Jess Todd moves faster than the wind. If he’s involved in the DeRosa deal, that’s going to be a harder trade to stomach. It’s one thing to give up you future closer (Chris Perez) but another to give up him AND the guy that might have been setting him up next year. I still wonder if Todd could handle starting but in the pen he’s a setup guy for me and possibly more than that.
Brett Wallace is a sponge. Everyone should read this closely:
”I don’t think he’s really found his power stroke yet, but that’s something that’s kind of been his trademark is having a lot of power,” Maloney said. ”People have got to understand, he was playing the College World Series (last year). He’s in Triple-A baseball. He’s a young kid and he’s doing a heck of a job for us. He’s going to get better. It’s just a matter of time.”
I agree 100% with Tony LaRussa’s recent comments about Wallace staying in the minors this year. Sure he’s hitting well at the moment but we’re talking about a 2 week span of success that’s predicated largely on hitting for average. Wallace still isn’t destroying AAA.
One thing Wallace has improved is his defense. He has a strong arm, but what has been most surprising has been his range and footwork for a hefty player listed at 6-2, 205 pounds.
”He’s got good first-step quickness for his size,” Maloney said. ”He’s lost about 15 pounds since spring training so he’s getting in better shape. I expect him, as he improves his physique, his defense is going to get better and better. . He’s still going to have to get a little bit slimmer. He’s never going to be a gazelle-looking kid. Anything he can do to help his quickness is going to be a plus for him.”
First off, there’s not an unrigged scale in the world that’s gonna weigh Wallace in at 205. Second, it’s not the first step that’s the problem; it’s the 4th and 5th. Wallace’s range is simply limited. He may have good first instincts (and that matters at 3rd) but his defense has a ways to go as does his physique as Maloney notes. The Cardinals aren’t shy about these types of comments (they said the same thing to Perez before the season) and kudos to Maloney for not ducking an issue that’s obvious.
Pop Warner to coach at the Futures Game.
How long until HL comes up with a Robert Stock pun? Kevin Goldstein couldn’t resist as Stock made his daily update batch. I think this is just the second Cardinal minor leaguer to make an update this year with Wallace showing up a few weeks ago.
- Jon Jay was 2-for-5.
- Nick Stavinoha was 2-for-3 with a walk.
- Clayton Mortensen had a stellar outing for Memphis. This is why the comments about Mortensen’s role in the big leagues were so premature after his debut last week. Mortensen could use some more seasoning in AAA but he’s got potential to be the best big league starter out side of perhaps Jaime Garcia given time. He goes 7 innings for Memphis striking out 8. He allowed a 2 run HR among 6 hits walking just 1. Even with all the Ks he still had 9 groundball outs among 13 balls in play. Just an excellent outing for Mort.
- Jess Todd picks up the save with a hit and a K.
- Pete Kozma goes 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Tyler Henley was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks.
- Colt Sedbrook was 3-for-4 with a double.
- Lance Lynn lacked command during today’s game walking 6. He allowed 2 ER in 5 innings striking out 4.
- Tyler Norrick struck out 5 in 2 IP. He walked 2 and allowed a hit. He’s got his ERA under 4 and has strung together a few solid outings now. The command is still an issue but he’s struck out 63 in 45 IP this season.
- Sam Freeman struck out 2 and walked 1 in 2 innings of work.
- Adron Chambers was 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Oliver Marmol was 3-for-4 with a HR.
- Blake King has the only noteworthy pitching line. He struck out 1 and walked 1 in 2.1 scoreless frames.
- Alex Castellanos and Jason Stidham were 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Travis Mitchell was 2-for-4.
- Brett Zawacki lasted 5.1 innings allowing just 2 ER on 5 hits. He struck out 2 and recorded 9 of 13 outs on the ground.
- Matthew Frevert struck out 3 recording 5 outs. He allowed 1 hit.
Batavia 2, Auburn 3 (Game 1: 7 innings)
- Alan Ahmady continues his hot start going 2-for-4. He’s got a .967 OPS over the first 11 games.
- Ryde Rodriguez cannot be slowed. He has a 3-for-4 effort.
- Jairo Martinez went yard.
- Niko Vasquez was 2-for-3 and is hitting. . . . .136 in Batavia. As the 15th best prospect on our list last year, his season has been an unequivocal disappointment.
- Chris Corrigan struck out 3 in 4 innings. He allowed 3 hits and 1 walk.
