Draft Prospects Visiting Busch Stadium
Posted on May 25th, 2011 by Jeff in 2011 MLB Draft, tags: Alex Dickerson, Andre Terrell, Beau Baker, Brad Watson, Chase Larsson, Justin Hancock, Justin Kamplain, Lance Jeffries, Larry Greene, Matt Beaty, Ryan Rua, Spencer Patton, Tyler MillsMonday morning this week, the Cardinals held their personal workouts for draft-eligible players to get a closer look at each player before the MLB draft which is from June 6-8th. Derrick Goold has the rundown of players invited to Busch and let’s take a closer look at each invitee after the jump.
(list of players, positions, schools, height, weight and ages all per Goold.)
PITCHERS
Justin Hancock, RHP, Lincoln Trail College … 6-3, 175 … Age: 20 – Hancock has struck out 49 in 53 innings for Lincoln Trail College, but has allowed 55 hits and 22 walks. He’s in his second year with Lincoln Trail, which is a JUCO.
Justin Kamplain, LHP, Walker HS (Ala.) … 6-0, 160 … Age: 18 – The prep lefthander Kamplain pitched a perfect game and hit two home runs in the same game this season. He has committed to Alabama.
Tyler Mills, RHP, University of Michigan … 6-2, 200 … Age: 21 – Mills is a draft-eligible redshirt sophomore. He was All-State in high school, but his results have not matched his previous achievements since joining Michigan. He is finally a full-time member of the pitching staff and has a 5.66 ERA this season with 29 Ks in 35 innings. This would be a player the Cards would draft for his projectability and potential – not off his current stats.
Spencer Patton, RHP, SIU-Edwardsville … 6-0, 185 … Age: 23 – Per Baseball Draft Report: 89-91, 92 peak FB; strike thrower; above-average SL; solid CU; (2.68 FIP; 8.62 K/9; 6.32 BB/9)
Brad Watson, RHP, Wartburg College … 6-4, 185 … Age: 21 – Here is three short videos of Watson getting the final swing and miss for a strikeout. One Two Three He’s a senior. He has 88 Ks to 25 walks in 95 innings.
POSITION PLAYERS
Beau Baker, C, Missouri Baptist … 6-0, 210 … Age: 23 – In 46 games, the senior has hit for a .342 average and slugged .483. He’s listed as a catcher here, but he also DH’ed for MO Baptist.
Matt Beaty, 3B, Dresden HS (Tenn.) … 6-0, 195 … Age: 18 – Beaty appears to already have his own website: http://mattbeatytn.com/. Here’s a highlight video from his junior year of Beaty destroying the ball. If he was that big as a junior in high school – he’s going to be huge! I would hazard a guess that the left handed slugger ends up at 1st base. I believe he has committed to Belmont College
Alex Dickerson, LF, University of Indiana … 6-3, 210 … Age: 20 – Here’s a video of Dickerson’s swing from the left side of the plate from 2010 via prospect junkies. As Goold notes in the article, Dickerson hit .500 in the Cape Cod league. From Baseball America, via Goold:
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound lefthander has pure hitting ability, average to plus power to all parts of the ballpark and an advanced approach. … He’s a below-average runner with substandard range and a fringy arm in left field, and he’s going to have to work harder on defense to avoid a move to first base or DH.
Larry Greene, LF, Berrien County HS (Ga.) … 6-2, 234 … Age: 18 – Greene has been linked to the Cardinals by such luminaries as Keith Law in recent mock drafts. Via MLB Draft Guide:
Lefthanded power is Larry Greene’s ticket to being picked high in the 2011 draft. Greene is a pull hitter with an uppercut in his swing and has as much raw power as any high school player in the country. He is solid in the field, with enough speed to cover ground at an outfield corner and a plus arm.
Here’s Greene in the batting cage.
Here’s more information from BA via Goold again:
Greene was dominating and putting on huge power displays against modest pitching, pushing himself into first-round consideration. However, scouts who saw him last summer recall he struggled mightily with velocity at the East Coast Pro Showcase.
