Comments on: Daily Farm Report – 6/30/12

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:47:49 +0000

Yeah, we’d likely be selling low on Cox right now. I say send him back to AAA next year (he’ll still be just 23 on Opening Day), and see if he can tear it up from the start.

Then twelve months from now you’ve got a real commodity in the fold.

And TB23? Yes, I do mean borderline top 50 overall prospect for Anthony G., provided he gets that K% down around 18-20% while maintaining the 900+ OPS and apparently solid outfield play.

This is Garcia’s third year in a row of being age-appropriate for his level, while posting an OPS at least 190 points above his league. To put that into a big league context, right now Matt Holliday, with his slash line of .307/.391/.502, is 175 points above the N.L. average.

Of course, in no way do I mean to call Garcia “another Matt Holliday,” but I am saying that Anthony (if he keeps this up) is emerging as one of the best 20 or so prospects in the minors, IF you’re looking at bat *only.* Right now he looks like a guy who could hit .280+ in his prime, with decent walk/HBP totals, and lots of power. Even as an average defender at an outfield corner, that’s a fine, fine player. ;)

By: Evan

Evan — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:08:23 +0000

Bob, I definately agree with you about many questions regarding his glove and power. But I still think he has a good chance to be a .300 avg guy who hits 10-15 home runs with 60-80 rbi. He has been compared a lot to Brett Wallace bc of his similar skill set and being blocked by an established big leaguer. We got Matt holliday with Wallace as the centerpiece and I don’t see us getting anywhere near that for cox this summer. It seems like we would be selling, which is a bad thing to do with top prospects

By: TomBruno23

TomBruno23 — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 23:44:15 +0000

A 20-year old low A OF in the top-50? That’s in the Cardinal system, as opposed to all of baseball, right? He’s also only walked 3 times over those 40 plate appearances. Going to have to improve that OBP. Watching it drop 33 points from his time in JC doesn’t bode well for his stops up the ladder.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 22:38:29 +0000

I dunno, Evan. I still imagine that Cox’s stock is down from 6 months ago. At his best, there are still questions about the power, the glove, and the patience to draw more than 40 walks a year. (In other words, he’s gotta hit .310+ to have any real chance at aboveaverageness.)

But I’ll bet that Joe Kelly’s more valuable just now, than he was several weeks back. Maybe package Joe and some Mr. X for a pair of solid, cost-controlled relievers.

By: red blazer

red blazer — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 22:02:21 +0000

Is Adams hurt ? Considering we are shopping for pitching help just wondering if he could be a trade chip. We should be able to get something decent for him.

By: Evan

Evan — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:46:51 +0000

Cox is now batting .253 for the season, which is pretty impressive considering how bad he played in April and May. I know STL needs bullpen help very badly, but i’d hate to see us trade him away this summer. I’ve heard his name thrown around a lot because he is blocked by Freese and we have 3B depth behind him. He is a 1st rounder who got a nice chunk of change and he’s showing now that he deifnately can hit in AAA. Plus he just turned 23 in May. Maybe we can move him to corner OF? Or does anyone know what kind of pitcher we could maybe get in a trade with Cox as the centerpiece?

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:47:45 +0000

I hear you, Matt.

But *IF* we work off the premise — as suggested by multiple defensive evaluation systems — that right now Garcia is average-to-verygood at short, I think it’s fair to say he won’t be flat out *bad* in 3, 5, or 8 years from now. As long as he stays in shape and works on his craft, of course.

And that last caveat is the reason I’m admittedly kind of a glass half full guy, when it comes to projecting MLB defensive contributions; more so than hitting, I think defense can be “maxed out” through conditioning and practice, practice, Carnegie Hall-quality practice.

What I’d like, is to read some quotes about G.G.’s glovework — whether from inside or outside the organization. (Preferably both, of course.)

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:02:39 +0000

The issue isn’t really his defense today. It’s his defense 3-4 years from now. Scouts don’t think he’ll have good range when his body fills out a little.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 18:42:52 +0000

Another Greg Garcia defensive metric report: according to Hardballtimes, Greg’s glove was +5.5 runs in 2010, +1.5 runs last year, and +2.7 so far this season.

Considering his time has been split almost evenly between SS and the keystone, those numbers are very encouraging to me — looks like he’ll at *least* be a plus-plus utility infielder. :)

By: Tom s.

Tom s. — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 18:18:08 +0000

Yeah, that’s exactly my take on Garcia – he’s why we won’t have to pay Daniel descalso skip schumaker’s salary in arbitration.