Johnson City provided the offense on a night when the farm put up another .500 performance. In other news, AAA players have no clue how to hit the 100 MPH heat coming from Maikel Cleto, at least not tonight.
Hitting:
- Matt Carpenter went 1-for-4 w/ 1 2B
- Steven Hill went 2-for-4 in his 2011 AAA debut, he had hit a solo home run
- Donovan Solano went 1-for-4 w/ 1 R
Pitching:
- Maikel Cleto also made his AAA debut, it was terrific: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, and 9 K
- Jess Todd finished up the the eighth inning with 0.2 perfect innings
- Victor Marte got his 12th save with a perfect ninth
Hitting:
- There were six singles on the night, Nick Punto, Matt Adams, Eric Duncan, Audry Perez, D’Marcus Ingram and Shelby Miller had one apiece.
Pitching:
- Shelby Miller was the tough luck loser, he pitched 6.0 innings that included 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, and 8 K
- Brett Zawacki went 1.1 innings and gave up 1 H and 1 BB, he also recorded 1 K
- Nick Greenwood recorded 1 H and 1 K in his 0.2 innings
- Jorge Rondon finished the game with a perfect inning
Hitting:
- Adam Melker went 2-for-4 w/ 1 R and 1 RBI
- Luis Mateo went 1-for-1 w/ 1 2B in his only AB, he was pulled for a pinch runner after the double
- Alan Ahmady, Edgar Lara, and Luis De La Cruz all singled
Pitching:
- Kevin Siegrist did not have his best command: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 5 BB, and 3 K
- Daniel Calhoun was worse: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 1 BB, and 2 K
- Christopher Corrigan and Aaron Terry each pitched 0.2 scoreless innings
Hitting:
- John Rodriguez went 2-for-3 w/ 1 BB and a solo homer
- Cody Stanley and Starlin Rodriguez were both 1-for-4 w/ 1 2B
- Geoffrey Klein went 3-for-4 w/ 2 2B, and 1 R
Pitching:
- Seth Blair had strikeout stuff, he was also extremely wild: 5.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 7 BB, and 8 K
- Dean Kiekhefer went 2.0 scoreless innings with 3 K
Hitting:
- Jeremy Patton went 2-for-5 w/ 1 2B and 1 R
- David Medina went 1-for-4 w/ 1BB and 1 RBI
- Cesar Valera went 1-for-3 w/ 1 RBI
Pitching:
- Jose Almarante got the start and went 6.2 solid innings: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, and 3 K
- Sean Watson could not hold the lead in the ninth, he went 1.2 innings and gave up 3 H, 1 R, and struck out 1
Hitting:
- Steven Ramos went 1-for-5 w/ 1 2B and 1 R
- Matthew Williams went 2-for-5 w/ 1 2B and 1 R
- Kolby Byrd went 2-for-5 w/ 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 R, and 1 RBI
- Gary Apelian went 3-for-5 w/ 1 2B, 1 R, and 1 RBI
- The much maligned Roberto De La Cruz went 1-for-3 w/ 1 BB and 2 R, he also had his fifth error of the young season
- Tyler Rahmatulla, a personal cheese-ball of mine, went 1-for-3 w/ 1 2B
Pitching:
- Jose Pasen went 5.0 innings, they included 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 3 BB, and 4 K
- Michael Santana went the next 2.0 innings and gave up only 1 H
- Tyler Mills got the save with 2.0 innings of 2 BB, 2 K ball
Entries (RSS)
Any word on why Oscar Taveras missed his second straight game after their All-Star break.
He didn’t play again today. Got to be concerned.
Just found out, deep shin bruise, doesn’t have to do with his hamstring he’s day to day.
Well that’s a sigh of relief. I know hamstrings are a lingering kind of injury. A bone bruise means he’s just day-to-day.
Thanks
I’ll take that line from Shelby Miller. Had his stuff going today, and the results showed. Only 3 hits and 8/2 K to BB.
Any word on how his offspeed stuff looked?
Here’s Kary Booher’s recap of Shelby’s night: http://blogs.news-leader.com/cardinals/2011/06/25/tulsa-blanks-miller-cardinals/
Hmmm…..bugs me a little bit that he only threw 14 change-ups/curveballs, out of 80+ pitches. Those minor league pitching coaches need to be getting him ready for the Majors, and that means mixing in a few more pitches that aren’t fastballs, IMO.
I think that is why they were hesitant to move him up, he really needs that third pitch. Pop talked about the pitchers not using their secondary stuff.
He settled in nicely after 3 tough innings, but he is getting too deep into the count.
Not too worried about Shelby’s secondary stuff at this point. Commanding the fastball is the most important part. He can do that. He will probably have a Carpenter rep when its said and done (variations of fastballs plus a hook).