Lance Jeffries, CF, McCluer HS (Mo.) … 5-11, 195 … Age: 18 – Local product Lance Jeffries put a show in the speed competitions at Busch. Here’s a video of his swing in the batting cages. He projects as a right-handed hitting centerfielder. Per Goold’s article, Jeffries could “go anywhere from the third to the 11th round”.
Chase Larsson, LF, Cameron University … 6-4, 220 … Age: 20 – Larsson’s slash line this season is 432/530/1.000 for an OPS of 1.530 with Div II Cameron. He has and absurd 29 HRs, 35 walks and only 28 strikeouts. Here’s Chase taking batting practice.
Ryan Rua, SS, Lake Erie College … 6-2, 180 … Age: 21 – Rua was named the “fourth best draft-able division II prospect” by Baseball America. Rua has slashed 400/437/594 this season.
Andre Terrell, C, Culver-Stockton College … 6-3, 230 … Age: 22 – Terrell has slashed 395/452/569 this season for Culver-Stockton
Entries (RSS)
I guess it is too much for us to take a look at the really top guys as many are still playing. I know we are having tryouts in a few other parts of the country too. I’d be happy with Rua in the 5th or 6th round, and Jefferies around 8. Hope we stay away from Greene and Dickerson at 22. If either falls to 79 I would take Greene for sure and Dickerson maybe.
None of those guys are of interest to me. I’m looking at Archie Bradley, Josh Bell, and Blake Swihart in the first round this year.
It would great if Archie Bradley fell to us in the first round.
Obviously the guys they they had at Busch won’ t be first rounders……except for maybe Greene. I really hope we don’t take him though.
My comment earlier was aimed at Greene in particular. I just don’t see him transitioning well when he gets to the upper minors, and possibly the big leagues. I’d much rather have one of the three I mentioned earlier.
I like Greene, except the blurb about the slow bat worries me. I don’t see him at 22, maybe somewhere in the supplemental 1st round. IMO the Cardinals should employ the same strategy as the last 2 years; take the best player available and darn the costs (while factoring in signability). Miller was a coup, Cox is still to be determined but is performing well lately. If Bradley, Bell or Swihart are available (which is questionable), I say pull the trigger.
I don’t think Bradley, Bell, or Swihart will be available unless one of them has Austin Wilson-like signability concerns, which in that case we’re not taking the chance in the first round. I would be thrilled with all three though, and who knows, some guys always inexplicably fall, and more will probably do so in this draft because it is so deep.
Of who I think might be realistically available, I like Dillon Howard, Javier Baez, and Cory Spangenberg
I also think one of the stud college arms could take a tumble, and it would be great to get our hands on a Barnes, Jed Bradley, Jungmann, Gray, or Meyer. If one of them falls, I feel like there would be too much value not to grab him.
My dream order of guys (not including college arms) that would not completely be outside the realm of possibility are 1. Bell 2. Guerrieri 3. Archie Bradley 4. Howard 5. Baez
Also, if Purke proves himself healthy in the next couple of weeks, I think we should jump on him. I’ve seen him pitch healthy a couple times and he is electric.
I concur on Purke, but I think the organization will see him as too much of a risk, even if the medical reports say he is healthy…risk meaning $$$ and health.
Honestly think that Swihart and Bell should be available at 22 unless they jumped up boards in the last few weeks. Bradley could drop but thats only if his asking price is really high aka Zach Lee. I would take Bradley if he wants Zach Lee money as we can split up the bonus because of Bradley’s football schlorship. We also don’t have any supplemental picks to pay and I’m doubting we pay the 79th pick much unless we takea guy that falls due to signability. I want no part of Meyers, hope we don’t draft him.
While Meyers would make me nervous as hell, I think his upside is too much to pass up unless another guy they REALLY like also falls quite a bit. What I like about Meyers is he has a history of high velocity, so the velocity is not a one-year anomaly. Also, from all reports, he has consistently improved his control (albeit with a few hiccups, just like all young pitchers). Your sentiment is completely valid though, imo, I just think he would be worth the risk if Bell, etc. are off the board.
I also agree that we appear to be in a good position to make a big-money splash with whoever falls to us, because of the lack of extra picks. I was so disappointed last year to see us take Blair and Swagerty (exceptionally good surprise so far with Swagerty, and the disappointment a distant memory), although I understand the money concerns. I think best player available should be a reality for our first two picks this year.
We took Blair and Swagerty BECAUSE we went BPA available with our first pick. If the first pick would been a slot pick I’m sure we would have gone overslot on the supplemental round. I doubt we got BPA at 79 but I think we do at 22.
I realize this. What I am saying is that because we don’t have 2 supplemental picks we have to spend money on, we should be able to hand out above slot bonuses to our first few picks if there are guys available that the FO feels it appropriate to do so for.
I understand why Swagerty and Blair were taken, it is just always a disappointment from a fan’s point of view (who doesn’t pay the bonuses) when the bpa or biggest upside player is not taken.
But you’re assuming that the draft budget is the same as last year, but I’d expect it to be different since we have less early picks. You’re under the assumption that a draft budget is solid for every single year, but I’d say it’s dependent on how many picks you’ve got. If you’ve got seven picks in the first two rounds, you’re going to need a bigger budget than when you’ve only got two picks in the first two rounds.
Hopefully they realize that going overslot has worked recently and it also helps us in terms of trade bait so the draft budget should stay the same even though we have less picks. Our system is alot better now and alot of it has to do with being willing to pay money for premier talent. We need to continue that.
But you’re making a dangerous assumption that paying more for a player means he’s more likely to find success. Do you not think the Tigers regret giving Andrew Miller 3.55 million? Or what about the Padres giving Matt Bush 3.15 million? Or the Mariners giving Matt Clement 3.4 million to be trade bait? The problem is that you do have to often pay more for better prospects, but paying just to pay doesn’t work. If there is a player you like who is overslot and you believe he’ll sign, you take him. But you don’t just pay him six million and be done with it.
That’s what I meant going overslot if the guy drops and the team considers them an elite talent. Usually the better talent gest more money so there is a correlation.
@karmaloop: good point, i didn’t really take that into consideration. But, I would hope that when figuring out a budget, the FO doesn’t just say “well, since we have 2 less picks in the first 5 rounds, let’s slash our draft budget by 2/7″. I would hope they would budget similarly from last year, and say “Since we have 2 less picks in the first 5 rounds, let’s leave the option open of bringing in a big fish who falls due to signability concerns, IF we have the opportunity to grab one of those players”. I’m not encouraging using up every penny we have just for the sake of it.
All I’m saying is that from a fan’s perspective following this site, an A.J. Cole or Stetson Allie (Or our own Tyrell Jenkins for that matter) is a much more exciting pick than Seth Blair (budget permitting).
Absolutely, and with the recent success Lunhow has been able to find and draft players that have had success in the minors, ownership is willing to pay more money for better prospects. But we can’t assume we’ve got the same budget as last year when we had 3 picks out of the first 50 compared to this year where we’ve got two picks in the first 80 picks.
And Lunhow and Co. aren’t in the business of pleasing fans, they’re trying to get the best ball players for the Cardinals. I’d love to have gotten Cole instead of Blair, but the numbers didn’t match up right for the Cardinals.
Remember, they did go overslot for Tyrell Jenkins so taking players that were going to be slot value at two of their other picks were likely. Cox was BPA and the Cardinals knew what his price tag was, and they took them. They saved some money, got a solid middle of the rotation to back end of the rotation starter in Seth Blair. They took a higher upside arm in their last supplemental pick in Jenkins, and then picked up a rather relative safe slot guy in Swaggerty.
I’d actually argue that Blair is projectionable too as he hasn’t really ever put it together yet. Swagerty was the safe guy but yes your point is correct. Not gonig to go BPA on both picks it will be one or the other.
That’s the point I was getting at. They went BPA with Cox and Jenkins, but they needed to make sure they could have two guys they could sign and could depend on to help their farm system. Those guys were Blair and Swaggerty. Unfortunately, except for his last starter Seth Blair has been pretty bad this year.
