Brandon Dickson had the most impressive day in the system by uncharacteristically striking out more than one batter per inning. With the exception of Kolten Wong, the other top position player prospects were mostly tamed. Memphis and Springfield both won by the score of 2-to-1 while Palm Beach lost a close one in extras. Quad Cities was postponed, so they’ll play two tomorrow. Details after the jump…
- Chris Swauger was 2-for-3.
- Adron Chambers, Ryan Jackson, and Eugenio Velez all went 1-for-4 with singles.
- Matt Adams and Zack Cox were both hitless but drew 1 walk a piece; Cox also struck out twice.
- Brandon Dickson pitched a gem. He struck out 10 batters in 8 innings and only allowed 3 hits and 0 walks. The only run he surrendered came on a solo homer.
- Eduardo Sanchez pitched a perfect inning; no strikeouts.
- Kolten Wong was 2-for-3 with a walk; he also stole his 5th base of the season.
- Jake Shaffer was 2-for-3 with a double and walk.
- Nick Derba was 2-for-4 with a HR.
- Xavier Scruggs and Jose Garcia added a single a piece.
- Greg Garcia was 1-for-4 with a double.
- Oscar Taveras was hitless; he struck out once.
- Scott Gorgen pitched 5 scoreless innings that included 4 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strike outs.
- Kevin Thomas threw 2 innings in relief. He gave up 2 hits, 1 run (1 ER), and 3 strike outs.
- Sam Freeman was awarded the win for pitching 1 inning in which he allowed 1 hit and struck out 1 batter.
- Keith Butler notched the save by pitching a scoreless 9th inning; he allowed 1 walk, 1 hit, and recorded 1 strike out.
- Mike O’Neill had a nice night leading off by singling twice and drawing 2 walks.
- Vance Albitz went 2-for-5 with a double.
- Michael Swinson and Luis De La Cruz each had 2 singles.
- Chris Edmonson and Ronny Gil each added a single and walk a piece. Gil also stole his 5th base of the season.
- Richard Castillo matched 6 innings with 6 strike outs; he gave up 1 run (1 ER) on 2 hits and 3 walks.
- Dean Kiekhefer also struck out a batter per inning in 3 scoreless frames.
- Chase Reid was saddled with the loss in extras; he struck out 2 batters but gave up the winning run on 2 walks and a hit.
Quad Cities, Burlington (Postponed)
Entries (RSS)
Sanchez looked really good and had his old nasty stuff going tonight..I think he’s turning a corner with his control..The final out though was a fly ball right up against the warning track in right field
We were lucky. Sanchez isn’t ready yet. He seems to be improving the mechanics but we’d still like to see the K’s still there.
i’m not sold on Sam Freeman but I’d like to see him moved up to find out if I’m (hopefully) wrong.
Anyone laid eyes on Vance Albitz?
Freeman is IMO the best LOOGY in the system. Good stuff has a good Fastball that reaches 90-95 when he’s on.
Greenwood looks very good in the early going.
Watched the Memphis game. Dickson was a machine! Great control especially with the breaking ball.
Our old friend Clayton Mortensen had himself a nice outing for Boston last night.
Gorgen got the job done – 93 pitches over 5 innings. Dickson was lights out.
Castillos numbers have been very good at PB so far this year. He seems a bit small. Anybody have a report on this kid?
Wow,Brandon, where did that come from? Are you trying to jeopardize your status as nothing more than organization depth?
Kolten is on fire again. Nothing wong with that.
Brandon deserves first pitcher call up or set free by trade to go play on a team that needs him.
How many years can you keep a guy in AAA?
I think a guy is a free agent after 7 years of minor league time
But only if he is not on the 40 man roster of the Cards.
Is anyone starting to get worried about Zack Cox ? He isn’t hitting AT ALL so far, i know he is young for the league and still relativly new to pro ball and already in AAA but i hope he picks it up.
we all know the big clubs weak spot is 2B descalso,greene and Shu are not the answner. maybe by the allstar break we will see our future guy in Wong. anybody have a guess as when we will see Wong.
