There were 8 total games played tonight on the farm, including 2 doubleheaders. Kolten Wong made his professional debut, while Tyrell Jenkins made his 2nd start. Read on for the details!
Game 1: Omaha 2, Memphis 1 in 7 innings
- When Jeff Suppan isn’t shutting down the Cardinals, he’s doing it against their farm system.
- One of the 2 extra-base hits for the Redbirds came off of Tyler Greene’s double, as he finished 2-3
- Bryan Anderson finished 2-3, as well
- Adron Chambers hit his 8th homer of the year and finished 1-3. He was also the only Redbirds batter to strike out on the night
- Matt Carpenter was hitless in 3 at-bats
- P.J. Walters pitched 6 innings and gave up 2 runs on a walk and 6 hits. Walters has pitched much better since April but hasn’t done a lot to suggest that he’d have consistent success in the majors
Game 2: Memphis 5, Omaha 2 in 7 innings
- Nick Stavinoha hit a 3-run shot in the 6th and finished 2-4 with 4 RBI
- Steven Hill started at catcher and had a solo-HR, while he finished 1-2 with a walk on the night
- James Rapoport led off and hit 1-3 with a walk
- Adron Chambers was 2-3 with a triple and both stole a base and was caught stealing
- Brandon Dickson gave up 2 runs over 7 innings off of 6 hits and a walk. All Memphis relievers enjoyed the day off.
- Matt Adams (not sure about the consensus on the nickname) continues to mash after going 2-4. No extra-base hits on the night, so he may have received some boo’s ala Mark McGwire
- Jermaine Curtis and D’Marcus Ingram both went 2-4 but Ingram also recorded 2 RBI
- Chris Swauger and Ryan Jackson both hit a double and went 1-4
- Kevin Thomas, the hitter, got a double in his sole plate appearance
- Kevin Thomas, the pitcher, had a line of 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, and 4 K. He gave up 2 dingers
- Jorge Rondon gave up a 2-run lead in the 9th by serving up Tim Wheeler’s 19th home run, a 3-run shot
Game 1: Palm Beach 5, Jupiter 1 in 7 innings
- Rainel Rosario drilled a 3-run homer and was 2-3
- Adam Melker batted lead off and hit 1-2 with 2 RBI and a walk
- Robert Stock was 1-3 and is hitting well in a limited number of at-bats since being promoted
- Xavier Scruggs had the only other extra-base hit for the Cardinals with a double
- Eric Fornataro pitched a complete game for Palm Beach (7 innings) and gave up a run off of 3 hits and a walk
Game 2: Palm Beach 4, Jupiter 2 in 7 innings
- Rainel Rosario continued his good day after he hit 2-3 with a triple
- Niko Vasquez hit a solo-HR and finished 1-3. Despite the home run, Niko has struggled since being demoted from Springfield. He’s hitting into some tough luck with a BABIP on the year just south of .260, but his BB% has dipped from the past 2 years and he’s hit more groundballs dating back to last year.
