Daily Farm Report 7/10/2011
Posted on July 11th, 2011 by t7rick in Daily Farm Reports, Futures Game, tags: futures gameThere is a lot to get to today. Two Cardinals appeared in the futures game and the farm played seven games on the night with Palm Beach participating in a double header. The teams put up a record of 4-3 on the night.
Futures Game: World Futures 4 @ U.S. Futures 6
Hitting:
- Alfredo Silverio of the Dodgers organization went 1-for-4 w/ a two run homer for the world team
- Jose Altuve of the Astros organization went 2-for-3 w/ 1 2B, also for the world team
- Jason Kipnis went 1-for-2 w/ a solo shot for the U.S.
- Kipnis’ replacment at second, Grant Green, went 2-for-2 w/ 2 2B, 1 R, and 1 RBI
Pitching:
- Carlos Martinez went 1.0 IP w/ 1 K for the world team
- Shelby Miller went 1.0 IP w/ 1 H, 1 BB, and 1 K for the U.S. team
- Jarred Cosart of the Phillies organization, who is currently at A+ Clearwater in the FSL, went 1.0 IP w/ 2 K
Hitting:
- James (Jim) Rapoport went 2-for-6 w/ 1 R and 4 RBI
- Tyler Greene continues to hit well after his demotion to AAA, he went 2-for-6 w/ 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 R, and 2 RBI
- Mark Hamilton went 3-for-5 w/ 1 2B
- Bryan Anderson is again showing signs of life, he went 4-for-5 w/ 1 2B, 2 R, and 2 RBI, he has hit well all weekend
- Freddie Bynum went 2-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 2 R, and 1 RBI
- The team as currently constructed, with a few major league ready guys and some AAAA guys (I will let you decide who is who or if there are any of the latter), can put up some major offensive numbers.
Pitching:
- Brandon Dickson got the start and got was not good: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R (4 ER), 2 BB, and 5 K
- Cory Rauschenberger went 1.2 scoreless innings in relief, he allowed 1 H and 2 BB
- Chuckie Fick got the win but was knocked around a little in the process: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, and 3 K
- Victor Marte pitched 1.1 innings for the save though he did give up a solo homer
Hitting:
- The Cardinals put up 17 hits and still lost
- Jose Garcia went 2-for-5 w/ 1 BB and 2 RBI
- Ryan Jackson went 2-for-6 w/ 1 2B, 1 R, and 1 RBI
- Matt Adams went 2-for-5 w/ 1 HR, 2 R, and 1 RBI
- Zack Cox went 3-for-5 w/ 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI
- Charlie Cutler went 3-for-3 w/ 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 R, and 3 RBI
- Daryl Jones went 2-for-4 w/ 1 R and 2 RBI
Pitching:
- Suffice it to say that Joe Kelly was not good in his AA debut, he did however post 6 K in 4.0 IP
- Jorge Rondon was the only pitcher worth mentioning, he pitched a perfect ninth inning that included 1 K
- The Mayor and ex-Cardinal, Gary Daley, got the start and the win for the Rock Hounds
Dunedin 0 @ Palm Beach 1 (Game 1)
Hitting:
- Rainel Rosario went 1-for-2 w/ 1 2B and 1 R
- Robert Stock had a sac fly for the only RBI
- Ted Obregon went 2-for-2
Pitching:
- Tyler Lyons went 5.0 strong innings that included 1 H, 3 BB, and 5 K
- Jordan Swagerty pitched the final 2.0 innings of the game and have up only 1 BB and struck out one
Dunedin 5 @ Palm Beach 1 (Game 2)
Hitting:
- Xavier Scruggs went 2-for-3
- Adam Melker went 2-for-3 w/ 1 2B
- Luis De La Cruz went 1-for-2 w/ 1 2B and 1 R
- Starlin Rodriguez didn’t have a hit but he drove in the only run with a sac fly
Pitching:
- Arquimedes Nieto started the game and gave up 7 H, 4 R, and 2 BB in 4.2 IP, he also stuck out three
- Jeff Lyman was wild in his 2.1 innings, he gave up 1 R on 4 BB, he also had 1 K
Hitting:
- Kolten Wong went 2-for-5 w/ 2 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, and 1 RBI
- Ronny Gil went 2-for-5 as well, he had 1 BB, 1 SB, and 2 R
- Oscar Taveras went 1-for-2 w/ 1 RBI before leaving the game for pinch hitter..