I am not sure I really see the problem with 2b that you do.
Skip is hitting .304 witha .385 obp. Granted its a small sample size, but a good enough indicator that you don’t need to hit the panic button to rush a guy on to the roster from AA.
The thing with Skip is it’s fine to ride his hot streak. But you better be aware (and prepared) that the bottom could fall out of this at any time…and fast.
The other thing with Skip is he has the range of a fire plug. Hit it at him and he makes the play…
8 years. Career .290 hitter. .346 career OBP….
What is the “bottom fall out at any time” you speak of.
Obtuse comments are obtuse. The bottom falling out would be the last two years when, despite offense being down league wide, Schumaker turned in WELL BELOW AVERAGE offensive performances with almost no power to speak of. This isn’t rocket science zuke. Schumaker has clearly displayed what his downside is over the last two years.
.283 average. .333 obp are not well below average.
His OPS was 13th out of 18 NL second baseman with more than 300 AB in 2011. Any defensive metric you look at will have Skip near or at the bottom of the list. Throw that in with zero stolen bases and it means 2B is a weakness, and well below average, whether you like Skip or not.
His OPS? So lets cherry pick the stats. Skips job isn’t to hit home runs, but what they hey. Lets use that as the barometer.
Your right. Skip sucks. He is no where near as good as those great second baseman you are discussing like Ryan Roberts.
dude…. .667 OPS and .685 OPS are not good and below average how can you not agree on that ? his OPS + have been 83 and 91… average is 100. That is BELOW average
and I like skip as a backup OF/IF’er just don’t think he is a starting 2nd baseman
Sure. We need those great hitter like Orlando Hudson, Kelly johnson and Danny Espinosa.
Well, first, Dan’s not hitting the panic button. He simply made the observation that (a) second is still a question mark for the Cardinals and that (b) by the All-Star break–when we’re out of the small sample size shadow–we’ll get a better idea if Wong is the franchise future at second, and then asking when Wong may arrive in St. Louis.
Skip’s not a full-time second baseman; he’s a fill-in, a band-aid, and a spot starter. If he’s starting there all year and next, then he’ll become overexposed and his defensive limitations will become more glaring. The only season he was close to league average was when Branden “Infinite Range” Ryan was his shortstop and covered for him. Furcal’s solid, but he’s not going to provide the same protection that Ryan did.
It’s not a situation like the Cardinals had with Theriot last year, who was worse and who played a more defensively important position. But Shumaker isn’t a natural second baseman and still makes bad misplays that you would expect a nervous rookie to make (hey, Mr. Greene!). And if Skip begins struggling at the plate again, his on-field value evaporates.
If Wong continues his current pace, I would suspect he’ll be promoted to Memphis sooner rather than later. Unlike Taveras or Adams, he’s a polished player who really doesn’t need much developmental time, and leaving him in hitter-friendly Springfield would have much point. If that happens and he succeeds at Memphis, a September call-up is not out of the question.
Not hitting the panic button? I disagree. This is not simply a simple move, but requires the addition to the 40-man roster for a guy with less than 200 minor league at bats.
I agree that skip is the ideal second baseman. However, he is a decent hitter and does a serviceable job. He is not the best, but certainly not the worst option either. Plus, people are complaining…while he is sporting a .385 obp. Seriously, f Skip sucks with a .385 obp, what are people realistically expecting from Wong?
IF he is starting there next year….well lets cross that bridge when we get there. There is a big difference between 600 minor league at bats and 200.
You say they should make the move to call up a rookie to replace skip struggles because Skip could struggle at the plate. That is not a very good argument. What if Wong struggles? What if Wong does worse than skip. If you play the “what if the negative”, you have to also look at the negative with Wong. No I do think Wong might be able to handle the jump better than most AA players, but its not a risk I would be willing to make right now.
Also, I disagree with you about Brendan Ryan. his range did not help skip. I think the wide range of Pujols helped skip. Its not surprising that the decline of Pujols defensive range hurt skip.