True, I am not worried about Shelby but this talk of rushing him to the majors ala Cleto is silly. He’s not ready.
Crazy pitching line for Seth Blair tonight. I think the term “effectively wild” applies.
Gotta love the save money pick of Blair when we could have drafted Stetson Allie in that spot. Oh that’s right he wanted more than 600K for a signing bonus.
Stetson Allie RHP R / R 6′ 2″ 220 03/13/1991 2 52 08/16/2010
Here’s Stetson Allie’s line from his first pro start: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K.
Yeah, we’re all disappointed in Blair, but maybe Pittsburgh fans aren’t so wild about Allie, either.
I think it is much to early to tell on either player. However, the difference is that Blair had years of college starting experience so the struggles are somewhat unexpected (he was erratic in college). Allie, on the other hand, was known to be a raw HS pitcher who would take some time to develop. I highly doubt that Pittsburgh fans as disappointed after one mediocre start. They (Pittsburgh) are now drafting aggressively and it is my opinion that it will pay off.
I agree. I’m mostly just reacting to the continual references to specific individuals we should have drafted instead of the guys we did draft. First because it’s premature, second because there’s nothing anyone can do about it at this point.
Teams guess wrong on power pitchers all the time. Allie was the 52th pick, so most teams passed on him at least once.
Besides, it’s not like the Cards weren’t aggressive in 2010. Three of their first 4 picks got over-slot bonuses.
The issue here is that the Cards front office is paid to draft these guys and most everyone couldn’t believe they past on Stetson. Most of us know the reason that they past on Stetson is because he was wanting a SB in the 2M range. To say I was ticked at the cheapness to pass on a player like that when they waist 3.4M this year on players like Franklin or 6M on K Greene or pay A Kennedy a 4M salary to play on another team is just idiotic.
Hey exactly…….same thign with not igning guys like Garin Cecchini or Wil Myers. Always been a fan of getting top talent that falls in the 2nd through 5th round. Unfortuately that doesn’t happen with the Cardinals.
Allie is 19 and Blair is 22 dude.
No real comparison worthy of discussing.
Yeah the guy is right out of HS. Blair also doesn’t throw a 98 MPH FB does he. Stetson has all the tools. Blair doesn’t.
Blair touched 98 at the beginning of his Jr. year in college. Some reason we thought he could keep that. He really does have electric stuff but never had command of his fastball. Hasn’t put it together for us this year yet.
WoW… I actually wasn’t aware of Blair sporting a 98 mph FB. I think he is in the 91 to 93 range now… isn’t he? But the control has been horrible this year for such an advanced pitcher.
He hit 98 during the first game of the college season last year and saw 93-94. I wouldn’t say the 98 was an illusion but it was him hyped up and overthrowing. I saw him pitch this year his first game. No command of the fastball but very good command of his breaking stuff. It got to the point where he was throwing only breaking pitches because it was the only pitch he could get over. Not sure if his control issues are the same as they were at the beginning of the year whatever it is he’s having issues obviously. He was always alot more raw than many thought but he’s also has better stuff than most on this site give him credit for if he can put it all together.
I realize Blair has not done what was expected and desired, and I realize he had bad control last night, but are we really ripping on him immediately after he gave up no hits over 5 innings? I think he deserves alot more patience than that.
We’ll I think the frustration with Blair has been building for some time. He’s a 2010 draftee who hasn’t shown us anything yet. It’s telling that his best outing in the Cardinals organization comes with a stat line including 7 walks. He only has 13 appearances to professional career so it’s too early to give up on him but it’s hard to give him love over his last outing.
I know he’s starting,but with the velocity and command issues,could Cleto be a comp to the Cubs Marmol?
No. IIRC, Marmol has a filthy slider, and Cleto right now appears to be a fastball only kind of pitcher.
Cleto actually had some decent breaking stuff when I was watching his two appearances in the bigs.
Cleto’s problem was control. Could not find the plate. He looked far from a fastball only type of pitcher.
I really doubt you can start as well as Cleto has in the minors with only a fastball. Plenty of relievers in our system the last few years that can throw in the upper 90′s that have gotten hit up before with only having a fastball.
Cleto also throws a very nice curveball. Just, as JBCards noted, his control is a little iffy and major league hitters can hit 100mph, which most guys in AA simply can’t.
anybody know why the Cardinals released Deimer Bier?
“deemed non-competitive on a ML club.” subsequently picked up by rays. last paragraph at below URL:
http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/04/27/11/2010-player-of-the-year-adjusting-to-Tri/landing.html?blockID=512244
What a dumb article on Carpenter to lead that piece off. On April 19th, Matt Carpenter had all of 36 at bats. Then he allegedly turns it around on the 20th. Except that 3 days later he’d have a 4-for-22 skid.
