Archive for June, 2009

And another mock gets tweeted at me (blast you twitter).  Mayo picks someone that I’ve not heard tossed around much:

19. St. Louis Cardinals: Chad Jenkins, RHP, Kennesaw State
This could be a spot for Green to land if he slides past Oakland, and Jacob Turner, the local kid from Missouri, might be of interest. But we’ll go with the college arm for now.

Jim Callis has his 4.0 mock up.  He notes that by the time you get to 19 there’s more guess work than real knowledge since the previous picks involve a large amount of guesswork.  Add in that the Cardinals are notoriously quiet about who they’ll pick and things become even more speculative.

That said, he’s got the Cardinals drafting the player I’d most like to see them take.  I haven’t been following the draf that closely this year so I’m not claiming expertise but I’m a fan of this draftee:

19. CARDINALS. At this point, these picks lean more toward guesswork than informed speculation. St. Louis would love a lefthander, but Brothers, James and Minor all figure to be gone. If they’re willing to spend, the Cardinals could land Purke, who’s more talented. Other above-slot options are Turner, a local product, and Green, who’s running out of places to land in the first round. St. Louis also has shown visible interest in Texas high school outfielder Randal Grichuk and likes proven college performers (Leake, Pollock, Wheeler, Storen) if one falls.
Projected Pick: MATTHEW PURKE.

Dear erik,

Please keep your mechanics to yourself and let me bask for a moment.

Thanks,
Your Favorite Robot

Couple of quick injury notes:

• Kyle Mura, the Springfield Cardinals opening day starter, is going to have Tommy John surgery.
• David Kopp, former victim of a labrum tear, had his shoulder examined after the start.  He may have an MRI on the shoulder.

First off, I would threaten to beat up every other GM in baseball unless they passed on Strasburg. I figure those guys are just a bunch of older business types, so I’ll bet I could scare ‘em. I’m a pretty intimidating guy.

On the other hand, if I were running the Cardinals’ draft, and local laws had some sort of prohibition against racketeering, I might go with something like this. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Draftimus Eve everyone!

We’ll have wall to wall to wall to wall coverage of the draft tomorrow, so stop by all day for previews and stay online at 6pm Eastern / 5pm Central for the draft. We’ll have it all for you.

Plenty of draft coverage all over the site and plenty to read, so I won’t attempt distraction with any draft notes here.

However, there is one note out of Latin America. Last year the Cards spent $570,000 bonus on pitcher Santo Franco. However, Franco had some background check issues and his bonus and contract were both voided by MLB. Franco will be able to sign with any team next July 2nd, by that time however, he will be close to 21 years old.

Lastly, if you aren’t following Brian Walton’s organizational matrix over at Cardinal Nation, you are missing out.  He puts a lot of research into every player and roster and it is updated with each and every move. It is a must-have reference.

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This isn’t coming from any of the local guys or the big time national draft gurus, but according to an article in the Philadelphia Daily News the Cardinals worked out New Jersey prep center fielder Mike Trout over the weekend.

Like many teams it sounds like the Cardinals are bringing in a big group of players for individual workouts, so I wouldn’t read a whole lot into what you hear on any one player working out with the team.  There is something that stands out to me about this article though.

LINK

Here’s the quote I find very interesting

Trout just arrived back home last night from St. Louis, where he visited this weekend to work out for both the Cardinals, who have the 19th pick, and the Oakland Athletics, who pick 13th. They are the teams, according to Trout, that have shown the most interest in him.

Now, I don’t really think he is a realistic option for the A’s as there are some guys that fit their profile a lot better that should be available at that spot.  Trout usually has been going in the early to mid twenties in mock drafts, so he should be there when the Cardinals pick.

The complaining has already begun, based on some of the names we have heard the Cardinals have brought in for workouts. Workouts! I feel like Allen Iverson. “We’re talking about…practice”.

We all want upside, that is to say we all want our favorite team to draft big leaguers. And I’m sure Cardinals front office people care a lot more about finding big leaguers than we do, after all, it’s their jobs are on the line. In order to stay level-headed, let’s just remember:

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Continuing on with erik, fewgoodcards and picklefork on more general draft questions and drafting philosophy. . .

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Bernie had an interesting interview with Keith Law today. I recommend listening to it in full, but here are the highlights:

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More rumors this afternoon:

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