Standings: 16-9, leads the FSL South division
Top Prospects:
- None of the Palm Beach players made the preseason top 20 rankings
Other Noteworthy Performances:
- Xavier Scruggs: 78 ABs, .890 OPS, 24 Ks, 6 BBs
- Matt Carpenter: 85 ABs, .862 OPS, 12Ks, 24 BBs (Carpenter leads the FSL in walks)
- Tony Cruz: 82 ABs, .803 OPS, 16 Ks, 11 BBs
- Casey Mulligan: 12 IP, 0.00 ERA, 23 Ks, 4 BBs
- Matthew Frevert: 13.1 IP, 1.35 ERA, 17 Ks, 5 BBs
Tony Cruz is an unsung success story at Palm Beach thus far this season. A catcher-convert who is having some success with the bat in a pitching friendly environment. Matt Carpenter has shown impressive plate discipline so far though his power production has been merely adequate (1 HR, 2 3Bs, 4 2Bs). Xavier Scruggs, confined to first base defensively, leads the team’s power production with over a third of his hits for extra bases. Palm Beach ranks second in the league in OPS. Tommy Pham, who mashed in spring training, and Jose Garcia, who mashed in the first dozen games or so, have both cooled considerably and have OPS in the mid .700s.
The starting pitching for the Palm Beach Cardinals is a solid staff but doesn’t feature any standout prospects. Brian Broderick leads the staff with 25 strikeouts in 33 innings and a high groundball rate. Broderick is running into some unfortunate BABIP luck allowing 42 hits, which has contributed to his high ERA. Arquimedes Nieto features a 2:1 K:BB ratio though teammate Richard Castillo has failed to retire batters on his own. The bullpen has some dominant relievers beginning with their closer Casey Mulligan. It’s difficult to get a read on how good Mulligan and his fastball/change combination are given that he’s repeating the level. Matt Frevert and David Carpenter have both pitched well in setup relief roles. Palm Beach lags the league in most pitching statistics ranking last in strikeouts and in the bottom third (12 teams total) for walks, HRs allowed and ERA.
Entries (RSS)
I’m completely mystified at what’s going on with Casey Mulligan. He showed last year that he could pitch at AA, so what’s he doing repeating at Palm Beach (other than completely blasting a bunch of overmatched kids)? Could someone who actually sees him pitch do a scouting report?
I heard a rumor that he is in Palm Beach to get closing experience….
But, I would love to see if he can keep up the strikeout rates with more advanced hitters, like now.
About Mulligan:
Yes he showed he could strike people out at AA last year. But he also had 12 BB’s in only 20 IP at AA. I think having him start at High A this year has given him show additionally time to work on other pitches and his BB rate.
Don’t know for sure but everybody on the message boards said he is at Palm Beach to get closing experience. I saw him pitch a couple times last year at QC and he dominated at that level also. Someone asked Joe Strauss yesterday in his chat, about Mulligan and he said that he is definitely on the Cards radar.
db… would for sure agree a guy that has a FB of 96-98 mph would get some attention. If he successfully developes a slider to go with that he could very easily finish in AAA this year.
I thought that Mulligan only threw 93-94 and his best pitch is his changeup. Haven’t heard of him having a 96-98 fastball.
Baseball news network – Casey Mulligan Link
http://mlootp.com/game/lgreports/news/html/players/player_25491.html
http://firstinning.com/?p=164
A catcher-turned-pitcher is making some major waves out of the bullpen in the Quad Cities. Casey Mulligan was a two-way player in high school who the Cardinals moved from third base to catcher after his first professional season. He spent a season there, but never really took to it, and in 2008 moved to the bullpen full-time. He had moderate success last season in his first as a pitcher, but this season has exploded, with (get this) 12 innings pitched and 26 punchouts, and has allowed just 2 walks, 4 hits, and 1 earned run. His absolute dominance of Midwest League hitter’s has been a surprise, but Mulligan has clearly developed as a pitcher. His fastball can get into the mid 90’s, and he complements it with a curveball and a changeup, both of which are still developing. What makes his arsenal even more impressive is that he can locate all his pitches from over the top, and also can drop down to a sidearm delivery and hit his spots from that angle as well. He has a closer’s demeanor and is a fearless competitor, attacking hitters with stuff he knows they can’t hit. Mulligan will draw some Jason Motte comparisons as a catcher converting to reliever with some ridiculous strikeout numbers, but there certainly are some differences. For one thing, Motte didn’t make the switch until he was 24, while Mulligan is just 21, and Motte never had this kind of success in the early stages of his transition. He developed more velocity as he moved up the rungs and now hits triple digits occassionally, something that the Cards would be thrilled if Mulligan did. He definitely has the potential to be a great MLB relief pitcher, and bears watching as he moves up the levels of the organization, presumably beginning that upward movement fairly soon.
Well Luhnow said recently on KTRS that they considered over the Winter making Mulligan a starter before deciding against it. He also say he sees him a 7th-8th inning guy. Not totally consistent with the closing theory.
Maybe that want him in high leverage situations. 7th and 8th inning guy is vital if we have a good one. Also he could be working on some different pitches and feels he could work on them more and not get hit with lesser competition.
Here is the link to a scouting report on mulligan that list his FB at 96-98 mph
http://mlootp.com/game/lgreports/news/html/players/player_25491.html
Other Pitching Ratings
Velocity 96-98 Mph
Stamina 3
Suggested Role Bullpen
Groundball Percentage 48 %
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKhpbP09tik
Video of Mulligan
@Miz–that last link is the only one I’ve seen that lists Mulligan’s fastball as a high 90s. The scouting report you pasted into your previous post says that his fastball “can get into the mid-90s,” which means it normally sits in the low 90s.
I have watched Mulligan pitch many times last year both in high A and AA and he has great control with fast balls in the low to mid 90′s on average….all these pitchers can throw higher than their average, but they pick a range where they can manage their control for effectiveness…..hitting their spots is more important than the maximum velocity Mulligan also pitched very well over the winter months in Latin America. Mulligan should be in AA and it makes no sense that he went back to Palm Beach.
@mizzcards: Note that that quote was for his 2009 start, not 2010 (reference to QC). We’ve been here before. I just have no idea what the franchise thinks he’s going to learn by devastating these high-A kids. Somebody please enlighten me.
Probably working on a new pitch against competition that won’t hit it hard. Gives him time to develop the pitch. Springfields bullpen is stacked too so he wouldn’t get many innings.
@Andrew:
but if they dont hit it at all, how will we know if they are going to hit it hard? :)
BA has a helium watch on Mulligan. He throws a curve. Mulligan is also said to vary his delivery, coming over the top, then going sidearm on the next pitch. This may confuse batters and explain his success, if he can maintain control from different arm slots.
The video @DaveBeanHead: This video includes some pitches on which Mulligan drops down to sidearm. This looks really hard to hit. Good control and varying the arm angle must explain Mulligan’s great numbers. He also looks comfortable on the mound, like he knows he is going to get outs.