- Jonathan Rodriguez went 1-for-1 w/ 2 RBI and 1 BB
- Geoff Klein went 2-for-4 w/ 2 RBI
- Colin Walsh went 1-for-4 w/ 1 BB and 2 R
- As far as I can tell, nothing sinister can be derived from Taveras being pulled. The QC Times article did not mention it in their write-up
Pitching:
- Boone Whiting posted a quality start: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, and 4 K
- Dean Kiekhefer pitched the final 3 innings for the win, he allowed 1 BB and had 1 K
Hitting:
- Mike O’Neill went 2-for-5 w/ 1 HR, 2 R, and 1 RBI
- David Medina went 2-for-5 w/ 3 R and 1 RBI
- The offensive star of the game was Juan Castillo who went 4-for-4 w/ 2 2B and 4 RBI
Pitching:
- Jose Almarante lasted one inning, he gave up 4 R
- An interesting pitcher, Kevin Jacob, was the only real bright spot of the Muckdogs, he went 2.0 IP w/ 1 H, 1 BB, and 2 K
- Jacob is a 6’6” right hander out of GT and is someone to watch (I think Azru has mentioned him on the sight before).
Hitting:
- Steven Ramos went 1-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 1 BB, and 1 R
- Kolby Byrd posted the same line as Ramos, just without the walk
- Anthony Garcia went 2-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 1 R, and 2 RBI
- Roberto De La Cruz hit a solo shot for his only hit in 3 PA’s
Pitching:
- Joshua Lucas went 5.0 hit filled innings that included 8 H, 0 R, 1 BB, and 4 K
- Manuel De La Cruz went one inning and gave up an un-earned run on 1 H, he also posted 2 K
- Logan Billbrough went 2.o IP w/ 2 K
- Heath Wyatt went 1.0 IP w/ 1 H and 2 K
Entries (RSS)
It is nice to see Shelby pitching to other guys on his talent level. I am betting that he is on the big club no later than July 2012
Depending on how things are going in September there is a slim chance he may be up then. But I hope he stays in the ML spring training long enough next year, I don’t think he will start the year with the Cards but he could easily be one of the first pitching call ups.
I have a feeling Greene and Hamilton may end up being AAAA guys but I really hope they can play well enough as ML bench guys. I have little hope that either one will be a starter, at least not with St Louis.
Based on the recent callups of Pete Kozma, I think Tyler Greene’s time with the organization is nearing an end.
Yeah, with the coming 40 man roster crunch one has to assume that only one of Tyler Greene and Pete Kozma will be in the Cardinal org in 2012. Kozma is younger and the better fielder. Tyler has better tools but didn’t seize the moment when given limited opportunities with the big club. If Tyler keeps pounding AAA pitching one would think another club gives at least a 40 man roster spot.
Not a TG fan but he strikes me as a guy who has to play every day. I don’t think he really had a chance in the LaRussa platoon system. Still his inconsistencies were too glaring to expect him to break-in in St Louis.
If you assume either Schu or Theriot gets non-tendered (or both), Punto is a FA (who I hope they re-sign) you can’t just drop Greene from the 40 man roster. Who is going to replace him Garcia? Solano? Is JAckson ready (and there is no need for him to take a 40 man roster spot yet)?
i am just about done with hamilton. if somebody said we needed an minor leaguer to take over at first in 2012, i’d rather see steve hill or matt adams (walk rate notwithstanding) than hamilton.
greene seems to have stalled at a major league utility player level. that’s not valueless, but it’s disappointing from a first-rounder and less than his tools suggested. the only tool that really surfaced at the ML level was speed. another club would likely take him on as a throw-in in a trade or offer him a minor league deal.
even being realistic on his future, it’s a shame the org soured on him so badly; we are so shallow at short, the dropoff from him to kozma is still pretty big. if they’re not going to use greene, it is a waste of a roster spot.