If Wong does continue his pace, I agree that we could see him in Memphis. And I agree that a roster move at the end of the year to get him as a call-up also could happen. But still, a very different scenario than calling Wong up before the all-star break.
I think if the cards needed to make an immediate move, a brandon inge would be more likely. But in reality, I think they are going to give every chance they can to Greene before they make a move with Wong.
I said: “If Wong continues his current pace, I would suspect he’ll be promoted to Memphis sooner rather than later. Unlike Taveras or Adams, he’s a polished player who really doesn’t need much developmental time, and leaving him in hitter-friendly Springfield would have much point. If that happens and he succeeds at Memphis, a September call-up is not out of the question.”
You responded: “You say they should make the move to call up a rookie to replace skip struggles because Skip could struggle at the plate. That is not a very good argument. ”
I DID NOT MAKE THAT ARGUMENT. Learn to give me the benefit of actually reading what I wrote and respond to that.
Until then, I’m done talking with you.
Forsh 31,
My point was about calling up Wong before the all-star break. If you take a conter-point position, then I am going to assume you disagree with and my side with the original poster.
What you posted about next year, later this year is irrelevant to my point about calling him up within the next 2 months.
This is championship team I think Skip is a fine 4th OF backup 2nd baseman. great guy in clubhouse. not the answer.
I thinking allstar break over 60 games from now. we will know if he is ready for a shot. his K:BB ratio is great for such a young player.
This championship team survived with skip at second while making their assault on the braves. I think they can hold out until after the all-star break.
This isn’t a refutation that things could be better.
Agree.
But its an assumption that Wong would be better. To assume a guy in a hitter friendly AA will step in to the majors and succeed is not being realistic. Its still an adjustment to make at the major league level. The cards are winning and second base really hasn’t been a problem. No point in making a roster mover, throwing wong in there and hoping he beats the odds.
Its a same discussion that occurs on these boards. Its seems there is an under-appreciation of how hard it is to be a successful major leaguer. All last year on these boards it was how Tyler Greene should be there….Now its wong. Its interesting to see how quickly the half-full guys turn…Skip, an 8 year veteran, isn’t good enough (despite putting up modestly successful numbers), but somebody who isn’t on the roster, never played above AAA is better.
Now if Wong were already on the 40 man roster instead of cox….that would make it more interesting.
I don’t see Wong in St Louis before late 2013 personally. However, that doesn’t mean that we are OK with what we’ve got in St Louis right now. Skip is not anything more than a replacement player at 2d. He has no range. The bat issue has been hashed over. Greene has range but is inconsistent with the glove and inconsequential with the bat. What good is the promise of power undelivered? Descalso has shown promise in the past but frankly has been unsat this year.
I think Punto camouflaged our 2B inadequacies last year. His bat wasn’t great but it was adequate. His defense was superb. We’re covering for that shortfall with solid lineup elsewhere. The hole becomes egregious when offense and/or defense falters elsewhere.
I’m convinced that Greene simply isn’t the man for the job. I’d give Descalso the job for a few weeks to sink or swim. If he can’t handle it, we need to explore a band aid trade or limp along. Wong isn’t a 2012 solution…despite the obvious problem.
Why not at least give Greene a try for the few weeks you would give DD. Greene has never got that few week chance.
I think they are going to give Tyler a long leash. Especially if they are winning.
It seems like the Cardinals MO would be to get a rental if they were not satisfied with what they had at 2nd rather than promoting Wong too quickly through the minors.
Wong’s freshman year at Hawaii he was an outfielder, so they converted him to a second baseman his sophomore year. Two shortened seasons at 2nd does not seem like a lot of time at that position. His bat may be ready but I’m sure that they want to make sure that his fielding is too.
From what I have heard, his fielding wasn’t expected to be that good, but, in fact, his fielding has been surprisingly good.
Agree. He also wasn’t supposed to be that great of an athlete.and he does back flips.
I looked at the MLB Trade Rumors free agents to be, which is the likely place to find a “rental”. There is really not much that I can see that would be any improvement over what they currently have. The only ones that I thought might be a help are Scutaro (COL), M. Izturis (LAA) and Polanco (PHIL) (if you thought he could reaclimate to secondbase). I would think those teams would have to be out of even the second wild card for those players to be available at that time.
