Top 20 prospects start for Quad Cities and Johnson City tonight.
Memphis @ Oklahoma City, 7:05pm: Brian Broderick
Springfield @ Northwest Arkansas, 7:00pm: John Gast
Palm Beach @ Dayton, 7:05pm: Blaine Boyer
Quad Cities @ Lake County, 6:00pm: Trevor Rosenthal
Batavia vs. Jamestown, 7:05pm: Patrick Daugherty
Johnson City @ Kingsport, 7:00pm: Tyrell Jenkins
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Top 10…. :)
Yeah, if you’re going top 20, I think gast might fit the bill too.
Keith Law said in his last chat that the Cardinals could have 6-7 prospects in his Top 100. Miller, Martinez, Jenkins, Cox, Adams, Taveras, and Swagerty (? he had high marks for him in the chat as well, indicating that he saw potential as a starter). Kolten Wong could be in some other lists, as well.
I could definitely see Wong on some Top 100 lists if he finishes in QC as strong as he has started. Highly doubt he makes KLaw’s top 100 no matter how he finishes, as KLaw killed him all spring as being a high floor/low ceiling type prospect, and bases his lists a lot more on tools/potential/ceiling than performance/likelihood to get to the majors. That said, KLaw does not seem to be too hesitant to give credit where credit is due, no matter what his past inclinations were, and Wong seems to have a pretty special hit tool. The biggest knock on Wong I can see so far (from DFR’s and boxscores, not personal experience) is that he lacks speed/baserunning awareness and is getting caught stealing an unreasonable percentage of the time. All in all, I have been pleasantly surprised with Wong, and am ecstatic to have him in our system.
On another note, although it was only his 3 AA start, I think that Joe Kelly has a real problem with his delivery. I believe “no deception” is the common critique. 9 K’s in 6 innings last night looks impressive on its face, but when he is allowing 10 hits in the same 6 innings, it really takes the shine off of it. It was just kind of a confusing line, because it was still something like a 20%+ K-rate, which is very good viewed independently. Anyway, this was not an attempt to rag on Kelly, as he has progressed through the system very nicely thus far. I just have to think some kind of minor tweak could foreseeably take him to another level. Enjoy the day.
Bigger problem for Kelly might be the walks, 10 in 18 IP so far. He has such a good sinker, he should be pitching to contact more often. Hopefully he’ll settle down once he adjusts to the level.
Walks are typical of pitcher moving up a level…it is a combination of more refined hitters and nibbling. It just take adjustment.
Kevin Goldstein of BP said with the way Taveras is hitting, he is beginning to regret not putting him in his midseason Top 50 Prospects.
I still see Kelly as a future reliever. That sinker will lead to more k’s and weak contact once you ad the 2-3 mph that moving to the bullPen will probably add
Question for the community: What are te chances te Cardinals shut Martinez down at some point this season as they did with Miller last year. First full season in America with serious spike in IP may be cause for caution.
I tend to agree here – especially given his small build which brings questions as well. He is listed at 6′ – 165 lb. I know someone who has stood next to him – said he 5’10″ – 160 lb. Either measurement is a slight build and on a young arm – no need to rush anything.
I’ve walked past Martinez in Spring Training multiple times. I’m about 5’11, He’s definately 5’10 or shorter.
Random idea, instead of completely shutting him down, how about having him alternate starts with someone else who is in the same situation as him. I think that would be better long term for building a little stamina and continuing to work on his off speed stuff during his 10 days or so off and then showcasing it once every two weeks or so. Is this an awful idea?
I think that would be a great idea. Palm Beach won’t make the playoffs so theres no reason to save him for that. I do like that idea alot. Not sure who else is even in the Palm Beach rotation right now. They currently have Blaine Boyer pitching for them today.
Whiting getting moved up could make this happen…..
Has anyone heard anything about Bryan Martinez? I know he is injured but not sure on the details. He was someone I really wanted to keep an eye on this year and I’ve heard nothing about him.
Same with Jaime Acevando? Both are MIA.
I’m beginning to think Bob is right and Anthony Garcia might actually be worthy of being a top 100 prospect as well.
I believe Johnson City is hitting him 3rd every game he plays so they must think he’s the best hitter on the team.