While the major league team had a low scoring day and an effective debut by Joe Kelly, the offenses in the minor leagues went absolutely bonkers. A total of 95 runs were scored by both sides in Cardinals minor league games today and 51 of them off Cardinal bats. Football scores after the jump.
- Eugenio Velez was 4-5 with a pair of doubles
- Mark Hamilton cranked his fifth homerun.
- Lou Montanez, Cedric Hunter and Jamie Romak all had a pair of hits.
- Ryan Jackson had a double in four at bats.
- Bryan Anderson still managed to go 0-4.
- Brian Broderick took a beating in 5.0 IP with 13 hits and seven earned runs.
- The bullpen wasn’t any better, with Adam Reifer giving up a three run shot and Jess Todd completely breaking down and allowing six runs and four walks while only recording a single out.
- Excellent pass rushing by the Redbirds today, holding Arkansas to only a field goal in the third quarter. Oscar Taveras, however, was criticized for making some pretty violent hits.
- Oh wait, those were baseball hits? And he had four of them, including a double? Clearly, the guy is furious for letting his average briefly dip below .300 and has now brought it all the way back up to .323.
- Kolten Wong was 2-2 with a walk, a stolen base and a home run. I’d love it if this line were someday referred to as a Kolten Wong Special.
- Xavier Scruggs went 4-5 with a double and a pair of home runs, his eighth and ninth.
- Chris Swauger and Adam Melker each went 3-5 with a home run.
- Audry Perez was 3-5.
- Greg Garcia was 2-5 with a walk.
- There was pitching, too.
- Tyler Lyons went six innings and gave up three runs, walking one and striking out three.
- Kevin Thomas had a couple perfect innings with a couple strikeouts.
- Jonathan Rodriguez was 2-4 with a walk and a double.
- Chris Edmondson was 2-4 with a home run.
- Recent Venezuelan arrival Ildemaro Vargas was 3-4 with a couple doubles.
- Todd McInnis pitched poorly, allowing 3 home runs and 7 runs total in his 5 innings.
- In a night of great hitting performances, Tyler Rahmatulla tops them all, tying the Midwest League single game hit record. He was 6-6 with two home runs and two doubles, bringing his line on the year to .327/.391/.543.
- Anthony Garcia was 3-6 with a double and a home run.
- Nick Martini was 2-6 with his second home run of the year.
- Matt Williams and Luis Mateo each had a pair of hits.
- Catcher Casey Rasmus hit a triple.
- It was a bullpen day, and, with the exception of Ethan Cole who had a scoreless 9th, 10th and 11th with a couple strikeouts, none of ‘em were particularly good.
- Robert Stock started it off with three runs on in his three innings and three walks to go along with them.
Entries (RSS)
Amazing. We might have scored almost 54% of the runs today in the minors but still managed to lose 3 of the 4 games.
There’s some nice offense building in the minors.
By the way, what the heck is Breyvic Valera doing in Springfield?
Injuries have caused Wittels to go from EST to Springfield to Memphis. When he left Springfield Valera took his place there.
Thanks, Andrew.
Still don’t answer why the big jump for Valera.
I’m with you, I couldn’t believe we scored that many runs and lost 3 games. I guess they’re teaching the relievers in the minors to pitch like their major league counterparts.
How about the season Ethan Cole is putting together and he gets no love from anyone. Hopefully he gets a ticket to PB soon.
Bill Ruby did a nice piece on CT quoting Scott Bailes regarding Taveras and Wong. It’s a good read: http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=887879&sid=7cf586a5259cff0a835e9646c9251180
I am wondering if Taveras has improved defensively since I saw him last year. Everyone seems to be really positive on his play in centerfield and his arm. When I saw him he didn’t feel like his routes to the ball and speed were more than just average and peeps are starting to call his arm a cannon. I thought that he would have avg arm for a RF.
Great talent. Potentially #1 on the prospect list by the end of the year.
Huge, thanks for the link. Great read, and exciting to think of the possibilities those 2 offer.