Greene strikes me as a classic change of location guy. I think he would benefit greatly by being part of a trade. I think if he went somewhere their isn’t as much presure/fans he’d feel more comfortable and perform at the MLB level more like he does at AAA. Not going to get much for him alone at this point but maybe could complete a package to get us a middle reliever.
I was thinking about how much better the farm system has performed this year compared to last year. We don’t have a lot to be excited about at AAA, but below that the talent has been developing at an exciting pace, especially in the area of starting pitching. The top twenty will be a lot more interesting this year and I wonder how farm the Cardinal minor league system will move up in comparison to other organizations?
Just a side note on Boone Whiting. After he gave up his second hit ( a 3 run homer ) he retired 17 in a row. Showed a lot of grit!!
Hard to believe we won’t be in the top 10 (or at least on the fringes of it), thanks almost entirely to Martinez and Miller. If you have two high-ceiling guys who are among the top 20 prospects in all of baseball, I’d think that makes you a top-10 or top-12 system almost by default. The lack of position prospects counts against us but given we’ve got 2 A-grade guys and a bunch of B/C’s (mostly on the pitching side) we’ll be up there, I think.
I dont know. We cashed in our minor league depth this year calling guys up who will know longer be eligible (who I would have thought at the start of the season would be) – Lynn, Carpenter, Sanchez, most likely Cruz. I think we’ll be lucky to be top half even with those 2 studs.
Anderson seems to have benefitted from more playing time since the callup of Cruz. He has raised his avg. from around .200 to .270. Cox has raised his avg. about 50 points the past few days.
Don’t look now, but Zack Cox has raised his BA about 20 points in the last few games. Looks like he’s starting to figure out AA pitching, maybe he’s not a huge bust like some of y’all were anticipating after only about 30 games..
Cox 9 for last 14 AB’s (with 4 doubles), a good sign.
Yeah Cox seems to have a pattern of needing time to adjust to each level and then raking. Counting the AFL this is the third league he’s done that in. My understanding is that his defense has also been better so we may eventually have the star that we thought we drafted.
And he still hasn’t been in pro ball for a full year :)
Definitely a good sign. I was never worried about him though some seemed to be freaking out about him not having immediate success in AA (the hardest jump in all of the minors)!
Ramos with his first walk in 78 PA’s.
too bad Johnny Rodriguez can’t hit in the first half of the season. He was near 1.100 OPS the second half of last year and is over 1.200 so far in the second half of this year.
I was at the Springfield game. It was about as forgettable of a first game as a pitcher might have. He labored in every frame, got hit really hard and often (albeit in terrible weather and with the wind blowing out to left) and SGF gave up 10 unanswered. Then the bats showed up in the 6th, and we pulled within 10-8 before the bullpen disappeared and gave up 5 more. Ugly, silly game, but with some offensive firepower.
I really think Kelly is over-rated as a prospect. He wouldn’t be in my top 10, I don’t think, the impressive velocity report below notwithstanding. He’s under-sized, and his K rate is diminishing as he ascends the minors. He’s also getting a little old now, to say he’s only just made it to AA. Looks like a bit of a tweener to me, Jess Todd-like. Got to like the hard fastball and GB rate but I’m very susprised that Swagerty got moved to the pen instead of Kelly (although I realise the idea is to move Swags back to the rotation next year, my question would be, why?).
Notes from Spgfld: 7/10
Please don’t misinterpret the following, because overall, Kelly wasn’t good (and hopefully would tell you so himself), however context is important:
First, he sat 96-98, touched 99 a few times, and struck out a batter to end the second inning on a 100 mph fastball. Not sure if he was nervous and unusually amped up, or if this is typical, but his velocity exceeded Shelby’s in his home starts so far. I initially thought the gun must have been really hot. However, everyone else sat low 90s all night, so either every other pitcher had a 85 mph fastball, or Kelly really was smoking it in there.
