In case you missed it …
- Steve Batterson of the Quad Cities Times takes a look at the 22 year old Virgil Hill who has seen limited playing time in QC this season. Hill was a 2009 draftee who has slowly been moving through the system from the Gulf Coast Cardinals to Johnson City to Quad Cities to Batavia and now back to Quad Cities. Hill discusses the 2011 demotion and how he handled it.
- Derrick Goold delves into the future of first base in a post-Pujols era and finds … not Matt Adams but Allen Craig. It’s an interesting look ahead because it alludes to a nice problem that the Cardinals will have as the move forward. Consider that Matt Holliday is under contract through 2016 and Carlos Beltran through 2013. Behind those two players are a host of prospects and young players under team control that are restricted to the corners of the outfield and infield: David Freese, Allen Craig, Matt Carpenter, Matt Adams and Zack Cox. Clearly, that’s more players than you have positions. And that’s not even mentioning Oscar Taveras who could be ready for a big league debut in 2013. Again, it’s a nice problem to have but one to keep an eye on.
- Goold also notes that it will be a few more months before we see Mitch Harris — a 2008 draftee — on a regular basis.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com talks Charlie Tilson and Mitch Harris with Cardinals’ Farm Director John Vuch.
- Baseball America has the minor league transactions from the last week. The Cardinals shuffle a handful of players on and off the DL. No major moves.
- Proof that local coverage is, at times, better than national coverage. Baseball America’s JJ Cooper expresses surprise at Oscar Taveras’ power ouput. As we often noted here last year, Taveras put up monster power numbers in 2011 for a 19-year-old. With a .198 ISO in a slight pitcher’s park, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Taveras hitting for power (.327 ISO) in 2012 in Hammons Field as a left hander. There’s also the usual equivocating about his defense and being a “proficient corner outfielder” but everyone doubting his ability to stay in center. Keep on proving them wrong, Oscar. I believe.
- Baseball Instinct profiles Trevor Rosenthal.
- If you want to prep for the draft, I recommend John Kilma’s Baseball Prospect Report site. Kilma, this week, touched on, for a second time, one of the players with the potential to go first overall in this year’s draft, Mark Appel.
- Oscar Taveras made the 10-pack this past week with Kevin Goldstein.
Entries (RSS)
Carpenter is probably a bench player anyway, and Zack Cox isn’t really a very good prospect anyway. You don’t become an everyday major player at one of the corners with that lack of in game power.
I think Craig and Adams are the only two who you should worry about. Craig can play first base next season until Beltrans contract runs out, can shift to right in 2014, and Adams can become the everyday first baseman after that.
Of course that leaves no room for Tavares on one of the corner outfield positions, but maybe he sticks in center for a couple of seasons anyway. I mean Kirby Pucket was a bad center fielder(even though that catch in the world series seems to have gave him a reputation he didn’t really deserve), so anythings possible.
I meant to type Kirby Puckett wasn’t a very good center fielder but managed to stay at the position through his offense prime, so anythings possible.
I don’t think anybody in baseball, much less the Cards’ organization, will block Taveras from playing when he’s ready for MLB.
He might be a top-10 prospect by the end of this season.
The Craig-Adams-Cox-Carpenter logjam will straighten itself out, but if any of the guys under discussion ends up blocking OT, I think it’ll be because of OT falling short of his potential, or at least our current view of his potential. His future is in his own hands.
Interesting article from Goold. I think it makes the most sense for Craig to move to outfield and then bring Adams up to play 1st. However, I could see the Cards looking to move Adams to another team. His stock is rising after a great start to his AAA season.
How nice would it be to see a lineup with Craig, Adams, Hamilton all back to back to back?
Sorry, add Freese to that as well? Wow!