- Alan Ahmady went 1-3 with a double and walk
- Patrick Elkins stole his 3rd base for Palm Beach and was 1-3 on the night
- Tyler Lyons gave up 2 runs over 4 innings off of 5 hits (3 doubles) and no walks. He struck out 5
- Keith Butler struck out the side to pick up his 2nd save since being promoted
- Kolten Wong began his professional career by going 2-2 with 2 RBI, a walk, sacrifice fly, and hit by pitch. He was also caught stealing
- Oscar Taveras was the designated hitter and went 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI. He’s reached safely in each game since coming off of the DL
- Ronny Gil and Nick Longmire were at the top 2 spots in the order and both went 2-5
- Jonathan Rodriguez had a solo-HR for his sole hit of the game
- Zach Russell started the game and gave up 1 run in 6.1 innings. He gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 6
- Jordan Rasmus hit 3-5 with a triple
- Virgil Hill hit a 2-run dinger and finished 1-4
- Nick Martini walked twice and stole his 3rd base for Batavia
- David Medina was 2-4 with a double
- Roberto Reyes hit 3rd and went 1-4 with 2 RBI and a walk. He also struck out 3 times
- Todd McInnis pitched 5 shutout innings and gave up just 1 hit and 1 walk. He gave up 9 groundouts compared to 3 in the air
Johnson City 10, Elizabethton 5
- Roberto De La Cruz continued his hot hitting, as he went 2-3 with a double and RBI
- Steven Ramos also had a double and went 2-4 with 2 RBI
- Anthony Garcia had a triple among his 3 hits
- Jesus Montero started at catcher and was 2-4 with a RBI. He also committed his 4th error in 3 games
- Matt Williams hit 3rd and walked twice
- Tyrell Jenkins’s 2nd start wasn’t as dazzling as his first. He gave up 5 runs off of 2 homers and 2 doubles in 4.1 innings pitched. The good news is that he struck out 5, walked just 1, and gave up 6 groundouts to 2 flyouts.
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Matt Truck Adams?
I hope we trade Adams his value will never be higher and if someone wants him they should pounce on dealing him over some players who may have more clear futures here.
Sorry, but I think you have tunnel vision.
If they sign Albert he’s block and if he leaves they aren’t replacing him with a rookie with limited Triple-A experience which Adams will be at the most by end of the season. Adams isn’t going to keep this 12.53 AB per HR rate all while hitting .350+ his value is at its max right now and there is only one way to go from here.
…and if they don’t sign Albert we will need a 1st baseman who can hit. His value can’t possibly be at its max when folks like you can’t possibly give him credit due. No one knows what his AB per HR rate and BA will be…especially not you.
If Albert leaves they aren’t giving the 1B job to a rookie! Its going to be a massive PR hit losing the face of the franchise and they aren’t going to sell those tickets by going young especially once the general fanbase sees what Adams looks like.
No you’re right I don’t know what his BA and HR rate will be but anyone with a brain should bet the farm on it it being far lower than what is right now in Double-A. I get that you’re Pollyannaish on most all these kids and that’s fine but here is Adams line .357/.397.685/1.082 and here is where those would rank in the majors last year.
BA
1. Hamilton (TEX) .359
ADAMS .357
3. Cabrera (DET) .328
OBP
1. Votto (CIN) .424
2. Cabrera (DET) .420
3. Pujols (STL) .414
4. Hamilton (TEX) .411
5. Mauer (MIN) .402
6. Choo (CLE) .401
7. Fielder (MIL) .401
ADAMS .397 even with limited walks
8. Heyward (ATL) .393
9. Barton (OAK) .393
10. Konerko (CHW) .393
SLG
ADAMS .685
1. Hamilton (TEX) .633
OPS
ADAMS 1.082
1. Hamilton (TEX) 1.044
Its clear they are going to fall quite a bit or he will be the best player in MLB by a mile! Its about being realistic not hating on a kid or not wanting to give him credit like you want to think.
MLB All-Time
.357 3rd
.397 69th
.685 2nd
1.082 3rd
Adams has been loved by fans at each of his minor league stops…Johnson City, Batavia, Quad Cities, and now Springfield. You may have forgotten, one of the most important things about a fan base is not only what they do on the field, but how they interact with the fans. Adams is always signing kids balls, hats, bats, etc. He remembers being a kid and asking for a signature.
With that being said, this young man can play ball and play it well. It will only take a club and a fan base to believe in him and give him a shot. If that is the Cardinals then good for club, I’m not sure about the fans though as people continue to use “bad body” or “low walk rate” as detractors. Seriously, the kid sees the ball well, hits, and scores runs….what else does a baseball team want?
You can visit as many sick kids and sign as many items as you want but we’re talking about replacing one of the best players to ever play the game and doing it in a mad baseball town, The FO will never put that on rookie because not only is it unfair to any young player it leaves the FO with massive egg on their face after letting the franchise player leave.