Second, the defense behind him was ATROCIOUS. Jackson, whom is a very good defender booted a routine grounder that extended an inning into multiple runs, Garcia, also a good defender, booted two, and don’t even get me started on Jones. Let’s just say the latter had two errors, should have had three and arguably could have been cited with four errors yesterday. He let a long fly to deep center drop three feet in front of him that was scored a double. Even though most of the runs were of the earned variety, Kelly had to work alot harder in brutal conditions than was necessary, leading to a short, and imho a very misleading final line.
Third, the two home runs he gave up were solid shots and he gave up one other hard hit, however, nearly everything else was on the ground-either was booted or found holes.
If ever a line was ever misleading it was his last night. Again, no excuses, he needs to be better, but if he even has average defense behind him he gives up three over 5 innings with impressive velocity. Oh, and temperature at game time was a brutal 98 degrees.
Before anyone gets two exercised about last night’s line, we would all be well served in giving him a few outings before drawing any meaningful conclusions.
Nice to see the comments above about Cox. He really looks to be snapping out of it. I’d say he looked much more like his first couple of weeks in AA last night. Most impressive, his second hit was a hard hit ball off of a lefty Midland brought in to face him.
Without an extreme shift last night Adams goes 3-5 instead of 2-5. In his second (or third?) at bat the second baseman shifted toward first and 25 feet into RF (considerably deeper than Belliard in 06). Doing so was the only way he came up with a grounder that Adams absolutely pummeled that direction. Barely got him out at first. His single was an abolute rocket back up the middle. Home run was a pedestrian 330, but hit the other way. A real nice piece of hitting that is probably a double in most ML parks. Re: his athleticism, made a couple of real nice grabs in the field, and was a half a step away from beating out a dropped strikeout at first. The kid really moves well for someone his size. Finally, it may not be translating into walks just yet, but he is taking quite a few more pitches than he was at the beginning of the year. Worked an 0-2 count full before hitting the aforementioned rocket into shallow RF.
Thanks for the detailed information. I’m also concerned about Sam Freeman as he’s gotten lit up lately. Any observations on him?
I’m not as high on Kelly as a lot of people but I agree you can’t discount him on his first start. The home runs and fly outs indicate that he wasn’t pitching his usual game and 27 runs in a game may indicate some unusual circumstances, umpiring, weather or whatever were involved.
I’ve had a chance to see Freeman 6-8 times this year. He wasn’t sharp yesterday. I’m not a mechanic’s expert, but he has what strikes me as a somewhat unusual delivery. It’s not that he pushes the ball exactly, but it seemed like he was guiding the ball instead of throwing it–if that makes any sense. Last night was the first “off” night that I have seen him throw, however. He appeared in command on all prior occasions, and for much of the year has been the only reliever on the team worth a damn. Not sure what is going on with him right now. Sat low 90s, touched 93. I got the sense that he was going to complete the inning and ‘take one for the team’ no matter what. Under different circumstances he might not have been left out there so long on a night he didn’t quite have it put together. An argument could be made I suppose that it gave him an opportunity to work through his struggles, which may have value.
Another thing that might be effecting Freeman is fatigue; every time I saw the S-Cards play in Tulsa it seemed like Pop Warner would also go to either Greenwood or Freeman in a close situation. And with Freeman having come off of TJ surgery he might be feeling some fatigue which probably lead to some control problems which would cause the recent rough outings.
Thanks for your observations. Considering that he was effective earlier and that he’s been used frequently the post surgery fatigue sounds like a reasonable explanation.
I know it was very hot here in Springfield at game time last night but I remember when the old Busch had the astro turf. Didn’t seem to bother Gibby and the boy’s. Gotta get tough!!!
These are great comments, glad you could type this all up. How did Cox look swing-wise/approach-wise? Do you think Adams has a chance to be average at 1B, or is he doomed to Dunn-land forever?
