Jeff is trapped somewhere by airlines so I’m doing another late DFR this weekend. I’ll have more on the Alex Castellanos trade on Monday but suffice to say that Castellanos was not a critical component of our farm system.
- Adron Chambers was 0-for-3 but walked twice. Chambers has turned a down year into a relatively interesting one showing good patience at the plate with a .370 OBP. Chambers is not dissimilar to Jon Jay with more speed and less power.
- Matt Carpenter was 2-for-3 with a walk. All he’s done is hit and get on base.
- Freddie Bynum and Nick Derba both went 2-for-4. Derba hit a double.
- Maikel Cleto had another solid outing. He went 6 innings striking out 6 and walking just 2. He allowed 5 hits and 3 runs including two solo homeruns.
- Raul Valdes, Chuckie Fick and Victor Marte all pitched a scoreless inning a piece to lock up the Redbirds win.
- Ryan Jackson was 2-for-3 with a pair of walks. Does Pete Kozma block Jackson’s promotion to Memphis i 2012?
- Matt Adams was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Eric Duncan was 2-for-4 with a double and a HR.
- The SCards had 10 walks and 11 hits in the game.
- Shelby Miller got touched up in an abbreviated 4 inning outing. He struck out 7 allowing 6 hits and 3 walks for 3 ER.
- Scott Schneider followed in relief with a pair of scoreless innings allowing 1 hit.
- Starlin Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a double.
- Kyle Conley was 2-for-4 with a double and a HR.
- Richard Castillo went 6 shutout innings striking out 4. He walked 1 and allowed 3 hits.
- Keith Butler finished off the game with a strikeout and a hit in the 9th. His strikeout numbers in Palm Beach have been better than in Quad Cities. We’ll watch for Adam Reifer‘s return next year, Eduardo Sanchez‘s shoulder to heal up and Francisco Samuel to get some better command but keep an eye on Butler who may be the next great relief prospect.
- Kolten Wong was 1-for-5 with a double. Apparently the back flip was part of a bargain from Friday night and is not a regular occurrence. I asked someone to pass along the fans request that this be a regular thing.
- Nick Longmire was 2-for-5.
- Michael Swinson was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and a walk.
- Zach Russell went 5 innings allowing 5 runs – 4 earned – in the first before settling down (a little). He walked 3 and struck out 2 with 5 hits.
- Drew Benes pitched a pair of shutout innings.
- Iden Nazario, a lefty, pitched the 8th and the 9th with 3 strikeouts and a hit.
Batavia 4, Connecticut 5 (12 innings)
- Juan Castillo was 2-for-6 with a double.
- Romulo Ruiz was 2-for-5 with a double.
- David Medina was 1-for-3 with a homerun and a pair of walks. Medina is showing both power and plate discipline at Batavia this year with a .300/.400/.500 kind of season.
- Hector Hernandez allowed 6 hits in 5 innings with 3 ER. He struck out 4 and walked 1.
- Matt Williams and Gary Apelian both went 2-for-4. Apelian doubled and homered.
- Tyler Rahmatulla was perfect at the plate with a 2-for-2 outing and a pair of walks.
- Joshua Lucas struck out 7 in 6.2 innings. He allowed 6 hits and 3 walks for Bristol’s only ER.
- Roberto Canache worked 1.1 innigns and Heath Wyatt finished off the last inning of the game. They each struck out 2.
Entries (RSS)
hi jmo, LA calling
jmo: wassup
would you guys sells us alex castellanos?
no way jose, good guy, good potential
i see, well, what if we gave you furcal at no cost as a bonus
jmo: well i know you guys are in bad way, so, in the best interest of the game we’ll do it
LA: super, frank will be so happy
Is that three “meh” starts in a row for Shelby? Not a reason to have concern, right?
No…he has gotten to the point where he needs to develop his secondary stuff to get hitters. This is just part of the process.
I’m not concerned. It’s been said before, and it will be said again: the biggest jump a minor leaguer makes is any level to AA. his K rate is still good. Walks are high, but the Hitters are more patient and he is working on secondary pitches. Once he figures out how to be mor efficient, he’ll be fine. Remember, he is young for AA. heck, he’s young for high A
As a cards fan, I don’t like this trade. I would not say Castellanos critical component of our minor league system. That kid did good for his team. He hit very well and was a very good outfielder.Better then a lot of outfielders in our farm system. The Dodgers thought very highly of him to give up a major leaguer for only one player. Bringing Furcal to our team then would mean it would be harder for Jackson to make it.
