This is why I’m a little late with DFRs this weekend.
- Mark Hamilton was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Eugenio Velez was 2-for-4 with a triple.
- Nick Derba was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Shelby Miller had another troubling outing — and yes, you can now put me in the worried camp; we can argue if I should have been there earlier a different time. Miller was pulled after 2.1 innings walking 4 batters and allowing 3 hits for 3 runs. He struck out 4. The consolation that I take from all these troubles is that the pure stuff still seems to be there.
- Brian Broderick picked up the innings with 4.2 frames allowing 2 walks and 4 hits for another 2 runs. He struck out 5.
- Adam Reifer pitched a scoreless frame. It’s too bad that, given the uncertainty with the major league bullpen, Reifer hasn’t found his strikeout stuff again post-injury.
- Chris Swauger had just one hit in 5 ABs but he knocked it out of the parl.
- Adam Melker was 2-for-3 with a walk.
- Richard Castillo went 5 innings allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 3. Three of his four runs came on long balls.
- Keith Butler pitched a scoreless frame striking out 2. Butler might be the next real bullpen arm for the major league club. He has the consistency that Eduardo Sanchez lacks. While Butler doesn’t have a high octane fastball, he’s show remarkable consistency and the ability to put batters away with his slider.
- For some reason, I always think CHA is for Chattanooga. It always trips me up on the probable starters posts.
- Starlin Rodriguez was 3-for-3.
- James Ramsey was 2-for-4.
- Alan Ahmady was 2-for-3.
- Palm Beach tallied 8 singles but failed to hit for extra bases.
- Anthony Ferrara pitched 7 innings allowing 8 hits and 3 runs. He struck out 4.
Quad Cities 2, Clinton 4 (10 innings)
- Matt Williams was 3-for-5 with a triple.
- Stephen Piscotty was 2-for-5 with a double.
- Dail Villanueva struck out 5 in 7 innings allowing 1 unearned run on 4 hits and 1 walk. Villanueva is keeping runs off the board but his overall pitching profile isn’t terribly inspiring for the long term. Modest strikeout rates, modest groundball rates, modest walk rates. He’ll need to find another level of success as he moves up through the system.
- Danny Miranda struggled in the 10th inning allowing 3 runs for Clinton to take a 4-1 lead. Miranda would take the loss on the back of 2 hits (both home runs) and 2 walks.
- Alex Mejia (SS), who recently signed, was 1-for-4 with a double for his first professional hit.
- Patrick Wisdom (3B) was 2-for-3 with a double.
- Tyler Melling scattered 7 hits across 6 scoreless innings. He stuck out 5.
- Yunier Castillo picked up his third save striking out 2 and allowing just 1 hit.
Johnson City 4, Elizabethton 8
- Ildemaro Vargas (2B) was 2-for-4.
- Jeremy Schaffer (DH) was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a home run.
- Carson Kelly (3B) was 2-for-4 with his first professional home run.
- Johnson City struck out 14 times in the game.
- Juan Batista pitched 5 innings allowing 3 hits and 3 runs. He struck out 6 and walked 2.
- Thomas Lee was shelled for 5 runs (3 earned) in 1.2 IP. He walked 1 and allowed 6 hits while striking out 2.
Entries (RSS)
Keith Butler continues to dominate Texas league hitting! whats up with this kid, he has dominated at every level in the cardinal system since being drafted in 09 and never posted an ERA above 3.00, and striking out more than a batter per inning at all levels ! Yet this KID gets no love!
He is leading in saves in the Texas league with 16 and has not had a blown save this year!
With this kind of consistency I can’t see this kid being that lucky with getting batters out from both sides of the plate.
Is this kid for real?
Does anyone have a scouting report on this Kid?
He had a pretty rough go in the Arizona Fall League last year, when he played against top prospects. That and being a 24th-round draft pick probably lead folks to wait and see whether he continues this success into AAA.
Those aren’t knocks so much as observations. When you have a 23-year-old closer in AA who isn’t throwing premium unleaded, it makes sense to keep hopes high but expectations modest.
“hopes high but expectations modest” — consider that phrase officially stolen! :) I like it!
An interview with Butler from the AZ fall league last year, sounds like a smart pitcher, maybe he is no prospect but an interesting comment he makes at the end of his interview about his stint in the fall league.
http://stlcardinals.scout.com/a.z?s=321&p=11&nid=4523765&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=audio&playlist=http%3A//stlcardinals.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D321%26mediaids%3D1000611
I’ll get him credit for what hes done to date so far!
Butler not only doesn’t throw much over 90; he sits 72 to 73 most of the time. I have seen him throw the off speed stuff 4 out of five pitches to a hitter. I consider him a non-prospect. I love that he gets the job done, and I enjoy watching him way more than Jorge Rondon’s 95 mph heat with zero movement.