Yeah, I projected Swihart and Bell to be around the picks where we will be pick. Swihart could go 17 to the Angels IF Archie Bradley goes off the board. I’ve got a feeling that Archie Bradley will end up 14 to the Marlins, or 17 to the Angels. I think his absolute floor is 19 to the Red Sox. Too many teams in front of us are willing to pay big for prep talent. You only take Swihart if you think he can stick as a catcher, or long enough to use him as trade bait. I think he’ll stay at catcher for most of his career, but not everyone is convinced. The thing is that given the depth of this year’s class, even if we see Bradley to the Marlins at 14, Swihart to the Angels at 17, and Josh Bell to the Blue Jays at 21, there should still be some good talent left on the board. Might be a college player though.
I agree with Meyers, I’ve got no interest in him. I had him going to the Cubs in the last mock I made. Both Bubba Starling and Francisco Lindor, both guys rumored to be of significant interest to the Cubs, were off the board, so I took a college pitcher for them.
I’ll be interested to see where our top pick this year ranks in our top 10 prospect rankings next year, assuming we take best player available. It will be hard to not have Miller maintain his hold on the #1 spot, followed by Martinez and Cox. So I think, at best, our top pick will be our #4 prosepct, and that all depends on how the rest of this season goes for guys like Rosenthal, Jenkins, Taveras, etc. etc.
It wasn’t that long ago when our top pick in a draft immediately became our top prospect in the system (Rasmus, Wallace, Miller).
Great point. I agree, except if for some reason Purke is the pick at 22 and he proves healthy and performs consistent with his past history in the cape cod league (i.e., Anthony Renaudo) or in the AFL, he could grab the number 1 spot over Miller…he is that electric, imo.
He needs to get his velocity up. I’ve heard his fastball is dipping below 90 MPH. That just isn’t going to cut it regardless of how electric his other stuff is. If the Cardinals clear him medically, and his demands aren’t too outrageous I would love for him to be the pick. But as of right now with his injury concerns up in the air, the Cardinals probably couldn’t afford to take him.
As for the OP this branched off, it depends on the prospect. Obviously, if we got someone like Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon (neither of which will fall to us), they’d likely be the #2 prospect in the draft. Otherwise, they’re probably looking at the fourth or fifth best prospect if it were just some regular prospect. Miller, Cox, and Martinez seem a good distant ahead given the track records thus far and projecting them a bit into the future. Oscar Taveras and Tyrell Jenkins will need to perform. Not sure Rosenthal will get the love from BA to be honest. He really need a strong season to get those BA people to really believe in him IMO. Besides, Rosenthal is a little older for Low A ball.
If it was the Purke before the shoulder concerns occured, I might have agreed with you. However, I just cannot invision anyone taking the #1 spot from Miller. I’m assuming the premier prospects like Cole and Rendon will be gone, for obvious reasons. I’m starting to become a fan of Bell, and if he happens to be the pick, I personally think he becomes our #4 prospect (#5 if Taveras gets healthy and continues to put up decent numbers).
Unless Cox falls off the face of the earth at AA, or Carlos Martinez has issues the rest of the season, I can’t see a realistic draft prospect from this year’s draft being any higher than the fourth prospect in our farm system. Taveras has a chance once he gets healthy to really solidify himself as that fourth prospect. At which point the next prospect would be at fifth, and you’re looking at someone like a Rosenthal or a Tyrell Jenkins who haven’t solidified their spot much.
Do you think it is possible, assuming both continue hitting as well as they have, that Taveras could surpass Cox as the highest ranked position prospect in our system?
I know it’s unreasonable to expect Taveras to keep hitting .500, but if he finishes his season with an average around .340-.350 and shows some pop as well as speed, could he rank higher? That’s also assuming Cox puts up similar numbers in Springfield as he did before the promotion.
I think Taveras is a better prospect in my mind but I doubt no matter what he does this year he won’t pass Cox because of the signing bonus and the MLB contract. I think Taveras will be the 4th rated prospect after this year assuming he comes back healthy.