And of course Maloney didn’t see anything unique in his struggles because it was 36 at bats. Everyone and anyone has struggled over 36 at bats.
Just terrible analysis that tops it all off with a dash of fielding percentage.
I was at the Springfield game and got autographs from Adams and Miller, I was estatic. Then it turned out that the Drillers were staying at the same hotel as myself and I ended up also getting an autograph from Wilin Rosario (one of the top Rockies prospects, a very good catcher) this morning at breakfast. I have HIGH hopes that the baseball the signatures are on will be very valuable one day. If we don’t re-sign Albert (I believe we won’t), I’d prefer the team to go after middle infielders and put Berkman at first for a year until Adams is ready. The man has some big power, not to mention a good eye and good contact skills. Adams almost seems like a white, more mature Prince Fielder
Not sure what you mean by “more mature”? Older, at the same minor league level? That’s hardly a good thing. Fielder had a much more mature approach at the plate at the same stage as Adams, as evidenced by his far superior strikeout-to-walk ratio in the minors.
The best comp I’ve heard so far for Adams (on the offensive side) is probably Pablo Sandoval.
Not more mature as in plate selection or anything like that, more mature as in he doesn’t do any of that childish celebration stuff. & The Sandoval comparison make sense, but Adams has more power
Baseball Ref had these numbers:
BB K OBP SLG OPS
Prince fielder (Age 20 AA season):
A (1+ seasons) 81 107 .394 .500 .894
AA (1 Season) 65 93 .366 .473 .839
Matt Adams (age 22 AA Season):
A (1 Season 33 78 .355 .541 .896
AA (partial) 15 38 .395 .689 1.084
These are the numbers that showed up on the site from today.
I disagree in Shelby. If he is one of the best 12 pitchers in the organization, he should be in the majors. Pitchers only have so many pitches/innings/years in their shoulders. To use some of those in AA when he could be getting ML hitters out (which I believe he can) is a waste. The major league team needs bullpen help now, and I really believe he could be that help.
He needs to develop as a starter and the repotiore of a starter. Moving him to the BP will change the type of pitcher he is and hurt his development.
I really don’t think for a minute the Org. will let bring him to the majors without pitching a year at Memphis. Larussa actually said that Lynn need to pitch two full seasons at AAA before he would have liked to see him on the ML 25 man roster. That being 2010 & 2011 at AAA. Larussa then went on to say that in a perfect world after 2 full seasons at AAA 10, & 11 Lynn would be vying for a BP job in 2012. And that that is what would have been best for Lynn’s development.
I was at the Springfield game and have a couple videos I’d like to post. Miller had a tough time locating his offspeed pitches through the first few innings, but he got plenty of swing and misses on a fastball that read 91-95 the whole night. I thought he threw more than 4 curveballs, but I could be wrong. He missed several times with his changeup way low in the zone, but he froze a couple hitters later in his outing. Scott Beerer hit a 2-run bomb off of him to left center, but that was probably the only hard hit ball off of him all night.
I don’t buy that. Waino did fine in the pen, and then transitioned to starting. Spending time in the pen used to be the way pitchers becamed acclimated to the majors. The point of a farm system is to create players that will help the big league club win. Miller can help the cardinals win right now. It won’t ever happen, I realize, but facing great hitters and spending everyday with Carpenter, Wainwright, and Duncan has to be better for his development than facing guys in
AA that he can dominate with just his fastball. If he can really have good results throwing only 14 non-fastballs a game, he is not being challenged
When asked this week what kind of role rookie Lance Lynn would have coming out of the bullpen, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa didn’t describe how he would use the righty or even when he would use Lynn.
He answered with where the rookie should be used.
“What should happen is Lynn should pitch all year in Triple-A,” La Russa said.
Well, that’s out the window.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_3e7314b0-9ec2-11e0-90d3-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1QS3JQQCC
Who says he can help us win right now? Waino was much more developed when he pitched as a reliever than Miller is now. Waino had his plus curve and could locate the fastball. Miller has a plus fastball and his secondardy stuff isn’t major league ready. I actually think that Cleto is more useful and would be better in the pen this year than Miller. Let Shelby get more seasoning. He will pitch at AAA all or part of next year and may be ready for a September call up.
Are you referring to Lynn? IMO he can help us out of the BP this year. Larussa said that he would have preferred Lynn be a starter at AAA for 2 years (2010 & 2011). Then a ML BP spot in 2012. But with several horrible pitchers that we have in the pen, Lynn would definitely help.
Eh. I think miller, with his fastball movement and command alone, can be a weapon in the ML bullpen right now. I think his curve is good enough to keep Hitters honest. If the cards bullpen was ant good, I would be against it. But the fact is, the bullpen needs help, and I think he can be it.