Furcal is a rental, he’s not blocking the progress on any SS in the system. Castellanos is a 25-year old corner OF who is putting up a 4:1 K/BB in AA. If a system can’t stand to lose a guy like that, the entire minor league operations staff should be fired.
The only reason I don’t like it is that I don’t have any faith in Furcal. Castellanos is replaceable in our system.
Furcal is not blocking Jackson. Furcal is a rental and Jackson will be in AAA next year.
Butler k 50 in 30 innings of work last year at Batavia!
Wong does back flips, but some experts before the draft question his athleticism?
i don’t think kozma should block jackson next year..i say move kozma to second base and jackson to ss in memphis..heck, give jackson a shot to make the major league out of spring training..why is AAA mandatory for a minor league player?
Kozma may not be with the org next year…. don’t be surprised to see him moved of the 40 man.
Hmmm…..
I disagree. He is still young, and we spent a first rounder on him. They’ll give him every opportunity to amount to something. Besides, we still need depth. Greene will either be on the big league club (doubtful), or with another team. Descalso is probably on the ML team from hear out, I’d think. Punto is a FA. Who knows what we’ll do with Skip/Theriot. We have to keep SOMEBODY around to fill in, at worst. I just don’t see enough bodies otherwise.
Many first-round draft picks who fizzled weren’t given as long to prove themselves as Koz has been. The team should feel no compulsion to throw good money after bad just because he was a first rounder. That’s in the past. His future prospects are what should be shaping the decisions now, and they’re looking rather … grim.
A friend of mine who is a scout claims that ss is the most difficult position to master and hardest to fill.
So I am not too sure that Pete has been given enough time at that position and I doubt they will drop him from the 40 man roster, yet, he is still very young.
Castellanos has added much success to Springfield. I think sending him to a struggling team was more in his best interest than keeping him somewhere he would never play on the home team’s field.
Best of luck to him!
So 5 seasons isn’t enough????
I agree. Koz will be kept – not because he deserves it as much as there is no one to replace him. I guess there is the off chance the organization removes Koz and adds Solano or Garcia.
CC,
I am assuming by fall there will be plenty of spots open.
Takes on Furcal trade:
Baseball America – http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/trade-central/2011/2612171.html
Minor League Ball (Sickels) – http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/7/31/2307902/prospect-in-the-rafael-furcal-trade
sickels must be a real Dodger fan. When was the last time he gave a C grade to a 25 y.o AA player with “mediocre tools”, terrible plate discipline, and park inflated power numbers?
Wow one day you like him and now that he’s gone you rip him apart. Incredible. Then you should say that about all the players in double a who has great numbers. What excuse was it when he was in Palm beach pitcher friendly field coincidence. Let’s not play or hate are players who have come a long way
when did I say on this board I like him? I had him in the 20-30 range. So, yeah, I liked him OK. But that post wasn’t about what I thought about him. It was about how Sickels described him and the grade he gave him. That has nothing to do about my feelings about the player. I’m amazed by some people’s reading comprehension.
There’s nothing wrong with my comprehension. You wrote it. Park inflated power numbers! You don’t hit home runs or doubles just because they say it’s a batters field. The wind blows from one angle etc. If Alex numbers were inflated as you say then I’m disappointed because then you’re insulting all the batters in Springfield. That kid number are good and he earns respect. So does all are players. He might not have ranked high in people’s list but honestly I don’t go by that list. That list mostly puts top draft picks higher then players that our out performing them like Matt Adams who in my opinion should be ranked right under Shelby and Martinez.
There is something wrong with your comprehension, because he was basically directly quoting and paraphrasing Sickels.
Can’t see any downside to the deal. Furcal has been a terrific player when healthy, he’s cheap and Castellanos isn’t on any lists I’m aware of. Also Rafael won’t be taking playing time away from anybody who deserves it.
Az – I think you nailed Chambers. Similiar to Jay but less power and more speed. Jay is more of a #2 hitter and Chambers is a leadoff guy to me. I still think he is a MLB starter in CF and not a 4th OF that many people say. Its no secret I am higher on Chambers than most. I still don’t think we have seen the best from him.
