The farm goes 4-2 on a night powered by Allen Craig, Matt Adams, and Roberto De La Cruz.
Hitting:
- Allen Craig was back in LF tonight, he went 3-for-3 w/ 1 3B and 2 R before being lifted for..
- Pinch hitter Adron Chambers who singled in his only AB
- Mark Hamilton went 1-for-3 w/ 1 R and 1 RBI
- Matt Carpenter went 1-for-3 w/ 1 BB and 1 RBI
- Bryan Anderson continues to hit, he went 2-for-4 w/ 1 2B and 1 RBI
Pitching:
- Brian Broderick got the start: 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, and 1 K
- Jess Todd struck out the only batter he faced
Hitting:
- James Rapoport went 2-for-4 w/ 1 R
- Matt Adams hit a 2-run bomb, his whole line was 2-for-5 w/ 1 HR, 1 R, and 3 RBI
Pitching:
- Joe Kelly was solid as the starter: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, and 5 K
- Sam Freeman backed Kelly up with 1.2 perfect innings
- David Kopp gave up 2 H in is inning, he also had 2 K
Hitting:
- Domnit Bolivar went 2-for-3 w/ 2 R and 1 RBI
- Kyle Conley had 2 2B and 3 RBI in his 5 PA
- Rainel Rosario had 1 2B in 5 PA
Pitching:
- Richard Castillo pitched a gem (what did I just say?): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, and 6 K
- Justin Smith went 2.0 scoreless innings that included 3 H and 2 K
- Keith Butler struck out 2 in his perfect inning
Quad Cities 3 @ Cedar Rapids 2
Hitting:
- Oscar Taveras went 2-for-4 w/ 1 3B and 1 BB
- Michael Swinson went 2-for-4
- Colin Walsh had himself a day, he went 1-for-1 w/ 1 HR, 3 BB, 2 R, and 1 RBI
Pitching:
- Zach Russell was credited with the win after he pitched 6.2 innings that included 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, and 4 K
- Angel De Jesus got the save by striking out 2 and giving up only 1 H in 2.1 IP
Hitting:
- Juan Castillo went 2-for-4 w/ 1 RBI
- Six other Muckdogs had one single
Pitching:
- Hector Hernandez was solid: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, and 4 K
- Sean Watson had 2 BB and 1 K in his 2.0 scoreless innings
- Eric Binder took the loss but gave up one unearned run on 1 BB, he also had 2 K in his 1.0 inning
Hitting:
- Tyler Rahmatulla is not hurt, he went 2-for-5 w/ 1 R and 1 RBI
- Anthony Garcia’s only hit in 5 PA was a 1-run triple
- Roberto De La Cruz went 2-for-5 with a solo shot
- Ronard Castillo went 1-for-3 w/ 1 2B, 2 BB, and 1 R
- Breyvil Valero went 3-for-4 w/ 3 R, 2 RBI, and 2 SB
Pitching:
- Joshua Lucas got the start but was bleh, he gave up 4 R on 8 H and 1 BB in 5.0 IP
- Logan Billbrough was the only pitcher who could walk proud after the game, he went one perfect inning and got the save
Entries (RSS)
Happy to see Castillo pitching well in PB. Did a great job
I was at the Springfield game, but didn’t get to watch as intently as I would have liked, due to being there with clients, and having to keep them entertained.
That said, I few observations:
1. Jackson made a great play on a ball that was scorched up the middle. Dove, caught it on an awkward bounce, and came up and fired a strike to first. I hope he keeps improving with the bat, b/c his defense is above average for the ML level already.
2. Cox made a nice play at third as well. I worry about his arm strength at third a bit. He doesn’t have a Theriot arm (or lack there of), but it’s probably average at best. What is the reason we haven’t moved him to 3B? Lateral quickness?
3. When did Solano get moved down? I thought he was in AAA.
4. DJ Tools doesn’t play with a lot of energy. Everytime I’ve seen him play, he looks like he is just kind of coasting along. Really wish he’d put it together for an extended period of time.
5. So glad I was in a suite all night. Ridiculous the kind of heat these boys are playing in night in and night out this year.
Sorry, meant to ask what is the reason we haven’t moved Cox to 2B, not 3B.
what’s wrong with an average arm? – theoretically as good or better than half the others.
I always thought he had a plus arm. He was a pitcher at Arkansas for awhile and was said to throw about 92-93. I thought when he was drafted that his arm was one of the reasons he may stay at 3rd.
Yeah. I would not worry about his arm at all. saw him numerous times at Arkansas both pitching and playing third. He was not really a 92-93 guy, more 90-91, but I would say that is still pretty solid for a third baseman. He has more than enough armstrength for third, in fact that is his best defensive asset. I saw him at a game at Northwest Arkansas for Springfield and his arm looked solid then too. Although he did have one throw he sailed a little, but not so much that Adams wasn’t able to corral it.
2b Starlin Rodriguez left the game after being HBP in the 1st.
Anyone heard if he’s okay?
Whats everyone’s opinion on Joe kelley? Was looking at his career numbers and not all that impressive except for 70 innings at high A ball. I know. Lot of people are very high on him though, mixed results at Springfield so far.
The MLB field staff loves him. He was was of the last minor league guys to be cut from Spring Training. He has a power sinker and the ball moves alot, probably too much. He throws 100′s when he really tries to pop it but its about 95-96 now. He used to be a closer in college but the Cardinals are trying to convert him to starter because of how good his sinker is. His ball moves so much sometimes it won’t stay in the zone. In Quad Cities he was very good the first half of the year but tailed off because he was over his match innings pitched by a large number. I know this year the organization is working on him throwing inside which is how they/he explain all the HBP’s. It seems she should be more dominating than he is and that may be because he does pitch to contact even with the heat he throws and I don’t remember much about his slider.