In light of Freese’s play, along with the potential to add more impact bats (maybe even one at 3B) in the early stages of the June draft, I’d say Cox’s future lies in another organization. Nice player, but doesn’t have the impact bat you want at 3B, IMO of course. This also isn’t a knee-jerk reaction to his slow start either. . .when you look at the makeup of the big club, Freese’s bad, and the versatility exhibited by M. Carpenter to handle other positions, I think he’s a luxury more than a necessity at this point. So I’m hoping he rebounds, post some nice back-of-the-baseball card numbers, so Cards could flip him to strengthen an area of need for the big club. . .whatever that may be this season or the next.
That should have stated Freese’s BAT. Duh.
Completely agree. In retrospect, I’m not sure the Cox pick was a good one unless they thought he could play 2B – and everything I have read is he can’t, so it was a “bad fit” pick from the start. Best case is to get his stats up and trade him – for the best of both parties. Cox probably has a future – it just isn’t with the Cards.
I disagree. I think at the very least Zack Cox ends up in the majors. That is better than most picks. If a guy reaches the majors, its never a bad pick.
The cardinals problem isn’t zack cos, but rather they have other good, young options. That is not really a problem.
In fact, carpenter might be a casualty before Cox.
Jesse Biddle would have been a great pick instead of Cox.
Why is that?
I think “impact bat” at third is overrated.
I am fine with a sub 20 HR season. I think the Bill Mueller’s of the world have high value.
If you don’t have an “impact bat” at 3rd, you should at least be an exceptional fielder, which Cox is not. I think he’ll make a decent 3rd sacker for some team but he’s gonna have to do it for somebody else.
Cox improved his game defensively late last season playing much more solid 3B. He doesn’t posses a strong arm about average but is solid. Cox has a good bat not much power probably 5-20 HR at MLB Level maybe less basically another Doubles and Singles hitter.
An impact bat anywhere is great. The Cards hit the jackpot in the mid-00s when they had impact bats at third and in center who were also perennial Gold Glove winners. But you can build a championship team out of any combination of parts, as long as the combination scores more runs than the other guys.
If Freese stays healthy, maybe Cox can help in the role Carpenter plays now. Or maybe he can take over Craig’s role if Craig gets the full-time job at one of his positions.
He’s a guy who, potentially, could get 200 hits in a season, with 40 or more doubles. That’s optimistic, of course. But last year, in his first full pro season, he had 158 hits — more than anyone in the system other than Albert.
We all know he starts slow. He turns 23 next week, which makes him 3 years younger than the average PCL player. His high-level competitive experience now includes 2 years of Division I baseball, a month in the Arizona Fall League, a year at Palm Beach and Springfield, and a month in AAA. I think it’s way too early to write him off.
Cox has something like a .220 BABIP in like 80 or so PAs. Yes, it’s beyond way too early to write him off.
Freese is six years older than Cox. Six years. They are not mutually exclusive players, certainly not at this time.
No they aren’t mutually exclusive players. But Cox’s ML contract has been using up his option years. He’s gonna run out of places to hide.
Freese isn’t going anywhere soon. Moreover, Carpenter’s age is in the middle somewhere and his bat (also not impact but a little further along than Cox) shouldn’t be overlooked. Carpenter’s glove is also more developed than Cox’s at this point as well.
Exactly right. I’m not saying that Cox was a “bad” pick, I’m saying he was a “bad fit” pick. I don’t see where he was going to fit unless they thought he could play 2B. If they did, it was a mistake they quickly corrected with the selection of Wong. At the time the Cards selected him, he may have been more of an insurance policy for Freese and/or Carpenter, and it turns out the Cards won’t have to collect on the policy.
they pick Cox because he was the best college bat in the Draft. droped because cof signing concerns.
remember freese is and was injury prone.
Also, remember the success of a similar player…Brett Wallace.
If you can hit, you have value. If he is blocked, He can always be flipped if need be.