Just out of curiosity: How well does Taveras speak English? Is he able to do interviews w.o. an interpreter?
Tavaras should easily be in the top 10 on prospect lists next year, and as you say perhaps even #1, although Bundy and Myers might have something to say about that
I wonder if Tavaras will get a AAA promotion before the end of the season?
Jason Parks was asked on Twitter if Taveras would be a Top 10 prospect in baseball next season and he replied with a yes because of his 80 hit tool.
On Sunday morning with Ron Jacober, Mo said he wants to keep the Springfield core in Springfield. So I think the answer is no.
Well if you haven’t seen him play for Springfield yet this season you should. He is taking better routes to the ball his speed might be slightly above average and he does a plus arm. He could be a five tool player except he doesn’t steal enough bags.
I mostly agree. I don’t think he technically has the “speed” tool, but he looks good out there, and he is by no means slow.
Kinda surprised at the lack of attention Anthony Garcia gets. After a bad start he is pitting up some decent numbers. He’s only 20 and also did well in Johnson city. I haven’t really seen any scouting reports on him though.
Until Garcia produces in a substantial manner somehow he will continue to fly under the radar.
Hmmmm…… substantial? 3rd in the APpy league in OPS and the only guy ahead of him who was younger is a top 50 prospect in all of baaseball.
Yet again, I wonder what the Cards are going to do with their crush of 2B prospects.
Rahmatulla’s been playing 3rd, so maybe that’s his ticket to Palm Beach. The way he’s dominating, it seems the Cards have to give him a bigger challenge. There’s no benefit to staying in the MWL for a 22-year-old out of a major college program like UCLA.
In PB, they have the Rodriguez logjam, with Starlin at 2nd (although he played LF yesterday) and Jonathan at 3rd. Maybe it’s time to start working J-Rod as a 4-corners utility guy, since that would seem to be his only route to the majors, and give Rahmatulla the full-time job at 3B, with some time at 2nd.
With all the 3rd basemen coming up through this year’s draft, it’s only a matter of time before he gets pushed up the ladder anyway. May as well give him a head start.
I hdn’t noticed that ROdriguez played 3B last night. I think that’s about the first time all year. Starlin Rodriguez also played LF which also may be a first. Some have wondered about moving Starlin to CF to take advantage of his speed.
CC, have you seen him play? What’s your take on his potential?
J-Rod had 15 errors in 86 chances last year at 3B. Every report I’ve seen says he’s a butcher out there. I think he’s basically a 1B. Doesn’t mean he won’t very occasionally play 3B in a random minor league game.
When I saw him play, his footwork around 1st wasn’t very good either….maybe it has improved….pick-off throws were an adventure.
FWIW, here’s the box score from yesterday’s FSU-Stanford game:
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncaa/baseball/cws/boxscore?gameId=320610164&league=CWS
I didn’t get to watch much of yesterday’s game (really would’ve liked to see Austin Wilson hit his home run), but I think Piscotty has gotten a hit every time I saw him at bat this weekend. Given his approach, I like his potential at the top of the lineup. I don’t see how he gets to the majors as a left fielder w.o. any obvious power, but if he hits for a high enough average in the minors I’m sure it’ll work out.
He and Ramsey should move fast. I could see them both at AA a year from now.
Speaking of guys needing to move up, what is up with Mike O’Neil? The guy is an OBP machine with a minor league career average approaching .420. He is obviously not an organizational favorite though as I seem to remember him being left off of the QC playoff roster despite having a .338 batting average. He almost always plays CF so he must be at least decent defensively. He is 24 and in PB. Not sure what his story is.
O’Neill played 4 years at USC. He has no power and no speed, may not have been drafted as a junior. As a left swinger with lots of collegiate at bats he matches up well vs RHPs and can dink for a high average. He’s a good guy for the system.
O’Neill is a LF. If playing in CF, its because PB lacks a CF.
