Archive for April, 2009

To say the least, P.J. Walters has been a controversial prospect around these parts. Views range Walters being the next great control pitcher to a soft-tosser with only a trick pitch that helped him dominate the lower minors and nothing more. We found a lot more about P.J. on Friday when he was thrown into the fire against the Cubs. While he struggled early, he settled in and made a pretty nice argument for his prospect status and beyond that, a full-time big league job.

Recently I have added pitch f/x graphing to my blogging repertoire and had planned on doing a breakdown on Walters, but I’m still rather green when it comes to the subject. So rather than hearing from me I brought in the heavy guns and asked pitch f/x guru Harry Pavlidis to help us take a closer look Walters. You probably know Harry from Beyond the Boxscore, THT and…ahem…Cubs f/x. Don’t worry, he’s not here to kick us while we’re down after a couple of gut-wrenching losses. Take it away, Harry —

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John Sickels compares a current Cardinal prospect to former Cardinal underrated hero, Ray Lankford:

Jones looks like a tools player who has developed his skills very well. His balance of tools and skills continues to remind me of Ray Lankford.

I’m not sure I see that much power in DJ’s future — he’s more of a .150 ISO where Lankford was over .200 for his career.

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Every weekend, I spend several hours combing through Memphis video.  I’m downloading Clayton Mortensen’s start to chart his pitches right now but I’ll open this up for requests too.  If there’s a specific player you want me to write a scouting report on, let me know.  I’ll add it to my list and start lining up some video.  The only caveat is that it has to be a Memphis player (hitter or pitcher) since the other organizations don’t post video.  Fire away.

I blame danup for the cult of Trey Hearne. I’m pretty sure it originated on Get Up, Baby during Hearne’s ridiculously good 2006 season. According to the Springfield News-Leader, Hearne is returning to form after last year’s stint in Mexico. Hearne’s return to the United States is linked to the increased drug-cartel violence as his henchmen try to extend their influence into Cardinal fan territory.

Ottavino on Ottavino:

”It didn’t go very well out there for me,” Ottavino said. ”It was just a bump in the road, but we still won the game, which is the most important thing. I didn’t feel like I really had it out there. I tried to get through it the best I could. I wanted to get through at least five innings. Obviously, I didn’t reach that so I’m disappointed. But it’ll be all right. I still feel like I hung in there despite not having what I consider my best stuff. Hopefully, that’ll be my worst start for awhile.”

You’ve got to hope this is a bump in the road after how well he pitched in the WBC. I don’t know what he’s referring to when he says his “best stuff” but I’m going to argue that command has been a more devious undoing than “pure stuff”.

The teams bookend wins on Friday as we head into one more day of decent weather in St. Louis this weekend. (I’m a little bitter about our topsy-turvy weather.)

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“I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life which once was mine. I see him winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of his. I see the blots I threw upon it, faded away. I see him, fore-most of just judges and honoured men, bringing a boy of my name, with a forehead that I know and golden hair, to this place– then fair to look upon, with not a trace of this day’s disfigurement –and I hear him tell the child my story, with a tender and a faltering voice.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

Don’t forget to go onto Springfield’s website today and vote which former SP Cardinal will be called up next to the show, following in the footsteps of Colby Rasmus. Currently leading the way is Jess Todd, over Adam Ottavino, Clayton Mortensen, Matt Scherer and PJ Walters.

Both Anthony Reyes and PJ Walters start tomorrow in the Major Leagues. Two former Cardinals Pitchers of the Year will toe the rubber and try to fulfill the promise they shown. One was dominate in the minors though never did what the on-field management wanted while on the main club, while the other hopes to do exactly what they want and try to reclaim some of his dominance. Who lasts longer tomorrow and who gives up fewer runs? Even better, who strikes out more batters?

The farm system was a perfect 4-0 tonight. There was even a Chris Carpenter sighting!!!
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Most of you have heard that Walters starts tomorrow’s game.  I hope he does well tomorrow but I really don’t have a clue what the outcome of the game will be.  The one thing I’ll be looking for is the gameday data on his fastball’s velocity.  If he sits 86-88 then he’s going to struggle.  If he’s picked up a few mph (as has been rumored) and is sitting 89-91, then he’s a better prospect than I gave him credit for.

PJ Walters Interview

PJ Walters Scouting Report

(I’m on the road for work so this will have to tide you over for now.)

That afternoon there was a party of tourists at the Terrace and looking down in the water among the empty beer cans and dead barracudas a woman saw a great long white spine with a huge tail at the end that lifted and swung with the tide while the east wind blew a heavy steady sea outside the entrance to the harbor.
“What’s that?” she asked a waiter and pointed to the long backbone of the great fish that was now just garbage waiting to go out with the tide.
“Tiburon,” the waiter said, “Eshark.” He was meaning to explain what had happened.
“I didn’t know sharks had such handsome, beautifully formed tails.”
“I didn’t either,” her male companion said.
Up the road, in his shack, the old man was sleeping again. He was still sleeping on his face and the boy was sitting by him watching him. The old man was dreaming about the lions.

We had a team with the night off, a team get their blocks knocked off, a team keep the ball from touching the ground off the opponents bats and that same team completing a sweep. Could the DFR be more contrived than that opening? Let’s find out!
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Joe Strauss reports on Cardinal Beat that Mitch Boggs and Chris Perez are on their way up the St. Louis.  Chris Carpenter is headed to the DL and Brad Thompson is headed back to Memphis.

EDIT: FewgoodCards has it right.  PJ Walters will also be up to make the start in Chicago on Friday.  No word on who will be sent down to accommodate Walters on Friday.  That must mean that Boggs is back to bolster the bullpen.

Discuss the implications for the minor league squads here.

Don’t forget AZ’s incredible work scouting Adam Ottavino’s first start below.

I took the time to review the tape from Adam Ottavino’s game on the 10th.  There was some disgruntlement of my labeling it a so-so outing based on the boxscore.  Talk of the strikezone being small and him only allowing 1 ER meaning I should have been more positive about it.  I’m glad I took the time to watch the video.

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I know we have beat this one into the ground, but Jim Callis of Baseball America takes on Brett Wallace’s fielding ability and how it drives his position and projection in the majors. His conclusion is that because of Albert Pujols, his lack or range for LF and his impressive bat, Wallace will stay at 3B. He’s not going to wow anyone with his lateral range, but will be able to play a solid 3B. And of course, he has the bat to overcome most any defensive shortcomings. Stop by and read the whole part about Wallace, it is a quality and well reasoned response to a mailbag item.

And now that Carpenter picked up an injury in the big club’s game, we will have to see who will be the first starter up from Memphis. P.J. Walters and Mitch Boggs are obsessively checking their cell phones as we speak.

All four teams were in action tonight and the system went 3-1.  All the fun is after the jump.

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