Five games on the docket tonight as Palm Beach was suspended before completing four. The system went 3-2 otherwise.
On to the DFR….
The Hitters:
- Dan Descalso went 2-for-5 w/ 1 2B and 2 R
- Nick Stavinoha went 3-for-5 w/ 1 2B, 1 RBI, and 3 R
- Mark Hamilton had a big game on 4-for-5 hitting that included 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, and 3 R
- Ruben Gotay went 2-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 1 RBI, and 1 R
- Adron Chambers also went 2-for-4 w/ 1 RBI and 1 R
The Pitchers:
- Brandon Dickson went 6.1 innings w/ 9 K while giving up 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 1 HR
- Chuckie Fick relieved and went 1.2 giving up 1 H and 0 ER
- Francisco Samuel had a shaky 0.2 giving up 1 H and 3 BB for 1 ER
The Hitters:
- Andrew Brown went 2-for-2 w/ 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, and 1 R
- Aaron Luna also hit a HR in his 4 PA
- Jermaine Curtis went 2-for-4 w/ a 2B from the DH spot
The Pitchers:
- David Kopp went 6.0 strong innings giving up 7 H, 1 BB, and 0 ER while K’ing 4
- Blake King also had 4 K’s but in only 2.0 innings, he gave up 1 H
- Adam Reifer gave up the only R but did get his 14th save
Jupiter 0 @ Palm Beach 4 (Suspended in the 4th)
- Ryan Jackson was in the process of having a nice game (I have to write something here for the spacing to be correct)
Cedar Rapids 5 @ Quad Cities 2
The Hitters:
- Edgar Lara hit a HR in 4 AB
- Raniel Rosario went 1-for-3 w/ 2 BB
- A couple other people picked up singles, notably Robert Stock
- Randal Grichuk who many had that Cardinals drafting until Shelby Miller fell into their laps, went 2-for-4 w/ 1 HR, 2 RBI and 2 R. He was also drafted ahead of Mike Trout by his own organization for what it’s worth.
The Pitchers:
- Michael Blazek went 5.0 innings giving up 4 H, 1 R (not earned), and 1 BB while K’ing 4
- LaCurtis Mayes and Aaron Terry could not pick him up and gave up 2 ER apiece in 2.0 innings apiece
The Hitters:
- Chris Edmondson went 1-for-5 w/ 1 2B and 1 RBI
- Nicholas Longmire went 1-for-3 w/ 2 BB and 2 R, that puts his slash line at 0.285/0.368/0.855 for the year
- Audry Perez was 2-for-4 and scored a R
- Jonathan Rodriguez went 3-for-4 w/ 2 2B, 1 RBI, and 2 R
- Joey Bergman had half the RBI by going 1-for-3
- Pat Biserta also had 2 H in 4 AB
The Pitchers:
- Zach Russell went 7.0 innings and struck out 6 while giving up 8 H, 1 ER, and 1 BB
- Anthony Ferrara struggled in his 2.0 innings giving up 5 H and 2 ER, he had 1 K and did get the save
Bluefield 5 @ Johnson City 2 (11 innings)
The Hitters:
- Greg Garcia went 1-for-5 w/ 1 2B and 1 R
- Cody Stanley also had 1 H in 5 PA w/ a 2B, 1 BB, and 1 R
- Kleininger Teran went 3-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, and 1 RBI\
- Travis Tartamella and Virgil Hill each had 2 singles
The Pitchers:
- Cale Johnson got the start but only lasted 3.0 innings giving up 1 H, 1 R, and 1 BB w/ 1 K
- Andy, I mean Alan, I mean Andrew Benes went 2.0 perfect innings w/ 3 K
- Trevor Rosenthal backed him up with another perfect inning w/ 2 K
- Hector Corpas blew the save and Bob Revesz and Aidan Lucas didn’t help him out two innings later
Entries (RSS)
Looks like Johnson City, despite the loss, has won its division. Batavia, PB, Springfield and Memphis are still in the hunt for playoff spots, and QC already has a spot. The DSL team had a winning record but didn’t make the playoffs. The Venezuelan team might be the only one to finish with a losing record this year (the GCL Cards are at .500 w. a couple games left, I think), which is pretty amazing. I can’t remember a season when so many affiliates had good seasons the same year.
