Quad Cities recorded the only victory for the farm system. The Bandits scored 18 runs in the victory and basically every player got in on the action. Shelby Miller continues to struggle in AAA despite a healthy strikeout rate and both Palm Beach and Springfield struggled to overcome lackluster pitching performances.
Hitting:
- Ryan Jackson went 1-for-3 w/ 1 2B and 2 BB
- Eugenio Velez went 2-for-3 w/ 1 2B, 2 BB and 2 RBI
- Jamie Romak went 1-for-4 w/ 1 BB and 1 R
- Cedric Hunter went 2-for-4 w/ 1 BB
- Pete Kozma seems to be showing a little bit of life recently, he went 2-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 1 BB and 2 RBI
Pitching:
- Shelby Miller was not good: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 BB and 7 K
- Barret Browning went 2.0 scoreless innings that included 1 H and 2 K
- New Redbird John Gaub pitched a perfect inning that included 1 K
Hitting:
- Oscar Taveras went 1-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 1 R and 1 RBI
- Jake Shaffer went 3-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 1 R and 1 RBI
- Audry Perez went 1-for-4 w/ 1 RBI
Pitching:
- Scott Gorgen was bitten by one bad inning but couldn’t get out of the fifth: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 BB and 2 K
- Jesse Simpson came in and bailed Gorgen out, he pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, he gave up 1 H
- Jorge Rondon pitched a perfect inning
Hitting:
- Starlin Rodriguez went 1-for-3 w/ 1 2B, 1 BB and 2 R
- Ronny Gil singled in 4 AB, he scored 1 R
- Rainel Rosario went 1-for-5 w/ 2 RBI
- Christopher Edmondson went 2-for-3 w/ 2 BB
- Geoff Klein and Luis De La Cruz (2 RBI) both went 1-for-5
- Ildemaro Vargas went 1-for-3 w/ 1 BB and 1 R
Pitching:
- Drew Benes got the start and kept his team in the game: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB and 2 K
- Nicholas Gillung, Logan Billbrough and Dean Kiekhefer all contributed to put up a line of 3 IP, 4 H, 6 R (3 ER), 3 BB and 2 K
Hitting:
- Matt Williams let off and went 2-for-5 w/ 1 BB, 4 R and 1 RBI
- Nick Martini went 3-for-4 w/ 1 2B, 2 BB, 4 R and 2 RBI
- Colin Walsh needs to be promoted, he went 2-for-3 w/ a grand slam, his total line consisted of 1 HR, 1 BB, 6 RBI and 2 R
- Tyler Rahmatulla went 3-for-6 w/ 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI and 1 R
- Anthony Garcia went 3-for-6 w/ 1 2B and 2 RBI
- Virgil Hill went 3-for-5 w/ 1 2B and 3 R
- David Medina went 3-for-4 w/ 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 RBI and 4 R
Pitching:
- Kyle Hald was the beneficiary of his team’s offensive outburst: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB and 3 K
- Heath Wyatt pitched a perfect inning without the need for a defense, he struck out the side
Entries (RSS)
Miller started the 5th and had two inherited runners score. It’s another start where he didn’t get through 5 IP (his average is actually below 5) and two more longballs. It’s official for me now, I’m concerned. Cards have a pretty big investment here, I think I would be doing something different (maybe they are, and I/we don’t know it). He pitched nails the first 3 innings – and he seems to do that a lot. It seems the second time through is a problem. Move him to the bullpen for a while and let him have some success? I don’t even care if they put him in the STL bullpen. He needs some sort of change-up IMO. I was really expecting him to post a good number last night.
I do not think there is much to be concerned about here. Sure, this is the first time Miller has struggled in pro ball. He needs to make adjustments. The two homeruns he gave up last night were grooved down the middle of the plate. No doubt the scouting report on Miller right now is when he needs to make a pitch, he tries to blow the fastball by. Shelby’s struggles could be a good thing. He needs to refine his offspeed stuff to become a more complete pitcher and this year will provide the motivation to do so (as well as improve his conditioning). He is 21, pitching at 2 or 3 levels above his age and there is half a season left. The sky is not falling, these are growing pains.
Why wouldn’t you just let continue to work on the things he’s presumably working on (consistent secondary stuff, fastball command, pitch sequencing, etc.)? No need to give him whiplash by jerking him around to different roles or the ML bullpen — just let him develop in AAA as a starting pitcher. That’s what he’s supposed to be doing and he’s been doing it for all of 12 starts. It isn’t about “instant gratification.”
I don’t think the intent is for whiplash, and I could see the downside of that. My question is at what point does lack of success creep into his head? Based on the description I have heard from two different people about last night, he’s pretty upset. I think you could also see the lack of confidence reading between the lines of that MiLB article. I have no answers, but I am of the opinion that pitcher’s heads can be fragile things. So, there would seem to be a downside to moving him and a downside to letting him flounder. Which downside is less? I have no idea – just throwing it out there.
Will you link to the descriptions of him being upset after last night?