I don’t have to be “Pollyanish” to disagree with your thinking. Your dislike for Adams is hard to hide. I think I’ve had a much more balanced view of players than you have.
There isn’t a single reason to accept blindly that somehow Matt Adams has topped out. He’s shown improvement year over year. He doesn’t have to hit 15 HR’s per at bat to be considered “successful”. He simply has to show consistency and and a maturation process which he is doing in spades.
He’s improving his defensive skills as he goes. Offensively we see a more mature hitter than we did last year when he was determined to have “broken out”.
Trading him is an extraordinary short sighted viewpoint when we don’t have any idea what Albert is going to do.
Matt’s going to be a rookie some year, whether it’s next year or the year after. If it’s next year, I’d imagine that without Pujols a concerted effort would be made to re-sign Berkman and work Adams into the lineup as he progresses. Given the way he jumped two levels and snapped in seamlessly, it isn’t a given that he’ll struggle mightily in the majors. A quick bat in AA is still going to be a quick bat in the majors. That he doesn’t strike out much is very encouraging.
I get that you don’t like him and don’t care. But, any suggestion that this is the time to trade Matt Adams is met with far more than skepticism. It’s just wrongminded.
Clearly I meant no hyperbole: He doesn’t have to hit a HR per every 15 at bats to be succesful.
Adams has clearly topped out and isn’t going to hit better than he has now and there is absolutely zero shot he carries those numbers over to the majors in far lesser hitters environments. Haven’t we learned anything from all these bloated numbers ours and other teams players have posted in the Texas league and on the road in the PCL?
Your post is flowing with the typical “Pollyanna propaganda” If you’re not over the top hyping the kid then you hate him in your book, well I’m sorry that’s bogus players have flaws and parks skew stats its perfectly fine to talk about it. Also good stats don’t mean you make it, there are 254 starting jobs for position players in the majors most are held down for 6+ years at a time while there are almost that many minor leagues teams and every one of those teams have guys with numbers and they all have 3-4-5 hitters.
That’s just ignorant talk. Adams is 22 and not even close to his prime. For a 22 year old he’s obviously more skilled than anyone ever had a reason to suspect. He’s been consistently good all year in a league 2 levels above last years’.
It doesn’t matter if these numbers are unsustainable in the majors or not. Nobody but Albert sustains these numbers on a consistent basis. What is important is that Adams has shown that he is good enough to put these numbers up in the first place.
Don’t tell me that he’s topped out. You have no basis for that assertion. Of course the league numbers are inflating. They’re small parks and everybody gets that. What’s important to understand with that is IF he hadn’t hammered out good numbers there would be reason to suspect his talent. But he has virtually destroyed the league pitching and knocked the walls down for half a season. He’s done that week in and week out. Nary a pause. This kid can hit. Moreover, he’ll hit in Memphis and he’ll probably hit in St Louis too.
He’ll continue to work at his craft and he’ll continue to develop. He’s one of the very best in the Texas League and I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t take to Memphis as well. That is, after all, all we can ask of him…Hit at the level we play you.
You’ve been wrong about Adams all year so it is hardly surprising that you stick wtih the mantra. The Cards aren’t thinking about trading Adams. You may as well get a grip on that concept.
Do you seriously think his offense is going to go higher? I showed where those numbers would rank in the majors last year and he’s doing it in a premier hitters park in a hitters league not a pitchers park like Busch. He’s clearly topped out statically and by even saying different kills any credibility you may have.
After all the players we’ve seen come and put up big numbers in these league in the upper minors over the years I hoped people would come to realize they boosts stats on our hitters and kill our pitchers like crazy by now but its clear that’s not the case and its the same every year where a certain sector of the fans jump on the new Springfield hitters who sees a major spike in production.
Does your argument hold for Cox then? Is he just BAD offensively. Or are you going to say that he hasn’t had the time to show his skills. Or is it the pitching in AA is better the A+. I see double standards thrown around on this site all based on where a person was drafted.