Roberto De La Cruz is coming into his own, as a hitter. He was a bonus baby, so expectations were high. Luhnow claimed Roberto would hit well in Johnson City back in 2009, when in reality he could not hit in the Gulf Coast League. But after two years of training in the GCL, Roberto is now pounding the ball at JC, showing outstanding power.
Joe Kelly… from everything i hear, his stats do not match his stuff (i’ve never seen him live, so if i wrong please tell me). You would think somone with a high octane FB would fair much better than his career numbers indicate (see Mikel Cleto). It seems to me that all roads lead to him becoming a reliever w/ ++ stuff. But on the record i still like him as a stater to work on his stuff. Also, he seem so small (listed at 165), i know he is not very tall, but i wonder if he can project a little more.
Allen Craig… Man it’s good see him hitting well again, he could be a huge factor in the next 5-6 weeks w/ the big club. If anyone has seen him during the rehab, how is he moving? I’d say let him play the next 3 games and get 12-15 more ABs and have him come up for the second game of the brewers series (when Yadi “the Ultimate Warrior” Molina gets out of Time Out).
Random thoughts… if Jay continues his post trade deadline swoon (similar to last season), i wouldnt mind seeing Chambers come up in a couple weeks and see if he can be a little sparkplug off the bench, i realize that might be pipedream since we have the great Corey Patterson on the bench. Bobby DLC (De La Cruz), half of his hits go for XBHs and 1/4 of them are bombs; i try not to get too excited about JC stats but it’d be nice to see a power hitting third baseman finally. Glad to see RJ’s defense is still as good as adverised. Plus i keep waiting for Taveras to come down to earth (i guess cuz of his BABIP), but jeez the kid keeps hitting. Next year might be a big moving year “the” Oscar. And you heard it hear; Matt Adams will end up with 34 jacks this year.
I’ve been slow to come around on Kelly but he keeps getting the job done and everyone says he has the stuff. Not currently in my top 20 (but close).
Joe kelly’s results have not been great at springfield. However, his K rate has been good, and his BB rate slightly up. He’s mostly been hurt by too many HR. It’s possible they just find him too hittable, but I suspect it’s mostly a mix of luck and the springfield stadium.
Roberto De La Cruz has certainly been putting up some eye popping power numbers at JC (ISO is a ludicrous .301) but I think he has a long ways to go to be considered a top flight 3B prospect. The first things that jump out at me looking at his numbers are his horribly low BB rate (4%) and his equally horrible K rate (25%). If he could work on that BB rate then he might develop into a pretty good three true outcomes player, which would definitely be an asset. He’s still young at 19 years old, and there’s reason to hope that he’ll improve his plate discipline with more time. If nothing else, this season has proven that he wasn’t the bust that some people on this site labeled him a year ago.
Rahmatulla’s numbers, on the other hand, are amazing across the board. At 21, though, he’s far too old to be at JC (he’ll be 22 by the start of next season). If it were up to me he’d start next year at PB, so we can get a realistic look at whether he’s really a special talent or was just feasting on younger competition.
Could room be found for him at QC yet this year?
I’m no expert on the minor league rosters and which players the org considers expendable, but to me Rahmatulla deserves a promotion more than anyone else in the system. Not only because he’s EARNED it but because he NEEDS it to prove that he can play with guys his own age.
Needs to prove to whom? Last year the Cards put Greg Garcia at JC all year. This year he is doing well at PB. If Rahmatulla is in PB next year he will be young for the league. I’d love to see him at a higher level but he is less than a year older than the league average and has plenty of time to catch up. I assume the Cards know what they are doing and have him at JC for a reason.
Fair enough. He doesn’t need to prove anything to the org as he was only just drafted and they’re the ones who decide where he is anyway. He’ll never be considered a good prospect though if he’s always old for his league (as he’s on track to be). Real prospects are generally younger than the league average (the “average age” isn’t really the average age of a true prospect, but the average age of the prospects plus all of the organizational filler). I just think that if the org thinks highly of him at all it wouldn’t really be pushing him to start next year at PB, it would simply be placing him where a prospect his age should be.
Looking over Joe Kelly’s numbers it seems to me he has been extremely unlucky so far in his career. His first two seasons he had high BABIPs and horrible 51.1 and 58.7 LOB%. This would help explain why he put up ugly ERAs (4.75 and 4.62) despite very respectable FIPs (2.61 and 3.31). He’s been stung at Springfield by a .390 BABIP and 66.2 LOB%, but what’s especially hurt him are his HRs allowed. His previous high at any stop in the minors was .26 HR/9 last year. So far in Springfield (SSS of course) it’s over 1 HR/9.
Really my opinion of him went up a lot after looking at those numbers. Unless there’s a reason why his ERAs have consistently been so much higher than his FIPs I’d say his minor league track record is pretty impressive (gotta get the walks down though… they’ve increased at each stop along the way, which is the one red flag I see in his stats). In my opinion, players with crappy GB% are the most likely to have ERAs considerably worse than their FIPs. As I understand, though, Joe Kelly is just the opposite. If his stuff is as nasty as they claim and he can get a little better control of it, I could see him projecting to a #3 starter or so.
Warner and staff have gone on record to say that kelly needs better command of his FB.
Amazingly Matt Adams now has 23 of his 25 HR in the 3 big HR parks of the Texas League.