I can buy the power/speed trade off comparison between the two but that fails to account for the average difference — advantage Jay.
Gotta remember Chambers is alot “newer” to baseball. He is an athlete that can play baseball while Jay has always been a “baseball” player.
You are correct – but you are also not accounting for the fact Chambers is still fairly new to baseball in comparison to most players his age. He will continue to improve. Also keep in mind Jay and Chambers had VERY similar OBP in the minors. So its not always about just BA.
Yikes. I don’t view Chambers as a starter at all. He’s a role player for me. 4th or 5th outfielder type.
agree, he’s tiny
not tiny enough to play 2nd for the asstros, but he is small
Like I said I am higher on Chambers than most and ok with that. Everyone has their view on things. I think he can be a top of the lineup bat with a solid OBP and good wheels. He plays good D in CF. His size is irrelevant to a degree. There are plenty of smaller guys especially in CF and MI positions in the majors. And like Andrew mentioned above he is much newer to baseball than most pro ball players. I see him continuing to grow and improve.
BTW – most analyst and people on this site thought Jay was no better than a 4th OF. He has proven he should get an opportunity to be a starter in STL. Whether he stays that way is yet to be seen long term but keep that in mind.
Has Jay proven that he is better than a 4th outfielder?
I stated he has proven he should get the opportunity to be a starter. I made it clear that time will tell if he will be long term.
Chambers will not be on the 40 man after the season…. just won’t be there anymore… sorry but the guy is not the next Micheal Bourn……
If I understand your comment correctly, you are saying that they will delete Chambers from the 40 man roster, because he is currently on the 40 man roster. I am not debating what type of player Chambers will or will not become, he is NOT just going to be removed from the 40 man roster between now and a year from now, unless traded.
This is a day and a half late, but I had the pleasure of attending the Springfield game with Miller pitching. It was a long one; close to four hours. However, myself and my two little scouts (four year old and 18 month old) managed to stick it out. For anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to visit Hammons Field in Springfield, it’s a very nice ballpark. Great views everywhere.
We were behind home and had a very nice view of what the pitchers were throwing. I strategically picked these seats on this day to see what Shelby had. Although his line wasn’t the eye-popping, I came away impressed with his stuff (imagine that). He threw mostly fastballs all night, ranging anywhere from 91-97. He often started out with a low 90′s fastball with good movement, then would blow 96 mph heat past hitters when he was ahead. Didn’t see too many curves or changes, but he did freeze a few hitters with his breaking ball. He basically stuck with his fastball all night. Best of all, his delivery is very smooth and easy. The ball just explodes out of his hand. I think I speak for just about everyone in saying that I’m excited to see him pitch for hopefully years to come.
Springfield has quite a lot of good looking prospects that are having fine years while elevating their prospect status, and I came away quite impressed by what I saw. Ryan Jackson has a nice stroke and looks very fluid in the field. Zack Cox has a pretty left-handed swing. Sam Freeman was popping a few 95′s and even a 97 on the stadium gun in the ninth. He even mixed in a pretty nice looking change with fade and sink. Charlie Cutler looks like he has a nice stroke, but he’s not a MLB caliber catcher. I was getting pretty aggravated at times watching him catch. Allowed a few pitches to get away from him and mysteriously dropped several pitches. Chris Swauger doesn’t get a lot of play, but he absolutely scorched a double. He takes a healthy hack. And then there’s this big first baseman, too…..
Matt Adams’ is LEGIT. I mean he’s a Hoss. The double he hit (off a lefty that he had no problem with) was a missle. It couldn’t have gone no higher than ten feet at it’s peak that just missed clearing the centerfield wall. It was hit so hard that the bounce off the wall came way back into the grass in centerfield. Derrick Robinson, the centerfielder for the Naturals, had to come sprinting back in to retrieve the ball after chasing it towards the wall. I had been a little cautious about getting giddy about Adams’ big season so far due to the cozy confines of Hammons. But he’s got some serious thunder in his bat. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares when (and if ever) he gets called up to AAA.
My apologies for the long write up, just felt it necessary to share what I saw. Thanks again Az for posting the pitching schedules and letting us readers know who’s pitching and when.
Great info Jeff! Enjoyed it.