Boone Whiting leads the way with a terrific performance as Springfield advances in the Texas League playoffs, moving on to play Frisco for the pennant. Results after the jump.
- Boone Whiting allowed only three baserunners all day cruising through 7.0 innings with just 73 pitches, striking out 4 and walking 2.
- Chris Swauger was definitely the MVP of this game, however, hitting 2 doubles, scoring 2 runs, and making a diving play which robbed Troy Tulowitzki (Tulsa used him as a ringer in this series, for shame) of extra bases. He paid the price for that play, however, as he broke his collar on the dive, rendering him out for the rest of the season.
- Kolten Wong was 1-4.
- Oscar Taveras was also 1-4.
- Jamie Romak hit a double.
- Greg Garcia was 1-3.
- Eric Fornataro struck out a pair and got the third out on a nice comebacker in a scoreless 8th.
- Keith Butler struck out a batter and allowed one hit to get the save.
Springfield starts up again on Tuesday, playing Frisco against Cody Buckel. As nice as it would be to see Oscar Taveras up with the big club, it’s just as good to see him involved in deep postseason runs right now. Hopefully he gets to experience a lot of them in his St. Louis career.
Entries (RSS)
Looking forward to Carlos Martinez vs Mike Napoli (who is rehabbing w Frisco). Good test.
Looks like a good series, could Carp start for Springfield in this playoff series?
The deceptive Boone Whiting continues to impress me.
Jason Parks with a write up on Michael Wacha
“Michael Wacha, RHP, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield)
With impressive size, a solid arsenal, and good on-the-field production, Wacha looked like a top 10 selection heading into the 2012 draft. After a surprising slip to the Cardinals with the number 19 pick, Wacha wasted little time making other teams look foolish for his fall, as the 6’6’’ right-hander arrived on the scene with a better arsenal than his college resume suggested. Working mostly in two-inning bursts to manage his already heavy workload, Wacha toyed with the competition at the lower levels of the minors, starting in the Gulf Coast League before finding himself at Double-A. Using his height well, Wacha is able to create a steep plane to the plate, pumping fastballs in the 93-94 mph range and reaching back for 97. His curveball seemed to enjoy the professional stage, as most reports suggested the 12-to-6 breaker was a major league plus pitch. His 84 mph changeup also flashed plus, giving Wacha the potential for three above-average pitches, to go along with his impressive feel for command and control. In a small sample of 20 innings, Wacha has sent 40 hitters down on strikes, only walking four. He’s legit. This could be one of the bigger steals of the 2012 draft, and he could be pitching in a major league rotation at some point in 2013.—Jason Parks”
I have elevated Wacha to #3 on my prospect list (and definitely top 50 nationally). i’d be impressed if he was doing this at the batavia/QC level. To be doing it at high A and AA the same year he was drafted is amazing. I think as a starter he’d do just as well. I dont look for him in the rotation in STL in 2013 but I do see him in the pen late next year.
Wacha was one of 10 high level prospects that were in the write up. In the comments someone asked Parks who of those 10 he would pick to build a team around, and he said:
“I think Wacha is the safest choice….a pitcher that is going to develope into a major league quality arm.”
Thanks DT, this suggests to me that some of those scouting reports I read about Wacha going into the draft were as about as accurate as a weather vein in a tornado. Although I’m still tempted to temper my enthusiasm because of the small sample size, it’s extremely hard to ignore his dominance. Hallelujah, praise the lord, I believe!!!
Great write up on Wacha. Reports like this combined with his great numbers in the minors this year should really get the hype machine going for him and send him rocketing up prospect charts for next year.
Pitching in the majors by next year? Without a start in the minors this year? Wow! Perhaps the hype machine has already flown off the tracks. Not saying it’s not possible but with all the starting pitching prospects hitting the majors in the next couple of years and Cardinals are going to have to be very judicious about who gets called up and when. So you would think the organization would want to give the kids at least a year in the minors.
Haven’t researched this but my impression is that college pitchers that get called up that quickly do not have great results.
i am much more intrigued by the very positive scouting reports on his curve and change than by his stats in a small sample size. the pre-draft reports were all over the map on wacha’s secondary offerings. if he really has three plus pitches, we got a steal in the draft.
that’s much more impressive to me than his great results pitching in relief in a few innings.