Thanks. Much more on a level plain. The last time I saw him (approx. 10-14 days ago) he was just flailing away against right handers. He hasn’t looked great against lefties at AA (not counting the solid knock yesterday). However, in the early going he had a good approach against righties and hit into some tough luck. He looked more like that guy yesterday (with better results). He doesn’t take a lot of pitches, but seems to have at least regained his confidence. Hopefully he has a monster second half.
On Adams. I look at the walk rate and have the same reaction most do. However, when you seem him play, he is both literally and figuratively a man among boys out there. He absolutely demolishes the ball. In a relatively small sample size, he seems much more willing to take pitches now than two months ago. I continue to be amazed that he isn’t being pitched around more. It may be wishcasting, but I really wouldn’t be shocked if he were able to put up 300/25/100 in a good lineup at the big league level starting in 2013.
He is far more athletic than one would guess from looking at him. I’d give anything for the club to make him do two cycles of P90X in the offseason.
It isn’t mentioned enough that he is at an age-appropriate level and skipped High A altogether. Hits the ball as hard consistently as anyone I’ve seen since the team came to Springfield.
Thanks for the report on Adams. Do you think there is anyway he could take a corner outfield spot? Is the that athletic?
Thanks
Tony
No way, Ive seen him play live and he would be Chris Duncan and Adam Dunn-esque in the outfield. Matt Adams is strictly a 1B/DH guy.
Could he do it? Possibly. Would they try that? I have my doubts. Haven’t seen him on long runs, but he moves really well down the line (short bursts), and has surprising agility around the bag. Could he lose some weight and play a slightly below-average OF, I personally don’t think its totally out of the question.
He’d be better than Duncan out there. Haven’t seen Dunn play OF enough to compare those two. I also haven’t seen the arm much, so I can’t really comment on his ability to throw from right. I’m thinking he could handle left adequately, although probably would be a subpar left fielder. Think Manny Rameriez when he was younger. He belongs at first, but I think he could be average to slightly above average there.
I would ask not as much about the OF as I would 3b…could that be done?
Really nice report. Thanks for taking the effort. Continues to confirm my enthusiasm for Adams. I too think that Kelly will have better days, and soon.
Do teams always shift for Adams? Is he that much of a pull hitter?
How about Charles Cutler? Hitting .374 for Springfield and they can’t find a spot in the lineup for him. He has hit everywhere he’s played but is turning 25 later this month and probably running out of time. Seems like he could be a guy like Mark Sweeney who does nothing in MLB except pinch hit. TLR would never waste a roster spot on a guy like that though.
Did half of us go to the Springfield game last night?
Bad day for Joe Kelly to make his Double-A debut with wind blowing out to LF helping just about every XBH some last night with all 10 going to the left side of the yard with over half them opposite way for left handed hitters. Kelly who had previously only gave up 4 HR in 206.1 minor league innings gave up 2 in 4 tonight including one to old S-Card Shane Peterson.
Matt Adams broke his 10 game homerless drought with a opposite field wind aided shot landing onto the small berm out in LF between the 315 marker and the pen. Daryl Jones had a terrible night in the field with 2 errors and a misplay leading to a double, that double help set off Sam Freeman’s second meltdown outing in a row which saw a grand slam and a solo jack to cap back-to-back shots.
Speaking of Sam, he has been been killed by the hitter friendly Hammons Field in his career now allowing 6 of his 11 career HR allowed there in just 19.2 innings of work with a ERA of 4.85 ERA. He’s gave up 3 HR on road in TL in 22 IP and before reaching that level it was just 2 HR in 68.1 IP.
Just an observation….you can agree or disagree….
For a system without any real blue chip offensive prospect, we sure do put up some gaudy offensive numbers. (To me, Cox and Adams would be just a notch or two under the blue chip status)
When our Double and Triple-A teams play in big time hitters leagues and the AA home park is one the better HR parks in all the minors we’re going to get some stats by default in those leagues, Hi-A is hard to do damage at with only a few parks good for hitters unless its a crazy windy day and the home park is hell on power, and Quad Cities park’ is HR friendly as well.