no power for Colby to make it.

Unfortunately, I think Tony is put off a bit by Colby’s dads comments on various Cardinal forums/blogs. Tony Rasmus (Colby’s dad) is convinced that barring injuries, Colby will be in AAA until September. Tony Rasmus said last year that Colby had no chance of being in St Louis at any point in 2008. Most everybody disagreed and said “Colby will AT LEAST be in StL in September”. That didn’t happen. Instead, we had Adam Kennedy and Felipe Lopez playing in the outfield.

The point is two fold. One, they are trying to wait as long as possible for starting Colby’s “clock”. Two, Tony has a personal fondness for Ankiel, and Duncan in particular. Ludwick isn’t going anywhere. I think that is your starting outfield on opening day. For us Colby fans, we can only hope that Duncan shows that he is not quite ready. Even then, Skip probably takes Duncan’s role. So Duncan will have to show that he is not ready, AND Skip will have to show that he can handle 2nd base. If those 2 things happen, then Colby is one of your starting outfielders. As it stands, the power potential from Duncan is too great for Tony LaRussa to dismiss. In TLRs mind, Colby Rasmus is an unknown commodity. Tony likes to know what he is going to get from said players.

I think Colby unequivocally makes this team better, but Tony LaRussa is the managerial genious, and I am the guy from behind a keyboard. Who am I to question THE Tony LaRussa?

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:16:10 +0000

@siddfynch, Kotsay was a pretty awesome player before becoming a very mediocre one due to injuries the last few years. It’s not an unreasonable comparison but it’s more like the 60th percentile of a Henley projection, imo.

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:12:03 +0000

@Wade, his overall value is hindered somewhat moving to a corner position for two reasons: 1) fewer defensive opportunities and 2) larger pool of available players.

By: siddfynch

siddfynch — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:53:02 +0000

Nice stuff guys – I like the conversational style, and the transition down through the levels. Nice and informative, and with an easy-listening twist.

How comfortable would you guys be with Mark Kotsay as a reasonable-world comp for Henley?

By: erik

erik — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:42:14 +0000

@Shhh, me too

By: Easy

Easy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:09:44 +0000

Good discussion. My problem is that I believe in all these guys except Duncan (and I have a fondness for him.) Barring a spring trade I think Rasmus should, and will, start in Memphis. I think he’ll rake but it’ll still be a tough deal to call him up and give him a starting job. I agree that Ankiel is the obvious one to be traded but, barring physical or emotional injury, I think he will have a great season this year. I love Skip, like Mather and think that Ludwick is essentially for real. The eventual outcome I’d like to see is Jones (if he’s as good as we think), Rasmus and Ludwick starting with Barton and Jay backing up. Hopefully we can get a good middle infielder for Rick during the year and use Skip and Mather for other pieces in the off season.

By: Shhh

Shhh — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:41:26 +0000

“Ankiel carries the most value because he can play all three outfield positions”

Really? I have him as barely a better defender than Ludwick. And Ludwick is a better hitter and has 2 years less service time. If I’m a GM I would rather have Ludwick.