Author Archive

Last time we took a look at the ten highest picks by the Cardinals that have played at Johnson City or above in the organization.  Today we will look at the next ten.  As we get further down the list, the liklihood that the prospects will ever become big leagers becomes more faint, but there are several in this part and in the final part of the series that are intriguing.  So after the jump we will continue with our 50 day (or so) review of the Cardinals draft. Read the rest of this entry »

The Hardball Times continued its series of breaking down draft picks. This entry covers picks 36-44, which includes the Cardinals Supplemental First Round pick Lance Lynn. Included are three different slow-motion videos of Lynn’s motion and scouting analysis. Good stuff.

This article discusses Jess Todd‘s rough outing last night, including this analysis from Todd himself:

“My mechanics are a little off right now,” Todd said. “I’ve been flying open a little bit, and it’s just something I’m going to have to work on.”

Batavia was postponed due to rain, but the rest of the system was all in action today and they went 2-3 on the night. All the details are after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

I sent an email to Will Carroll of the Baseball Prospectus to ask him for his take on the Colby Rasmus knee injury news. Here is his response:

It’s the same thing [Juan] Pierre had, so long term is not a concern. G1 is a good sign.

So that’s comforting, coming from an injury expert. Here is Goold’s reporting of the injury for the Post-Dispatch. It sounds like we dodged a bullet, but I feel bad for Rasmus that he will miss the Olympics – it would have been a great honor for him.

The system played six games tonight and went 5-1. All the details are after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

I know, I know – it’s early.  Small sample sizes and all that – I get it.  But still, I think that we’ve seen enough of some of our draft picks to have a very early idea of what we’ve got in them.  The truth of the matter is that I’ve been dying to write this post since the day Brett Wallace signed his contract, but I wanted him to get a few at bats under his belt.  He now has 68 plate appearances and 54 at bats.  That’s good enough for me.  So, then, after the jump we’ll take a look at how Brett and the rest of the 2008 draft class have been faring.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Post Dispatch ran an interview with Bill DeWitt that had a lot of juicy comments about his feelings on the minor leagues, player development and player retention. This quote discusses the focus on building up the minor league system:

P-D: You’ve publicly made player development a priority. We’ve seen sweeping changes in staffing, greater commitment in the Caribbean and more outside recognition for a number of your prospects. Are you satisfied?

BDJ: We’re having a good year in the minor leagues. We’re winning at Triple-A (Memphis) and pretty much up and down the line. The nice thing is we’re winning as we’ve developed our players, by and large, as opposed to bringing in from other organizations as minor-league free agents. I think you see various people and publications outside this organization recognizing the progress we’re making. It’s something we plan to sustain.

He was also asked about the upcoming trade deadline and his response gives me some comfort that we won’t be trading our top prospects for a rental:

P-D: It can be argued the club has legitimate prospects at every level now. As you amass talent, what is your philosophy regarding keeping them for yourself or using them to address immediate needs on the major-league club?

BDJ: I believe the best way to use value in your system is either to bring it up and play it if there is need or, if you’ve got a surplus in certain areas, try to be in position to help you improve yourself through other means, such as trades. As far as winning the division, you look at whatever means you can to help yourself. When you look at the current race, we’re interested if it’s something that helps us now and in the future.

And finally, this answer to a direct question makes me happy:

P-D: Is there a chance that Rasmus could play his first major-league game in another uniform?

BDJ: I don’t anticipate that. No.

Quick injury rehab note: Chris Carpenter will be pitching in Springfield this weekend.

Memphis is still off for the AAA All Star break, but all five of the other teams were in action. Contrary to rumors, Brett Wallace is still at Quad Cities. All the details of his night and the rest of the system are after the jump.

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As mentioned in the comments to yesterday’s DFR, Derrick Goold reports that Colby Rasmus and Brian Barden have been selected to play on the US Olympic team. Barden is a little bit of a surprise to me, but I suspect that he is being valued as a bench player for his ability to play anywhere on the infield and provide a little pop with the bat. I am most surprised that Bryan Anderson didn’t make the cut.

Memphis is still off, with the AAA all star game being played tonight (Nick Stavinoha is Memphis’ lone representative – he went 1-2) so that leaves five teams in action tonight and they went 2-3 on the evening. All the details are after the jump.

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In our third installment of the Prospects by Position series we look at a position that has been a weak point of development for the Cardinals (unless you really like Bo Hart) in recent years. Adam Kennedy came up through the Cardinals system and he was a useful 2B for the Angels for a few years, although he was mostly a shortstop until his second year at AAA. Otherwise the Cardinals system has been (and still is) pretty thin at second base. Currently they’ve got a guy in AAA that many of us would like to see playing in St. Louis and then there are a whole bunch of question marks. The rundown of all the second basemen is after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Erik chiming in here with a quick update: Friend of the blog Keith Law will be on with Jeff Gordon on 590 The Fan at 12:30pm today.

This is old, but I had not seen it before. The Hardball Times analyzes the top draft picks, including scouting video. The bit on Brett Wallace is interesting, comparing his swing to Prince Fielder‘s.

The Cardinals finally gave in and put Colby on the DL with his groin injury. Groin injuries seem to linger – I strained mine a couple of years ago and it wouldn’t go away until I finally stopped doing anything for two weeks.

All the teams were in action today and finished 2-4 on the night.  All the details are after the jump.

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Kevin Goldstein’s Future Shock [subscription only] series hit the NL Central today and he gave an update on what his Top 11 Cardinals prospects have been up to. I know that no matter what he does, someone will complain – and it is nice that he covered a lot of ground, talking about more prospects for the Cardinals than the other clubs, but the one sentence summary for each player really left me a bit unsatisfied.

Kary Booher has a profile of Justin Fiske. Interesting story – left handed relievers are a weak point in the Cardinals organization, so it is nice that they were able to pluck a successful one from the Independent League.

Springfield was off and Johnson City played a double header, so the system had five teams playing six games and they went 2-4. All the details are after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

[erik update: Recently I was approached by the folks at the Batavian and was asked to provide a who's who on the Muckdogs roster. It's not for pay or anything, so here's the link.]

Here is a profile of Andrew Brown from Kary Booher. Brown has come on strong this season, hitting for power and average at three stops. It will be interesting to see how he progresses at the higher levels. There was also a short profile of Brett Wallace on the Quad Cities Times website.

Colby was in the pre-game lineup, but did not play tonight, and Joe Mather was out of the starting lineup, giving Cody Haerther a start. As with the big club, there is a glut of outfielders at Memphis with Rasmus, Mather, Stavinoha and Robinson all warranting playing time. The glut could be alleviated by taking away playing time from Josh Phelps and allowing Mather and/or Stavinoha to play some 1B or DH.

All the teams were in action today and the system went 2-3-1 (the Johnson City game was suspended while tied). All the details are after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »