Wasn’t Lynn minor league pitcher of the year in 2009?

I think they are very similar

2) There are always HS arms available every year. And its a similar argument every time the cards don’t pick one. And actually, as I stated before, drafting is a balance. I also think you also need to go for the high upside. Just not everytime. I also would not have picked Porcello becaue I am against giving HS pitchers Major league contracts.

a) I agree its not always correct to take the safe pick. That was my point. There are times to be conservative and times to be agressive. With one late rounder in 75 picks, it was best to stay conservative. With Multiple first rounders, its better to go aggresive.

Wong was a good pick in our case but still hat passing on Big Arms. I was a pitcher and if someone as talented as Guerriri in available we should take that type of player more often than not.

2–The selections at the time of the draft were not limited. There were at least a couple of Shelby Miller-level pitchers available, which is why some people were upset. You can view it your way, but you have to understand that *all* prospects have a very low chance of making the majors. In my mind, avoiding ace-quality HS pitchers because they “have an even lower chance of making it” is a blanket statement that’s equally wrong. I would argue that a player with a high upside, even a starting pitcher, has a better chance of making a real contribution to the major league roster than a low-upside pick, because there’s more wiggle room in player development. Rick Porcello is not the ace pitcher people hoped he be, but he still has started 89 games over 3 seasons for Detroit. with time to get better (he’s only 22). Even with his big overslot contract, he still was less expensive than veteran starters providing the same level of pitching he has, and he’s got 2 option years left on that contract.

Let me put it this way…I originally said the Wong pick was the right one to make because the Cardinals had a hole in their system at second, had a great batting prospect sitting there for the taking, and were already stocked with top-rotation pitching prospects. If all things were equal and the Cardinals’ system were empty on both counts, and they still selected Wong over a couple of guys like Guerreri and Norris, I would have howled with the rest, because:

a. Ace-level pitchers are hard to come by at the major league level, and when they do, they’re damned expensive. They’re also harder to come by in the later rounds of the draft.

b. Meanwhile, it’s much easier and cheaper to fill your second baseman position at the major league level. There’s also several more candidates, because you’re not looking for an “ace-level” second baseman; just one who’s capable of starting.

c. Yes, pitching prospects tend to implode more than position prospects. To me, that means if you have the opportunity to pick up a pitching prospect with the upside to be an ace, because the more of ‘em you have, the better chance you have of having an ace arm on the cheap. The Cardinals have several arms that profile as top-of-the-rotation starters, with two of them among the nation’s elite. Picking yet another prospect of that caliber would have been redundant, and it would have left a serious hole in the system in the middle infield, of which only Ryan Jackson, in my mind, currently has a chance of becoming a major league starter. This year, the Cardinals made the correct choice in taking the “safe” pick. But it’s not always the correct choice.

That pretty much sums up what was given for Mulder. However, Mulder was more highly regarded than Jurrjens is now.

But yes….Lance Lynn is basically Dan Haren (at this point)

Hope he becomes Dan Haren