Be careful when you ask for a scouting report; it may not be what you want to hear.
Sitting is refering to his average fastball speed. He does not sit at 72-73 I assure you.
An article from st louis today “Butler has effictive pitch what ever it is”
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cards-prospect-butler-has-effective-pitch-whatever-it-is/article_f5f659ca-53e7-541a-9d65-f2267879ce5e.html
The other consolation is that Lynn has turned out to be a pretty good starter and Joe Kelly threw his name in the hat. This allows some time and breathing room for Shelby.
Shelby Miller will not have good results until the Cardinals take him off of the no shake rule. Other teams can read and realize that he has this rule, and that it means he’s going to be throwing a lot of offspeed pitches. They’re telling their hitters to sit and wait on a fastball because he is still inconsistent with his curve. Here in a month or so I envision that they will take Miller off the no shake rule and his results will be great.
They should shut Shelby down. Give him a couple weeks off to get his head straight, throw some bullpens and just recollect himself with the hope that he can come back and finish the year off on a good note.
They just did that
They skipped a start. Im talking like 3-4 weeks. Give him a phantom injury and put him on the DL.
I think they should flip flop Miller and Rosenthal between AAA and AA. Let Shelby go back to AA to regroup. He’s young for AAA and struggling for 1/2 of a season. If he were not such a high profile prospect, this would be a no-brainer move.
Why? Demoting him is not the answer…let him adjust to his struggles and show why he’s a top prospect.
Demoting him would just seem like punishment.
>>Why? … Demoting him would just seem like punishment.<<
Depends on your philosophy. Leaving him in AAA to keep getting pounded is also a form of punishment. He is 21 in AAA. Things are not working out. With any young player, and even more so a young starting pitcher, you are managing the fragile psyche as well as physical being. You don't want him to go too long without tasting success. One view is to just let him struggle and either sink or swim in AAA. Another is that the safer developmental path would be to figure he has had enough at AAA for 2012 and ship him back to dominate the Texas League again. I'd imagine that he is so out of whack that he won't even dominate the Texas League immediately if demoted. Once he regains his footing there in 2012, then he returns to AAA in 2013 as a 23 year old knowing what lies ahead for him at that level. He'll be better prepared to make the necessary adjustments after having gone through it the year before.
I think the organization had hoped Shelby would master AAA in 2012 and, thus, be ready to contribute to the big club in 2013. I would put that thought out of mind for now. The emergence of Joe Kelly helps with that problem. Also, promoting Rosenthal this season puts him in position to help the big club in 2013 instead of Miller if Rosenthal is adjust to AAA during the remainder of the 2012 season.
Error correction … “returns to AAA in 2013 as a 23 year old” should be “22 year old”.
Why would you send him back to AA? So he can dominate with his fastball again? He needs to be at a place where he can develop his pitches and where he can’t get away with mistakes. The reason he had such good stats before is he was able to get away with not having a good curveball and change-up. He has to be at a level where there is actual feedback from mistakes.
Honestly, this outing by Shelby doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the 12 HRs in the previous 8 outings. I’m still not too worried about Shelby long term. He has stuff to sort out, and it may take more time than people wanted/expected, but that’s fine. Instead of trying to analyze every start, we should just relax and give him time to figure this out. That’s what development is all about.
Why would you worry about the HR’s? Teams are sitting on his fastball because they know he has no curve. When a AAA hitter sits on a fastball if its not in a good location it gets launched. Especially in some of the Western PCL parks.
Well, I’m worried about his having no curve. It’s about time he has one.
I saw a video of a recent start…trust me, he has a curve
I remember in HS he had a huge 12-6 but in QC they rested him a month mid season and redid his curvemaking it smaller and tighter. I think its time to go back to the big hook.
No…I would never allow someone to throw a big bender of a curve ball. The room for error is tiny, you never get called strikes. Sliders are the bread and butter of the league, the best pro curve balls are basically just more vertical versions of the slider. Frankly the only person I can think of that really blossomed relying on a big bender is Zito and even he was a feel pitcher that lost it. Daryl Kyle was the best curve ball artist I have ever seen and he had a big bender in the arsenal but he could throw it tighter. Kyle had about 5 different breaking balls he threw that were a variation on a tight curveball.
The reason why I’m thinking this is the speed differential in itself is very helpful to helping keep hitters off balance. Plus he’s going to need it more for a K pitch against better competition.
We attended QC last night. Ended up being one of the most exciting minor league games that i have seen. Mostly due to the 350 pounder in the next section who was working over the ump. First, I thought, cut the guy a little slack, it’s a tough game to call, second to don’t call for consistency, maybe if he’s inconsistent, sometime he’ll get one right. to finally, joining in, as was the rest of the crowd. In the 8th and\ 9th, he was squeezing Ricky Martinez and giving their guy a strike on anything that didn’t go into the dugout.