FWIW, and you know I’m not a huge believer in Adams as more than a potential league average guy, but I’m not sure it’s fair to say he’s topped out. There’s still things he can learn and there are still refinements he can make in the high minors. As we’ve both pointed out, his walkrate isn’t great, and it’s generally been difficult (historically) for players to “learn” a better eye at Adams’ age, but I think it’s possible he can refine his free-swinging ways a little; not necessarily a lot, but enough (perhaps in Memphis) to make him less likely to strike out at a crazy rate in the majors. He also (I would argue) really needs to improve his defense to at least adequate level for a 1B, otherwise he doesn’t have a major league future, and I think that’s definitely an achievable aim for him (as well as improving his conditioning somewhat).
All that said, I wonder if you’re arguing slightly different things – Hugecardsfan is interpreting “topped out” as in “he won’t learn anything else or refine any aspect of his game between now and the end of his career”, which clearly (IMO) isn’t the case, whereas you’re interpreting “topped out” as in “these are the best numbers he’ll ever put up at any level in his career” which is clearly (as you showed) true.
He can no doubt work on his game but on the field production is totally maxed out, He’s in the Bryan Anderson zone after his Springfield time where he skipped Hi-A had a career year in Double-A resulting in people falling in love with him then the air came out the balloon.
Bryan Anderson? Why on earth is he in the discussion? Bryan has never dominated pitching like Adams has. Bryan has 39 HR’s in 1860 at bats… That’s a ridiculous comparison.
If you are trying to suggest that we shouldn’t be expecting 1.080 OPS from here on, I can buy into that. Doesn’t mean he won’t have a very productive major league career.
Whatever. I’m not arguing with someone who’s trying to put Matt Adams into a Bryan Anderson box…. Pssst. He doesn’t fit.
If the Cards don’t sign AP they are going to sign Berkman for 1 or 2 years. So Adams won’t be replacing Pujols. He will be replacing Berkman as he is fazed out.
Adams may not take Pujols spot next year but if Pujols is gone I predict Adams will be the Cardinals opening day 2013 first baseman.
I would disagree about his value never being higher. It’s possible he struggles at some point in time this season and his numbers go down, but if he can keep up even a semblance of this pace then by the end of the year he’ll probably be getting some press, at least as a big-time sleeper nationally by the prospect and fantasy communities. That’s the time I think his value will peak. Not that other clubs don’t know about his home park, but the numbers will just look too good to ignore, and if his name starts going around it will increase the recognition a bit too. I would wait to deal him (if that is ultimately what happens with him; I’m interested to see what he could do about addressing some of the issues he needs to work on before I would move him, personally), until after the season.
I agree with all of this. Whilst (as I said) I’m not a huge Adams believer, I think he has more value to the club right now than in a trade, unless I’m badly underestimating his trade value.
I’m just not sure who’s going to want to trade for a 1B/DH-type player who’s within 1 year or so of major league readiness (especially when there are quite a few cheap guys most years who can play those positions, Russell Branyan/Jack Cust types, even possible HOF guys like Thome and Berkman who’ve signed cheap deals in recent seasons), so I can’t see demand being that great, and I think the fact he wasn’t a big helium guy prior to this year might depress his value a bit, too; he isn’t a “name” so it’s hard to see him being a centrepiece for a big trade.
Given all that, I’d rather keep him as some semblance of Pujols insurance (if he continues to rake) or see what his value might be in trade next year. The only slight question mark over this is, if we re-sign Pujols, Adams has no value for us and other teams know this – this is going to depress his trade value somewhat.
I know I’m stating the obvious but you don’t make a decision to trade a guy because you think that other teams will temporarily overrate him. Any decision to trade a guy has to be analyzed according to what you’re being offered and whether that fits your needs better than the guy you’re giving up.
As far as Adams’ trade value I don’t see that changing a whole lot if he plays in Memphis next year. No his stats won’t be as gaudy but I think he’ll fare very well in the PCL. They’ve got some small parks too and, besides that, I just think he’s a heck of a hitter. He’s raked in four different leagues for which he’s been age appropriate and he’ll do that again in AAA.
