The Cardinals selected Eric Komatsu in the major league portion of the rule 5 draft from the Washington Nationals.
The Cardinals lost several players in the minor league portion of the draft:
- Domnit Bolivar, IF (to Milwaukee)
- Charles Cutler, C (to Pittsburgh)
- Javier Avendano, RHP (to Toronto) [weird selection]
The Cardinals added:
- Barret Browning, LHP (from Los Angeles) [Ha! Take that LA!]
- Shooter Hunt, RHP (from Minnesota)
More details to come.
(Full Rule 5 draft results available at Baseball America)
Entries (RSS)
woo-hoo, we got Shooter, who hasn’t had an era under 7.00 in the last 3 years.
It was worth the gamble. Get him in our farm system and see if working with the Cardinals coaches can help fix the control issues. Legitimate middle of the rotation starter, but wicked control issues.
If the Cardinal coachs could work some magic with Shooter it will be pickup. Picking him is pretty low risk-high reward move.
If the twins couldnt fix him, itd be interesting to see what the cards can do
The Komatsu pick makes no sense. He is not RH so you couldnt platoon him with Jay. Do we really not have any other LH OF bats that could come off the bench? Suprised we didnt try and take a LHP to fill the 2nd lefty spot in the bullpen.
5th OF. Getting him for dirt cheap as well. He hit well for the most part, but no stand out tools. Seems like a fifth OF kind of guy.
what happens to adron?
My guess is Chambers starts the year at AAA, unless Komatsu looks lost in ST in which case he gets returned.
I agree with this. They want Adron to play everyday so they took this guy in Rule V to sit on the bench as the 5th outfielder. I think I would have preferred to keep Stavi, plop him on the bench, and tell him his job is to pinch hit. Komatsu is not qualified to be a MLB 4th outfielder and really does nothing for the team as a pinch hitter. So his only quality is the ability to play CF, which should be a quality found in our 4th outfielder … whoever that turns out to be (as it appears the organization does not see Chambers in that role for 2012). If Craig isn’t ready to start the season, Adron may start with the big club then move down to AAA when Craig is ready.
Much depends on the health of Craig. If he’s ready to go on opening day, it’s probably back to Memphis for Adron. If not, he may get a temporary starting job, at least against RHP.
Browning is in fact an LHP. Not the guy you really want in your major-league pen as a LOOGY, but a break-glass-in-emergency type who is stored at Memphis against the possibility that the LOOGY situation on the big team gets ugly.
Komatsu is a cheap insurance policy against the possibility that Craig is out for longer than expected. I’ve read back through BP, etc., articles bearing his name, and for a Rule 5 guy, he gets fairly decent reviews. Very different skill set from Craig’s, but no Craig clone was available.
Have you guys ever heard the word “competition?” Chambers and Komatsu battle for the 5th outfielder spot. The winner is a Cardinal. The loser goes back to Washington or Memphis. Heck, they might both go back.
I think there’s a pretty fair chance this is the way things will work out. I’m puzzled, though: if they’re fighting for the 5th-outfielder slot, who’s the 4th outfielder? Oscar Taveras isn’t ready yet … and if you were going to say Shane Robinson, go wash your mouth out with soap.
Skip once Craig gets back.
Shane Robinson has an inside track to be the 4th OF. He can spell with Jon Jay versus LHPs.
Never heard of him, but seeing that he went to Toronto, I’m confident Avendano will turn into a 4-win player in the next two years.
I’ve literally never heard of Javier Avendano before
Avendano was extremely effective when healthy (FIP under 3.00) He has battled shoulder problems though.
I’ve heard Bolivar is a non prospect. thoughts?
Pretty much. No real stand out tool, likely can’t stay at short full time. Doesn’t really hit well either.
I remember Shooter Hunt when he was in the draft. He was getting some first round noise. I remember thinking he was a potential cardinal pick since he was a college righty with a live arm, but zero command….looks like not much has changed
Hard fastball and command of hard fastball.
Generally don’t draft kids in the first round without both. Generally try to avoid them all together. Good fastballs play at all levels of baseball, how well a kid develops the other stuff limits his ceiling.
Looks like another wasted rule 5 draft to me. Komatsu is an Adron Chambers clone, so why pick him. Browning and Hunt are absolute terrible pickups. On the other hand a great back like Cutler’s is an excellent choice for the Pirates. Avendano is a secret talent that the Blue Jays will expose in AAA. As for Bolivar, he’s horrible defensively and not much better offensively so this one is an addition by subtraction. Overall assessment: Javier is a better pitcher then Barrett or Shooter. Erik will be returned after spring training. The Cards are a minus in this draft.
Look: all Rule 5 drafts are wasted unless proven otherwise. That’s kind of the point. Every now and then one works out, but it’s very much the exception. This is nothing to lose sleep over (or to crow about).
Shooter Hunt has the command of Gary Daley Jr.
I believe using the word ‘command’ in the same sentence as Shooter Hunt and Gary Daley Jr. is the ultimate oxymoron.
Grunt; you are right it’s certainly nothing to loose sleep over. I just wish we were a little better at it. It’s nothing Card fans should look forward to with the off the board selections they make.
Shooter Hunt has done so badly after being a bonus baby that he went in the minor league draft. The Twins were fed up with him. The Cards can give him a fresh chance. He has the arm strength, so he is a sensible pick.
Browning can give us a AAA LOOGY. Useful.
What is the outlook for David Kopp now that he wasn’t selected in the Rule 5 ?