I guess time will tell! On a side note, I think this is a very nice “problem” to have. Not knowing if our #1 pick in this years draft will even crack our top 4 prosepcts. Just shows that the Cards have started to add some big potential prospects to our system. The draft can’t get here soon enough!
The only issue that aside from Cox, most of our impact players are still at minimum two years away from contributing to the club. Lance Lynn, Zack Cox, and possibly Matt Adams that could help our big league club before 2013. Jenkins, Miller, Martinez, and guys like that are looking at an ETA of 2013 at the earliest.
I agree with everything you just said. It will make following the system that much more intriguing in the following years.
We’re just now starting to replenish our system. Walt Jocketty really let it get barren and we’re still feeling the effects of it. Our farm system was nearly completely deleted just a few years ago. Look at some of our top prospects from past years. Jaime Garcia and Dan Haren have outproduced expectations each quite considerably. Anthony Reyes, Chris Lambert, and Stuart Pomeranz were all flops. Outside of Colby Rasmus, we really haven’t had much home grown talent between 2002-2008 years show much talent. Even before ’09, the only notable prospects worth mentioning were Rasmus, Chris Perez, and Brett Wallace. You had some intriguing guys like Bryan Anderson, Daryl Jones, and Blake Hawksworth, but didn’t pan out to what they could have been. The farm system is just now getting replenished, and it’s showing in the lower minors.
Absolutely. Based on pure upside, Taveras is quite a bit better than Cox. The problem lies in that Taveras absolutely has to move up past Quad Cities to at least Palm Beach to keep stride with Zack Cox. With the recent promotion of Cox to Springfield, you’ve got to think the ETA is most likely mid-2012 where as before it was 2013. Taveras on the other hand still looks like his ETA is 2014 especially if he keeps getting sidelined with injuries.
I’m not expecting Taveras to hit .500, nor do I expect Cox to hit .335 or whatever he was hitting with Palm Beach. So the gap right now is pretty big IMO, but I think it’ll shrink as the season goes on. If Cox manages to keep doing it in Springfield, and Taveras struggles to stay healthy than Cox will be a significant advantage and the clear #2 prospect.
Taveras isn’t even going to be 19 till July I believe and his second injury is just his first not healing properly just like Matt Holliday’s current one. I don’t think that theres anyway Taveras jumps Cox just for the plain fact that one was has a MLB contract and hte other is still a relative unknown in the MidWest League.
He’s done nothing but hit last year and what little he has played this year. If we were to rank it based on pure upside, it wouldn’t even be close because Taveras is a legitimate five tool prospect. I see a four tool prospect in Cox. Taveras has contact, speed, power, defense, and a legitimate arm. I don’t see Cox ever hitting for great power. Topping out at 15-20 HR max. He’s got some double power though. I wouldn’t say it’s likely that Taveras passes Cox, but I wouldn’t say that just because he’s an unknown and Cox got an MLB contract that Cox is a better prospect.
I completely agree with you but in terms of prospect rating pedigree means alot and a 1st round pick MLB contract will trump an 18 year old signed for 110k out of the Dominican Republic. That said I’m a raving Taveras fan and very cold on Cox in fact.
I’m talking in terms of prospect rating nationally. I believe Taveras will be a better player than Cox.
I personally find it hard to believe that ANYONE in this draft would be likely to overtake Matt Adams as our #1 prospect when all’s said and done.
This is an interesting discussion. It depends on who the pick is. I don’t see anyone passing Miller or Martinez. Cox maybe depending on what he does in Springfield. Hopefully Taveras gets healthy and keeps doing what he’s doing. Purke probably moves to the 3rd prospect if we draft him because he won’t have enough time to pitch once he signs to do anything. He will be a last day signing because he would be over slot.
Chase Larrson can become the new Matt Adams.
I liked Lance Jeffries.
Matt Beaty loves to hit.
Kind of makes me laugh when I see the outfielders that came to the park. Is it me or does everyone know we have way too many outfielders as it is!