Wacha’s curve has shown significant improvement in his small sample size of innings in the minors than in college this season. Showing more tight break and 12-6 action to it still is inconsistent. If Wacha can at least develop that curve more to be at least an average offering he will have a intriguing pitch mix in that repertoire along side his low-to-mid 90s fastball and plus change not mentioning his command. Wacha could be a solid No 3 in a rotation.
That could be a course of a lot of rest in between relief appearances that really ups his stuff up. It will be interesting to see Wacha start next season.
Scouting wise you dont worry about rest and such. You scout the pitches you see. If a kid has plus pitches even on a months rest, you say he has a plus pitch because he has shown that potential. Wacha will not be in the majors starting rotation in 2013. His stuff might be ready but he needs to build up his workload.
Outside the somewhat nutty Ramsey pick I think this draft is showing a lot of promise. Having seen Piscotti, his bat plays somewhere. Wacha arrives better than advertised. Wisdom played well in his debut. Kelly actually showed up as advertised – young bat with lots of power. Bean struggled. Cooney pitched pretty well. (From a scouting eye on the videos I have seen there is enough there.) That is a good haul in the first 5 rounds for having such a crappy draft to work with.
Whiting showing that he could actually be ready for AAA next year despite only about 50 innings at the high A/ AA level. AFL will be a good test for him.
Tell me CC, would you compare Whiting’s ‘stuff’ to that of Troy Percival? Explain, either way please.
i am admittedly stats heavy in my evaluations. my tools and stuff opinions are based almost solely on what I’ve read and on Whiting it hasn’t been that much. Add to that that I know even less about Percival’s stuff and I am overly not qualified to respond with any authority on this question.
Well that was mighty honest of you, but thanks anyway. My point being that as great as Percival was as a closer, his stuff was no faster then Boone’s or at least to the best of my recollection.
He was a different pitcher after the comeback, but in his Angels prime Percival was a flamethrower—FanGraphs has his average fastball velocity still over 95 miles per hour until he turns 34.
Right. No comparison between guys like Percival and Hoffman who were soft tossers in their twilight. Both could bring it when they were Boone’s age.
I think Miller and Wacha could anchor our rotation for years. C. Martinez, to me with his size and frame, has closer written all over him in the K-Rod or (dare I say it) Mariano Rivera mold. With those three, along with Adams, Taveras, and Wong, Cards should be budget-friendly for years to come.
Not to mention Young arms such as Jenkins, Foody, Swagerty, Maness, Cooney, whiting, and Gast.
Also young position players like Kelly, Garcia, Valera, Piscotty, Wisdom, and Ramsey. And also a few young players at the MLB level already that are going to be here a long time like Rosenthal, Kelly, Lynn, Jackson, and Jau.
*Jay
I think C-Mart is a starter until further notice. He has to be a starter unless he gives the team a reason to move him to the bullpen. We have a plethora of potential young bullpen arms to anchor the 7th-9th innings (Motte, Boggs, Lynn)
Boggs, and even more so Motte, are going to quickly become expensive.
good relievers are much cheaper and easier to find that good starting pitchers
if cmart can be a good major league pitcher (i think he can be a very good one)
then moving him to the pen makes no sense
than*
I agree. . .I just think he ends up in the pen in a few years because of his size. I could be wrong. . .I usually am.
Here come’s the mixed opinions on Martinez being a closer again. Martinez’s size and small frame shouldn’t concern you the way he’s polished up this season. Look at other quality starting pitchers who have small frames that have showed to be innings eaters. Pedro Martinez, Tim Lincecum, and even Joe Kelly has a small frame. Carlos Martinez will be a starter long term.
Pedro Martinez says hello. Not that C-Mart is Pedro but that guy was dominant in the steriod era being 5-11 170. He was just fine as a starter.
Two pitchers that generate a ton of velocity from there small frames.
These are all good problems to have. Now if only there was a long term solution to shortstop.
Pete Kozma aka the ghost of Jeff Luhnow is staking his claim to the position!!! That or Kozma is making a run for T. Greene’s roster spot in Houston.
Geez, Kozma could barely hit his weight in Memphis. Even Greene had ‘career’ games with the Cards, when everyone thought….hey…he’s finally going to reach his potential and then he went back to being Tyler Greene. I wouldn’t fall in love with Kozma just yet.
You obviously haven’t learned to read sarcasm. Apparently a lost art on the internet these days.
Niko Vasquez busted for PED’s today according to mlbtr