Batavia 10, Auburn 11 (Game 2: 7 innings)
- D’Marcus Ingram was 2-for-2 with 3 walks.
- Alan Ahmady was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
- Xavier Scruggs was 1-for-3 with a double and a pair of walks.
- Ryde Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a double.
- Ryan Jackson was 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Joe Kelly sighting! 1 IP, 1 K
- Michael Swinson was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. He also stole his 4th base.
- Matthew Adams was 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Robert Stock was 0-for-3 with 3Ks and a walk.
- Edgar Lara was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
- Justin Smith got tagged for 5 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits in 3.1 IP.
- Kyle Heim threw 1.2 scoreless frames and Jason Novak chipped in a scoreless frame.
Entries (RSS)
Totally agree on Mort…I have thought for the past 2 years that Mort has the potential to be one of the best SP’s in our system. I think him and Boggs are as close to MLB ready as we have and I like Mort just a touch more than Boggs. Obviously Garcia was well on his way before TJ…so we will hold off on him until we see how he looks when he gets back. Next in line for me is Lynn…he still has a ways to go but he shows flashes of being a solid SP. Outside of those guys I don’t think we have anyone that is even close enough to MLB ready to mention. Now the guys in the pen is something we have alot of as well. I am scared to find out who is the PTBNL in the DeRosa trade as well…Samuel and Todd are 2 guys I am afraid will be taken…and that’s like a nice swift punch in the gut for me. I like both guys potential and think both would have an impact at some point in 2010 (Todd probably first). But it is what it is I guess.
I’d love to see Mortensen work his way into Wellemeyer’s spot in the rotation this year. You gotta think there’s a decent chance Garcia works his way into the bullpen for the Cards next year like they did with Morris after TJ surgery.
Did I use red matter and travel back in time to make the Robert Stock/Stack puns?
As far as Wallace being called up, I don’t disagree that he should stay in AAA. The only way I see that he should be called up is if this week we find out that both Troy Glaus and Mark DeRosa have had their limbs decay due to a new procedure Dr. Paletta was trying. If we lost both 3B, I think Wallace would almost have to be called up just to force LaRussa’s hand into not playing Joe Thurston there.
What I wasn’t fond of was LaRussa’s defense of not calling up Wallace. He seemed to attack the reporters who dared question calling up another highly touted rookie prospect, as if they hated freedom and apple pie for suggesting such a thing.
Was anyone at the Springfield game today? Judging by the box scores, it may have been a tight strike zone, as both starters walked 6.
Curt Smith goes 0-4 today. I think it’s obvious, he misses HL.
7th-rounder Kyle Conley made his pro debut for Quad Cities today. 0-4, 2 K
I’m starting to think kozma needs to spend the off season training with albert or anyone that would help him gain a little strength. Singles are nice, doubles are better.
I saw earlier that Descalso and Hamilton both made KG’s daily update. However, considerin it’s been three months and only having 4 prospect-games that make dents on his radar at least reflects how much of a down year it’s been for StL baby birds.
Over in the Gulf Coast League, our sixth-round pick, Virgil Hill, is off to a pretty good start:
.313/.353/.531, with 2 triples, 1 HR and 3 SB (w/ 1 CS). It’ll be interesting to see how his athleticism plays out.
FWIW I know Hamilton has been in one of Goldstein’s updates….
You’re right — I forgot that one. 3 prospects!!!! (What a miserable down year it’s been for some of our guys.)
Grant-
Was at the game last night. The zone was tight, but not that tight. Both sides had a lot of pitches that missed.
Norrick looked good. Lots of velocity, and seemed to be hitting his spots well. looked like the only pitches he left up in the zone were 95+.
The Jaime Garcia reference got me wondering, has anybody heard anything about his progress coming back from TJ surgery? If memory serves, he went down about 12 months ago and I would think that he should be getting close to a rehab. Thanks guys for all that you do on this site.
I get the idea behind keeping Wallace down, but Joe Thurston is killing the team. DeRosa may be out for a while. Freese is hurt, Barden stinks and the org doesn’t believe Craig is a 3B. I don’t think Wallace would kill MLB pitching now, but I’ve seen all the Thirsty Joe I can stomach.
Erik – It appears DeRosa will most likely be back at some point in the upcoming series.
Donovan Solano’s reverse platoon splits are outrageous…he’s put up a .379/.423/.427 line in 103 at bats against righties in Memphis, but just a .143/.182/.167 line against lefties in 42 at bats.