Completely irrelevant. In the very unlikely event that any of these guys have careers with the Cardinals (most won’t even be drafted by them), they won’t start until 2016 or so unless they are extraordinarily good. There’s always room for emerging stars, and as for the rest, just check how much turnover there’s been on the major-league roster since 2006.
Looks overall like a pretty deep draft, but I don’t see a whole lot of star power at the top.
In my book there isn’t a methodology in the world that could justify a 22d round pick leapfrogging any of Miller, Martinez, Cox or Taveras. In fact, depending on how Taveras finishes, I could make a case for his being number one in our system. I could further make one for Martinez being #1 or #2.
But, I’m perfectly happy with Miller, Martinez, Cox and Taveras. Who cares? All four should be well esconced in everyone’s top 100 prospect list.
Where I think the scouts will be divided is with where Matthew Adams fits in our system. The kid is 22 years old and is destroying AA pitching. I don’t care if he had no pedigree, he’s got one now. 14 HR’s should turn to over 30, and, if it does, along with his over .300 BA, the scouts are simply going to have to sit up and take notice. He could conceivably be our #5 prospect and with Pujols in doubt next year, should move way up in importance to the Cardinal franchise.
Poor old Ryan Jackson keeps sliding back into oblivion as he continues to forget to take his bat to the plate.
??? We are talking about the 22 pick of the draft……where our first rounder will fit into our overall system. When you say 22nd round are you talking about Rosenthal or Adams?
It’s late… Leave the word “round” out of there. I’m referring to the 22d pick of the draft.
1. Our AAA 1B is hitting as well as our AA 1B in a higher league (but he is older)
2. We have an OF at AA hitting just as well as Adams. Older as well but plays a position that demands less offense. The player also plays decent defense.
I like both Hamilton and Castellanos.
Hamilton is not hitting as well as Adams. He has 1 HR in 58 at bats.
Castellanos is doing great this year…and although he is 24/25 this year, I like his tools. But, he has to do it again next year, in my book. He struggled the last 2 years in high A when age suggested he should have done well.
Matthew Adams has consistently hit for power and average as well as being young for AA. Pretty sizeable difference.
I wouldn’t say Castlellanos struggled last year at Palm Beach. He hit .270 but had 55 extra base hits. 35 doubles, 7 triples and 13 hr’s. Those are really impressive numbers actually.
Hamilton has a wRC+ of 169 in Memphis this year, 144 last year. That said, he’s 27 and therefore pretty much a non-prospect in my opinion.
Adams has a wRC+ of 148 this year. He’s got better numbers than Hamilton but, relative to his league, has not hit as well.
Also – Hamilton has a .507 OBP in AAA. He makes an out less than half the time, this year! Pretty amazing even in only 71 PAs.
Goldstein said that he expects up to 20 picks from this draft to rank in the top 100 in the off season. That does not make it unreasonable that the 22nd pick could be one of them. I also dont think it is a given that Taveras will be a top 100 player a the end of hte year (particularly with the injuries). Add those two thoughts together and there is plenty of methodology where the 22nd pick leapfrogs in to the #4 prospect in our system.
Doesn’t surprise me that up to 20 picks could be in the top 100 prospects in baseball. I don’t remember who it was, but they said BA top 100 was one of the weakest in recent memory. A lot of talent has graduated, and the talent hasn’t been replenished very well yet.
Not saying that it cannot happen, because I think there are fallacies in the scouting process. Still, on what universe does a prospect drafted out of HS, vault over an 18 year old who has 4 years of professional baseball and the last 2 years has been all star level in his respective leagues? No, it isn’t a given that Taveras is top 100. But, if he isn’t, there’s something very flawed with the system.
I know that you are assuming that Taveras would have to remain injured a good deal of the season and/or fall off when/if he does return significantly. But, what he’s shown to date says that the talent is oozing out of his pores.
It’s frustrating as hell that he’s suffered this type injury, because it has become problematic when to get him back into the lineup. I really wish they’d been more patient before returning him the first time. Having said that, I selfishly want him in the lineup in early June when I watch QC at South Bend.