Nice debut for Wong. Anybody at the game tonight?
Adron Chambers is the perfect example of how the smaller parks in the hitters leagues we’re in for our upper skew players stats, He was a triple machine in the FSL and its MLB sized parks with just one jack. But now he’s become a HR hitter seeing those triples making it over the wall.
He’s up to a wRC+ of 93 now in AAA. With some pop.
I wouldn’t say he’s making Jon Jay expendable, as I think Jay’s a better hitter than Chambers ever will be, but if Craig can get healthy and win the RF job next year, there’s a decent argument that Chambers at 25yo will be rounding into a solid 4th OF type, and at least makes Jay tradeable once Albert and Craig are back this year – not saying we’d necessarily get a lot for Jay, but he’s arguably at the peak of his value right now (lucky offensive numbers, still has 4 years of team control left). If we could include him with (say) Cox & Swagerty in a deal for Jose Reyes (although I’m guessing that’s a bit light) or send him to the cash-strapped Dodgers for something we need (Kuroda?) I’d be happy with that.
Cox and Swagerty cannot be traded this season because they were not drafted more than a year ago
Actually they can, because it has been 1 yr since they were drafted.
I believe the cut-off is one year after signing, not being drafted.
this is correct…its one year from the day they signed…but they can always be a “player to be named later.”
He certainly is coming on strong as of late
Maybe we should trade Wong. He’s batting 1000. His value will never be higher. OBP .1000, Votto .424 (;
He can’t possibly keep that up
Nope. He doesn’t walk.
No chance anyone will trade for Wong. His Stolen Base percentage is terrible:)
It’s so very nice to have our first round pick signed and playing games in our system already by June.
This knee jerk reactor is excited about the system after Wong’s debut :)
What’s more surprising, that Chambers has 8 HR’s or that he only has 10 SB’s with 6 CS?
Clearly the HR he never had a good steal success.
0 in 111 AB at Johnson City
1 every 112 AB at Quad Cities
1 in 448 AB at Palm Beach
1 every 50.4 AB at Springfield
1 every 32.89 AB at Memphis
Taveras was pinch-run for in the 5th inning. Guess he’s hurt again.
Has deep bone bruise on shin from HBP. Day to day.
@Danny. Not only that. But its probably pretty obvious he was lifted in a situation that needed someone who could run full out without any restrictions. I’d say pulling him there was purely for taking advantage of a better runner in a running situation.
The reply tags aren’t working on these post os I brought them down here hope its OK with the staff.
@Hugecardsfan
Both Adams and Anderson are in the same boat they have maxed out seasons after skiping a level and arriving on the young side. Also there are more than just HR, since diffent numbers are considered great at different postions. Anderson was a 20/21yo catcher who jumped Hi-A and hit .313 in his time with Springfield and it got him into the Top-100 prospect list.
It seems that everytime a player has a good year you think that its a lock to carry over to the majors, if I’m not mistaken you were one the guys here calling for Tyler Greene to be handed the SS job after his good minor league numbers in the PCL and I’m sure you were on the Jarrett Hoffpauir bandwagon too.
Good numbers don’t mean you’re going to make it!
@Westvleteren_12
I’m not a fan of Cox’s game either and view him as getting drafted as a trade chip for us but the guy has only had 179 AB before heading to Double-A and he only had a couple real good weeks in Hi-A to to even get there. Cox hasn’t even got a season under his belt to get accustom to travel and playing everyday and he’s already in Double-A.
Where does it say that Adams has maxed out of anything, except in your mind? You’ve drawn some magical line in the sand and pronounced “it is so”. The problem is, you did that 50 BA and 100 OPS pts ago as well. You keep drawing new lines in the same sand. You were wrong then so what makes you right now?
Bryan Anderson is Bryan Anderson and has nothing to do with Matt Adams and never did.