I’ve seen him play once in Memphis and came away with an “eh” feeling…Is he a legit prospect, i mean he’s still only 21 and is hitting in AAA…is there any chance he gets some power? How good is his glove at short? Is he just a Cesar Izturis clone? I need answers!
It is VERY early in the short season, but Michael Swinson’s offensive improvement from last year in the Gulf Coast League to this year in the Appy League is mind boggling. (Click on his link above.) He’s still very, very far from “get excited about him” territory, but such an immense improvement is worth noting. At the very least, he’s worth following for awhile.
I see what you did there–you funny robot. You linked to a horrible middle infielder’s fangraphs instead of to the quote…
am i the only one who doesn’t see chris perez as the closer of the future for any organization? sure he throws hard, but it’s not like guys who throw 90+ is a rarity in the majors. he lacks control, a good secondary pitch and composure…i personally don’t think we gave up that much for derosa (pending who the ptbnl is).
Prior to his “new release point” Perez threw 95-98 mph with tons of movement. That has a lot of value. However, after his mechanical “fix” this spring he lost velocity and ended up with even worse control. At that point he was no longer an elite reliever.
not sure if you watched perez pitch but he had a pretty dirty slider when he was clicking
lopey-
I actually kinda agree. I much prefer command of fastball over pure velocity. You don’t want to create worse situations than you inherent by walking guys. But as a closer you only need one amazing pitch to get guys out. Mariano basically just throws that cutter. Perez will probably close if he can just throw that slider with some consistency.
It is probably a coin flip that he will develop into the role, but considering his use on the Cardinals roster he wasn’t getting enough innings pitched to work some of this stuff out. He had become an expendable part.
Sorry, I just don’t see anything to get excited about with Mortenson unless it’s his ability to be drafted early and promoted quickly for no identifiable reasons. Yes he’s Duncan’s kind of pitcher but that has not translated into any kind of consistent success at any level and it probably is the only explanation as to why he’s come this far this fast. It will probably also be the explanation for him remaining in our rotation for a couple of years while getting clobbered. Hope I’m wrong but, unless Garcia comes back strong, I don’t see any significant help for the rotation coming from the system for a few years.
I agree about no “significant” help coming from the farm…but right now we have brad thompson and a wildly inconsisten todd wellenmeyer in our rotation…Mort will be a cheap #4 starter for us for a few years, allowing us to not have to sign the joel piniero’s of the world to 7.5 million dollar per year extensions(granted piniero has been a revelation this year, but not even Mo could have expected that when he signed him to a the extension)
I agree about Perez, he’s never going to be an elite closer…he’s just not…his slider is inconsistent and he has trouble throwing strikes…that screams Kyle Farnsworth to me
i’d like to add that for YP’s sake, i hope i’m wrong…i’d never wish bad on anyone’s career(except bryan braun, who is the largest tool in history)
I always saw Perez as a closer of the future. A few things come to mind as why…and some of these points are disagreements of prior posters statements:
1) He has the closer mentality – He closed in college with success…he closed all throughout the minors will success. He just has that mindset that he is the man for the 9th inning….that is a characteristic that you either have or you don’t…plenty of closers don’t have that…and they are not closers for long.
2) He has a FB that is good enough to be a closer…and has shown to have a great FB. 94-98MPH.
3) His slider is nasty…and I know he hasn’t always located it well…but to say it is not a nasty pitch is just not correct.
Those 3 things indicate that he can be a very good to great closer in the future. But as others have said it is the consistency of location that he needs to work on. If he never can get control of that then he will never be a good closer. But he is still fairly young and I think he will figure that out.
his slider can be nasty…but it’s not always that way…sometimes it flattens out and is very hittable…that is what i meant by inconsistent
i agree he has the stuff to be a great closer, but we needed offensive help now and there is just as good a chance that perez never gains the needed consistency as there is that he becomes a great closer
it hurt when we traded him because i wanted him to turn into a great closer…but i just don’t know that it will ever happen
Volsn – Yep….its a risk reward scenario. I would have rather seen Motte go personally…but I am OK with this move. My bigger concern is who the PTBNL is going to be…I have a bad feeling it is going to be someone I won’t be happy with losing.
the terrifying yet all important mystery…who is the PTBNL? strikes fear in the heart of man
i vote eddie degerman