I looked at the stats. Taveras now has 1/6th of the AB’s that Rasmus had at Quad Cities. And he’s pretty much right on track to match HR’s, RBI’s and runs scored. He’s down on 2b’s and way up on batting average and hits. I don’t expect Taveras to hit .500 this year but honestly I actually expect his power product to increase when he gets back. My only complaint with him this year so far is that out of his 26 hits this year only 5 have been extra base hits. But I saw him during that first series when he got hurt and he really smokes the ball. I expect his doubles to jump and his HR’s to jump also. It’s entirely possible that once he reaches 300 ab’s in Quad Cities he will have better stats overall than Rasmus had.
But does Oscar Taveras get healthy and hit for the rest of the season like he did last year? If you answer yes, Taveras is solidly our fourth best prospect, but until he proves it its far from a guarantee. If we were to get a guy like Josh Bell and get him signed late and he hits well, the projection could push him ahead of Taveras. I think it’s more likely that the pick will be the 5th best prospect in our farm, but not out of the realm of possibility he moves up to four.
Would any hitter who signs on the last day even get enough AB’s to show anything? I think if anyone breaks into the Top 4 it will be a big name pitcher we draft.
If Taveras gets healthy and puts up a near-.400 wOBA in Quad Cities/Palm Beach the rest of the way, as a 19 year-old, I’m pretty sure he vaults way ahead of Cox and every other prospect not named Miller (or maybe Martinez) in our system.
Of course, that’s a big “if”.
I have a sneaky suspicion Taveras won’t be on everyone’s top 100 lists this year. He’d certainly be on mine (not that I know enough about the rest of baseball to have a top 100…) but I just get the feeling his relatively unknown status before this year might make him a little under-rated nationally.
Hard to see Cox, Martinez and Miller missing out, though.
Obviously you and I disagree on Adams, as we’ve already established – I think I have him in the 12-15 range. It’ll be interesting to see whether he gets any props nationally if he keeps hitting like he has done so far.
I think if Taveras comes back fully healed this time there is no reason he shouldn’t be. He’s hit in every game but 1 of this year. I expect that he will continue to dominate the league. His issue was he wasn’t fully healed when he came back so he reinjured himself. Like Holliday did in KC. It’s still entirely possible that he has a Colbyish year at Quad Cities this year. If he puts up those numbers he has to be in the Top 100 right?
You would expect so, but nothing is a guarantee. You would have figured Taveras would have been in the Cardinals top 10 after his great 2010 season, but he wasn’t.
Taveras came out of nowhere. He needed an encore to become a serious blip on the radar. His start in QC wasn’t so much an encore as it was an “everybody take notice, this kid has arrived”…
I think Andrew’s right. Had Taveras been touted before JC, he’d have been on everybody’s prospect list. He was nobody and until he did it again, he’d remain circumspect. Well, as far as I’m concerned, he isn’t any longer.
I think the only reason he wasn’t was that again he was an unknown coming into last year and alot of people tank after good years in the Appalachian League. If he would have been paid 1.5 mil rather than 100k I think he would have been on more people’s radars.
Any idea on who we are trying out this year or if it’s even happened yet?
We ending up selecting 5 of the 13 revealed by Goold as try outs.
Matt Adams and Adron Chambers went to regional tryout camps.
I hope the Cards become quieter about who attends their tryouts. Or, invite a few guys you are not interested in, so as to mislead other teams.
Each team has it’s own scouts and tryouts. It’s not like becasue we try someone out another team will all of a suddent learn about them. Most players are pretty much well known. If there was a guy they wanted to hide I’m sure they would.
I agree players are largely known. Adams got tryouts from other teams, including the Yankees. Chambers was a 39th round pick, but there was a video of him at MLB’s draft central.
Nonetheless, its fine with me if the Cards do not reveal anything to Goold to leak all over the Web. Its hard to see an upside to revealing anything about amateurs you are giving tryouts to. This may entertain fans for pre-draft publicity, but its hard to see how this helps the business of signing talent.