I think the real problem with O’Neill is his size; 5’9″ and 170 pounds or something like that as I recall. He’s strictly an Aaron Miles type upside. A singles hitter, with no speed equals an okay bench player.
Am I reading that right? Rahmatulla is slugging .935????
.935 is his OPS. The author has a weird (to me) take on slash lines.
oops, just a copy/paste error. things get a little messy when you try to finish a final project and write a DFR at the same time.
Rahmatulla named MWL player of the week.
http://qctimes.com/sports/baseball/professional/minor/midwest-league/river-bandits-rahmatulla-named-midwest-league-player-of-the-week/article_8c95742c-b3ec-11e1-9022-0019bb2963f4.html
Tavares has to be the club’s #1 prospect at this point. I would think that he, Miller, Wong, and Martinez would be the Cards’ representatives in top 100 lists.
I watched a bit of the Stanford-FSU game….Ramsey could be a big leaguer no doubt.
Joe Kelly could also be in the top 100 assuming he has a nice turn in the majors but doesn’t lose his eligibility for the list. Something to be said for performing well at the highest levels.
Kelly’s performance yesterday was certainly encouraging. However, if his performance is maintained at the highest level I would think that he would stick long enough in STL to be deemed ineligible for top 100 prospect lists. At this point, he is probably sitting around 6 or 7.
No love for Matt Adams?
Yeah, let’s make it official in FR…. New #1 prospect…. OT. Still love Shelby, but come on….
Kind of off topic…
Any news/updates on Mitch Harris?
When Scott Bailes said that Taveras and Wong were “easily the most talented players in the Texas League,” I would assume he meant “on the Springfield roster.”
Even with Wil Myers promoted to AAA, the league still has J. Profar J. Singleton, and N. Arenado, three terrific prospects — Profar would currently be rated baseball’s best prospect by many mavens. (I’d have him right alongside Taveras, and distinctly above Wong, who’s more of an overall top 10-15 type guy for me.)
I absolutely love that Bailes gave high marks to Wong and Taveras in terms of DEfense, as that’s always a bit of a wildcard, when evaluating prospects.
If Valera looks good v. AA pitchers, I wonder if maybe they only “demote” him as far as Palm Beach?
I’m with you, Kyle, regarding Anthony Garcia. He’s fanning a bit too much, but Anthony (who gunned down a runner yesterday) is hitting for solid average again this year, and fully *half* the hits are going for extra bases. If his glovework is average, he projects as a sturdy 3-4 WAR guy in his prime. High floor, medium ceiling, in other words.
Wong overall top 10-15 seems ridiculously bullish for a guy with little power and speed, I’d have thought. I assume he’s got a good chance to be a 3-4 WAR 2B but I don’t see him as a potential star. Got to be at least 30 guys I’d rather have than Wong, even though I really like the look of him.
Well, the Hilo Hammer has played 102 professional games so far, or roughly 2/3 of a full season. He’s been age-appropriate for half those games, and young for his level during the other half.
So let’s pro-rate his numbers out to a full season:
.320 average, 31 doubles, 9 triples, and 16 longballs. That’s actually pretty good power for a keystoner. And speed? He prorates to nearly 30 steals, too (he’s 18 for his last 22).
I feel like (assuming average to slightly above-avg. glovework), over his prime 5-7 seasons, Wong’s floor is in the 2.5-3 WAR range, and his upside is more like 5-6 WAR.
Simply put, I look at K.W. and see a lefty-swinging Pedroia as the optimistic outcome…and Kolten’s combination of excellent plate discipline and baseball rat work ethic gives him a real good chance of reaching that potential.
Top of my head, I’d take 3 or 4 pitchers before him, plus Taveras, Profar, Machado, Lindor, Myers, and perhaps Singleton, Rizzo, Sano, Hanson, Correa, and Grandal. I could be forgetting a guy or two, of course. For me, Wong has passed guys like Arenado, Brett Jackson, Gary Brown, T. D’arnaud, and several pitchers — including Shelby & Carlos, unfortunately. :(