Let’s meet back here at the future Future Redbirds, in say, eight years? Wear a fedora so I’ll know you.

Bundy is the #1 prospect in baseball because he has the ‘stuff’ or ‘talent’ to be among the best pitchers in baseball.

I think a very good argument could be made that NO pitcher should ever be the overall #1 ranked prospect in the game; I believe that Joe “TINSTAAPP” Sheehan has actually argued that no pitcher should ever even be in the top 4 or 5…and I’m not sure I disagree.

As for who’s likely to be durable in the future, I’ll take the guys who’ve *already* established *some* record of durability over the guys with zero track record every time.

To throw up your hands and say, “pitchers get hurt, they’re all risky, so I’m going to effectively ignore whether or not a guy has ever made 24-26 starts, or thrown 130-150 innings — much less whether he’s done it, then come back healthy the next year and done it again” feels like a cop-out to me. You *have* to factor in history, or lack thereof.

Case in point: Carlos Martinez, who Law has dropped from his top 25 due to this year’s shoulder trouble, is the same Carlos Martinez who had no record of durability when Law ranked him #4 overall in his 2011 mid-season ratings, coming off Carlos’ Futures Game showing. I said then that such a high ranking was likely a radical misstep, that talent alone ain’t enough to place a pitcher so high.

The pre-2012 Matt Moore, on the other hand, would be a guy who could *reasonably* be considered for a top 4 or 5 overall slot, because (unlike Martinez 11 months ago, or Bundy right now) Moore had established that his arm could take the grind of starting, week after week, month after month, over consecutive seasons.

Who should be above Bundy? Taveras and Profar for sure. Probably Lindor, Machado, and Wil Myers, too. I’d have to give it more thought, but those names spring immediately to mind.

Or put it this way: I’ll bet even money Taveras exceeds 30 WAR in his career. Would you do the same with Bundy? Because if you will, I’ll take that bet.

I’m more concerned with reports regarding Miller’s
Curveball, which apparently has not been as good as I expected

His command (or lack of pinpoint with his velo) is perfect for the pen.

Developing relievers, in my opinion, is not what the cardinals do best but perhaps they are getting better at it, realizing that not every pitcher is suited as a starter.