When most of the Cards’ affiliates had losing records, it was regarded as a sign of a weak system, which of course makes sense. But now that all of them above the GCL have winning records, no one seems to regard that as a sign of a strong system.
I know the system lacks top-tier, five-star prospects. But there sure do seem to be a lot of guys who can play.
I agree completely. Great to see the young kids having success, even at the lower levels.
I was wondering about the same thing Lou. I read a chat by either Callis or Law recently saying that he would rather have a few elite prospects than system depth. However, there has to be some value to depth. Also, it will be interesting in the offseason to see what scouts and others think of the potential of some of our lower-level guys like O. Taveras, Stanley, R. Williams, V. Hill, Longmire, Audry Perez, Gast, etc.
Taveras is the only one that will get much hype (if any). The others are doing very well (not great) but not doing it at a level that is not appropriate for their age.
I saw that Callis quote, and I understand the point. I also agree with Carioca’s point about our prospects doing well for their age and level, but not exceptionally well, other than a couple of the guys we’re all aware of.
I can also remember back to the late ’90s, when BA used to write that the Cards had a top-heavy system: a couple of great prospects (Drew and Ankiel were ranked 1 and 2 one year), with nothing else.
Today we have the opposite type of system. I think the positive way to look at this is to hope that some of the guys who’re doing well may be just one or two adjustments away from doing exceptionally well. At least they’re in position to make that jump from decent to good prospect, or from good to great.
There really isn’t a negative way to look at it. We still have some toolsy guys who haven’t gotten close to their potential level of performance, giving us a mix of present and potential performance. More is always better, but at least the Cards are doing something right in player development.
Agree with all of the above. I also don’t remember a time when the affiliates were this successful and there may be some subtle positives that will eventually pan out for the big club. First it may mean that some of the players have more potential than their curren stats reveal. This year we got huge mileage out of Garcia, Freese (for a while) and. currently, Jon Jay and Fernando Salas. We also got some major league contributions from Craig, Stavy, Greene, Anderson, et al. All of these guys have their limitations but most look like major leaguers. Second, it may mean that our prospects are getting properly trained in fundamental baseball and how to win baseball games. There may be other more tangible positives but I agree that there’s no negatives to winning.
Another point is that our affiliates across the board are still younger than the league averages. Not to the extreme they have been the last few years though.
Maybe depth is a greater value to the organization than we think. If they can fill 4+ spots in the bullpen, 4 bench spots and 2-3 everday player spots with cheap players from the system, then there is a chance that signing Pujols long-term will work.
As things stand with the big club now, and I know that the terrible play of late may be an exception, but can you imagine paying Pujols, a player we have now, 10 million or more extra per year when on paper the team actually gets no better?
I’ll go a step further, and suggest that the pujols extension is why the cards have a depth minor league system. It may seem a little short sighted to build a farm system around one major league contract, but maybe the logic is to have a couple big-dollar names on the team surrounded by a averagish-cheap-home-grown talent. Doesn’t seem like a terrible approach, as the big dollar contracts can come internally or through free-agency.
Reggie Williams had just one year of juco. Hill is making progress too. Longmire has had a strong season for the NYPa league. Gast too. You may have some screwy ideas about age propriety. What matters is tools and capabilities, not age. Examples: Matt Carpenter and Richard Castillo.
I think a lot of it has to do with good management and coaching and an organization that puts emphasis and pride in winning. I know that some say that the sign of a good farm is having many top prospects, with average players surrounding them so that their prospects have a team.
NWA (Royals) has some of the best talent in the Texas league (plus the best team record in the TL), yet they don’t seem to be able to take that talent and produce a better ML team. What good does having top prospects do if you don’t know how or plan to use them, or are they they there for trade more than anything?
That’s not a fair comparison. The Royals have had to rebuild their entire system, four or five years ago they had one of the worst systems in baseball, and they’ve been building it through the draft since. They’ve had little come out of the minors during that time. The Texas League team is the first wave of the rebuilding process, and they should start reaching the majors next year.
However inept they appear at fielding a major league team, they have done an excellent job of collecting prospects for the future. Nobody can tell if that will produce a winning team in 2012, but it’s quite possible