Both were folks who watched the game on MiLB TV….nothing to link. One description was “near tears” and the other was “thoroughly disgusted and frustrated”
So, first he’s “bored,” now he’s “disgusted and frustrated.” I would warn making judgments on a prospect’s mental development based on impressions of his demeanor, especially when you did not make those impressions yourself. 99.9% of that is the viewer’s perception, compounded by your own. Neither of which is based on anything really concrete.
He’s a professional ballplayer; if he can’t handle adversity at the Triple A level, he’s never going to come close in the majors. This is part of development.
I was the personal who originally said that as I watched the game on MILB.tv I just don’t know how to explain the look. It was just an exasperated/I don’t know what else to do look on his face. Today he simply tweeted. 1 inning. He’s never faced adversity like this before.
He kind of pushed his hat to the back of his head with his bill facing real high up and yes it really seemed like he was going to cry.
Off topic, but Derrick Goold reports that Michael Wacha has tweeted he’s coming to St. L for a physical on Wednesday.
Wacha has allegedly signed.
I don’t know what the current theory is about handling pitchers like Shelby, but I think it would make sense to get him to STL sooner rather than later and work with the guys in the bigs….perhaps just a September callup
Wacha even signed for slot. I think there is a realistic shot at getting Williams now.
Did anyone really think he was going to cost much over slot? The most he was going to get was 2 million and that was probably being generous.
The reason Shelby is having troubles, is because a lack of off-speed offerings. He has blazed through the lower levels with his fastball. Velo gets hit at the higher levels. The Cardinals have constantly required Shelby to throw more of his off-speed pitches. Now, he’s in AAA…and he dominates the first few innings with that fastball..but, when it’s time to show something else, he struggles to get it over for strikes..so, they sit on the fastball.
He’s going to have to improve his secondary pitches to get to the next level. He should…but, he may need to go back to AA to be able to do this
I think that on occasion I have mentioned that he didn’t really belong in AAA. I knew that his weakness was not pitching to contact, so they should have let him remain there to work on that skill, but I ma not sure they could. There are a lot of complaints he doesn’t do what is asked of him, maybe he tries, but can’t?
I agree it’s not good for the psyche. I think I read a few weeks ago about teams taking their young higher velo pitchers and moving them to the bullpen, did anyone see that?
The problem is that when most guys who have always been successful suddenly hit the wall, all hell can break loose, so this may just be the best thing for him. I remember my friend a very well known college coach telling me once he worries most about the ones who show up and are successful from the get go Not the ones who sturggle at first), then by their second season they hit a wall and can’t handle it. That guy knows what he’s talking about, he will be in Omaha this week the CWS.
Maybe that might be the best place for him (bullpen) for now, especially if he cannot get through 4 let a,one 5. If he can dominate for 1,2 innings and throw the heat, why not. Why not use your players where they are best served? Their time may be too short not to. He can work on his secondary stuff.
My very good friends son went through this years ago, one of the top ranked milb players, he really had trouble with his secondary stuff and went through the ringer. Very sad that by the time he got it together he was killed by a drunk driver along with other friends, the night after his first season start for the Angels.
sorry for the typos but you get the idea…..
…and a great start it was.
One of the saddest baseball episodes ever……
It was tweeted that Max Foody will sign – if true, very nice. Sign Kelly & Williams (not likely) and you have the makings of a very impressive draft
That would be superb, in concert with an early Wacha sign.
Wacha could be in St Louis by the end of next year, I think. He just needs to junk the slider and tighten up the curve. Personally, I’d love it if they could get him to learn a cutter, so I’d probably start him slow, give him the rest of this year and much of next in PB, but he could really probably start in Springfield I guess.
This is true. Wacha has already pitched 106 innings this year.
I thought I read somewhere speculation that Wacha would go to PB but only pitch out of the pen this season due to the innings he has already accumulated. I’m all for pushing college pitchers in the system but I think he ought to get a few starts below AA before being sent there. Even if he started in A+ next season, he could still get to AAA by the end of 2013. By 2014, we are going to have a stash of MLB ready arms chomping at the bit in Memphis.
I’d stick him in Palm Beach as a reliever, and depending on how he looks in ST either send him to Palm Beach or Springfield as a starter.
It will take time for Wacha too develop his breaking ball. It is marked as a below average breaking ball. Though with his plus command and plus change he will be on the fast track IMO.
That’s wildly optimistic for Wacha unless you’re projecting him as a reliever. His breaking ball is average on a good day, and I don’t think a year is enough time to make it consistent enough for hitters to respect it.
His curveball and slider combo in his regional start vs Dayton was better than average— he flashed a plus slider for a swing strikeout and was dropping-in plus cruveballs for strikes his 3rd time through the line-up.
His slider could develop into a plus pitch for him down the road vs big league RHH and his CU speaks for itself.
Spending most of next year in PB is optimistic? KLaw (I think) tweeted that he could probably be an MLB-level 5th starter now. I don’t think spending the best part of a season in PB then moving up to AA after that is especially optimistic, even though he’s thrown a lot of innings this year.
Guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. Starting Wacha lower than PB is pointless IMO as the competition in low-A and lower will be weaker than he was facing in college.
Link on the Foody news?
This is all I’ve found. Not sure if it is legit or not.
https://twitter.com/cdowlar/status/210897389538639872
Here’s Corey Dowlar’s LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/corey-dowlar/22/550/432. Looks like he’s a budding sports writer who has been covering Florida college teams on fringe sports blogs/websites a bit as a way to get into the business (“correspondent” in newspaper terms means “not an on-staff writer”).
Miller had 6 k’s and 1 walk after three innings. Is there any chance St. Louis begins to use him as a reliever like they did with Waino in 2006. It would be a nice and needed addition to that bullpen.
From a financial stand point, I’m 1000% for him not throwing an MLB inning until May/June of next year. Then we have him until 2019. He’s only 21 so no need to rush him, let him figure out AAA before pushing him and then get his prime and cheap years out of him. (sorry Shelby)
Anyone heard any updates about C. Carpenter? It’s getting to the point where we need him badly. Very impressed with Joe Kelly the other day though.
I heard that later this week Carp starts throwing off of a mound.
I don’t think they won’t to rush his development by putting him in the bullpen though it may increase his velocity for example what they did to Lynn last season. Lynn was airing it out in the bullpen velocity increased from 90-93 to 95-97. Let him stay in Memphis all season and figure it out. Because right now that 5.76 ERA and 14 HR given up is pretty horrid.
Absolutely no reason to start his arbitration clock when he’s still having issues with AAA hitters.
Agreed. I could see the argument if he was dominating in AAA and we were in a close pennant race in August, say, but now would be a horrible time to bring him up.
John Sickels did some scouting reports on several Quad Cities Prospects:Juan Castillo, Anthony Garcia, Hector Hernandez, Luis Mateo, Danny Miranda, Tyler Rahmatulla, and Colin Walsh. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/6/12/3080673/scouting-report-quad-cities-river-bandits-st-louis-cardinals
Thanks for sharing that..good stuff… man quad cities offense is on fire right now.
i had high praise for Rahmatulla last year and he is tearing it up this year. hope he an keep it up and increase his prosepct status.
I wonder what Rahmatulla numbers would be if he were healthy all season. He is batting .333 .395 On Base .565 SLG and .960 OPSing 7 HR 40 RBI in a limited 45 games. Kid got some power potential and bat speed when healthy. Just need to find him a home defensively.
I don’t know what the organization thinks, but he is creeping up my list!
Apropos of nothing, I only just noticed that 20-yr-old Ilde Vargas has been playing at Palm Beach for the last week of so. After spending last year waaaay down in the Gulf Coast League.
Is it just me, or is keeping guys like Rahmatulla and Walsh in Quad Cities even weirder, when we see Vargas and Breyvic Valera (19 yrs. old) leapfrog to high-A and AA, respectively, straight from Extended Spring Training?
Not that I’m complaining or anything; it’s just that I don’t recall ANY Redbird prospect ever jumping from EST to a level beyond the MWL.
It’s just…odd.
Thanks for the Sickels link, Flush! (I could tell the esteemed Mr. S. in two words, why Anthony Garcia hasn’t gotten more attention: eighteenth round.)
It’s just for depth. And to save a plane ticket as EST and High A are both in Jupiter. I think they want to see what they have in Valera. I thought he was going to start in QC and he probably could have but they needed to get Mateo one last chance after 6 years in the organization. I bet that Valera can hold his own at AA. He’s not playing just replaced Wong his first game and then pinch ran and played 3rd for Curtis.
I’ve been wondering the same thing about some of the guys in QC this year. Do you thing it has anything to do with the earlier draft signing deadline this year, i.e. nobody will be able to hold out until nearly the end of the season? I wonder if they expect to get more draftees signed and assigned early this year, which will then push the guys tearing it up in QC up a level.
It seems reasonable to assume that some of the older players performing well in QC will be moving up at the midpoint and replaced by guys in the organization already. Not many new draft picks will start at QC. Ramsey perhaps.
I can see Ramsey, Piscotty, Wacha if they want to give him a first starts starting at QC. I think they shut Heyer down for the year or have him pitch out of the BP in QC also.
I think Cooney, the 3rd round soft-tossing college lefty guy with four pitches, will start at QC, probably. Unless there isn’t a rotation spot for him, but given the last few games they need all the pitching help they can get. Could see a few of the mid-round guys too if they start in the bullpen. Plus Ramsey & Piscotty. Sounds like Wacha is going to PB.
Matt Williams now with 21 errors at SS for QC while Juan Castillo has 9 passed balls. Wow.
FSU and Arizona are still in the running for the NCAA title, right? so that means we can’t sign ramsey, mejia, or heyer yet. we should be able to sign piscotty soon, though. stanford has been eliminated.
once the CWS is over, we should be able to sign those three, which will in turn allow us to haggle with the HS draftees.