The key was that they used John Taylor a little righthander who threw about 80 and was untouchable. QC apparently had never seen a submariner and couldn’t deal with him.
I was impressed with Dail Villanueva. He threw hard, especially for a lefthander. Struggled in the first two innings, and overthrew his fastball when he was in trouble. Later he was more consistent with his motion and put the fastball on corners. Each inning he would throw one or two curves in the dirt in front of the plate. I think when, or if, he learns to place his curveball, he will start punching out hitters.
Stephen Piscotty is big and broad, looked about 6′ 3″ and strong. He hits the ball with authority. His double was down the right field line and quickly to the corner. In the 10th, he just turned on a fastball and pounded down on it. It shot past the shortstop who did a good job to dive to stop it, but it drug him a step back. Played a solid third. He looked completely comfortable. Means a lot to know he can play at the level.
Anthony Garcia was only one of five, but he made a throw from left. In the 9th, tie game, seconnd adn third, nobody out, and Guillermo Pimentel hit a shot to LF. As soon as he hit it, i said, ‘Well, that’s game.” The guy in the row behind me said,That’s a run.” Garcia rocketed it to the plate. Castillo was standing in front of the plate a step toward left. Not only did he receive the ball without stepping away, but he caught it chest high, had plenty of time to plant and brace for the barreling runner. He knocked Blash flat and had time to throw to third, nearly eliminating the other baserunner. I can’t recall seeing a better throw at this level, and the crowd agreed. Much appreciation shown to Garcia. More than the play, is that he performed perfectly in the clutch.
I like Matt Williams. He kicked his first ball, but after turned double plays and showed decent hands and arm. He hits the ball solidly and on a line. Won’t ever have power, but is a reliable hitter. Obviously, there were some downsides, but i don’t dwell on shortcominngs of the kids.
Thanks for the first person perspective!
What was Villianueva sitting and topping out at on the gun on his Fastball?
I dont want to get over excited but when I saw Piscotty play Thursday and Friday as was really impressed. He will prove to be a steal in this draft. Not a freaky athelete in the Glaus/Rolen mold of linebacker 3rd basemen but good size and a better athlete than Freeze is at 3rd. The question I have is how fast can he move up. Craig, Carpenter, Freeze all took a long time to make it to the show. He needs to move faster to have a greater impact.
Garcia will play rightfield in the pros…where I said last year that Tavares doesnt have a cannon but an average arm in RF, Garcia has a cannon. Looked like a legit bat for a RF too. Dont really understand playing him in left at this level.
This really surprises me. For some reason I’ve had the impression that Garcia was a good hitter without a natural defensive position. I don’t know how I got that idea, but I’m glad I was mistaken.
After watching OT last night in the Futures Game, I’m thinking he might be more of a left fielder down the road (when the position opens up, which of course won’t be anytime soon).
That first throw to third base just seemed a little off. I didn’t think he had much of a chance to get the runner, and thought the third baseman should’ve taken a step to his left to receive the ball instead of staying on the bag and letting it go past him.
But the second throw, the one that sailed past the second baseman and was ruled an error … It was just one play, but it wasn’t what I liked to see from our top prospect.
I also didn’t know what to think about that stolen base attempt. Even with a good jump he was out by a length.
Good thing he can hit!
I am not understanding playing him in LF…you really need an insane bat to play there. Garcia is a nice athlete with a good bat and a solid arm. He and Piscotty are the pro prospects at QC. They should be playing the tougher defensive positions that they are suited for.
I’ll second that! Thanks, B-Bored.
Garcia has now gunned down eight(!) runners in just over 60 games (one error). Sounds great to me.
Question to no one in particular: If Shelby’s offspeed stuff isn’t working so hot, and his FB velocity is down distinctly, how come he’s fanning guys at such a terrific rate? It’s an odd combination of facts, to say the least. (Is there any PitchFX-type data anywhere for AAA hurlers?)
Article on pitching prospects to watch. http://baseballinstinct.com/2012/07/07/st-louis-cardinals-top-pitching-prospects-touchem-all-2012/
I was at the game in Memphis on Saturday, and I have been firmly in the “not concerned about Shelby” camp….. Until Saturday. More concerning to me than the outing is his mindset: Warner walked onto the field to pull Shelby from the game, and before he made it to the mound, Shelby started walking towards him to give Warner the ball. Warner took it, and yelled to Shelby “don’t ever walk off the mound before I get there.”
THAT type of attitude/behavior worries me. Even durning the game, Shelby’s body language screamed “I’d rather be anywhere else.”
If ou were getting shelled the last place you’d want to be would be on the mound also.
Touche.