Archive for the “Arizona Fall League” Category

Surprise 3, Scottsdale 7

Surprise: 4-2, 1st-tie

• Daryl Jones was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks.
• Daniel Descalso was 1-for-4.
• Bryan Anderson was inserted at catcher midway through the game and drew 2 walks.

• Jon Jay contiues to play down in the Venezuelan Winter League.  In 37 at bats, he has 13 hits (1 XBH, a HR) good for a .351/.429/.432 line.

Surprise 2, Phoenix 11

Surprise: 4-1

• Daryl Jones was 0-for-3 with a walk, HBP and 2 strikeouts. As has been mentioned in the comments, the one upside we’ve seen from DJ this winter has been the stolen base.  He stole his 4th bag of the brief AFL season on Saturday.
• Daniel Descalso was 0-for-3 with a walk.  He was involved in 4 double plays that the Surprise turned.
• Bryan Anderson was 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts.  He also allowed a passed ball.
• Tyler Henley was 1-for-4.
• Mike Parisi tossed 4 innings allowing 4 hits and 1 walk for an ER.  He struck out 3.
• Scott Gorgen allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 to finish off the 5th.
• Adam Reifer got lit up for 5 runs (4 earned) on 3 hits, 1 walk, a HBP and 1 strikeout in .2 innings.

Surprise 7, Mesa 3

Surprise: 4-0

• Daniel Descalso was 3-for-5.
• Tyler Henley was 0-for-4.
• Gary Daley pitched 2 innings allowing 3 hits, 1 ER and striking out 1.

Keep in mind that offense in Arizona will be higher than other environments due to the air among other conditions.  The lack of power from Cardinal prospects thus far (even if they are hitting for average) isn’t a good sign.

Surprise Rafters 12, Solar Sox 5

Surprise: 3-0

• Daryl Jones, playing CF went 2-for-4 with a walk.
• Daniel Descalso was 2-for-4.
• Tyler Henley was 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Scott Gorgen pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout.
• Adam Reifer allowed a hit, walk and run in his inning of work.

Surprise 6, Peo Javelinas 4

Surprise: 2-0

• Daryl Jones is hitless through his first 7 at-bats adding an 0-for-3 goose egg.  After playing CF on Tuesday he played LF on Wednesday.
• Tyler Henley got the start in RF going 2-for-3 with a walk.

Surprise 17, Peo Javelinas 4

Surprise: 1-0

• Daryl Jones led off going hitless in his 4 ABs. He did collect a walk.
• Bryan Anderson was 3-for-5 with a walk at DH.  Just the position I wanted to see him play . . .
• Mike Parisi and Gary Daley both tossed a scoreless frame.

The AFL begins today and contains several Cardinals propsects — and it appears there have been some changes since the rosters were initially announced.  As  a refresher:

Pitchers:

• David Kopp (Palm Beach)
• Lance Lynn (Springfield)
• Mike Parisi (rehabbing from TJ surgery)
• Adam Reifer (Palm Beach)
• Gary Daley (Springfield)
• Scott Gorgen (Springfield)

Position Players:

• Bryan Anderson (rehabbing from shoulder surgery)
• Daniel Descalso (Springfield/Memphis)
• Daryl Jones (Springfield)
• Tyler Henley (Springfield)

Read the rest of this entry »

Now this is a nice collection of prospects for us to follow in the AFL:

Pitchers:

• David Kopp (Palm Beach)
• Lance Lynn (Springfield)
• Mike Parisi (rehabbing from TJ surgery)
• Adam Reifer (Palm Beach)

Position Players:

• Bryan Anderson (rehabbing from shoulder surgery*)
• Daniel Descalso (Springfield/Memphis)
• Daryl Jones (Springfield)
• Tyler Henley (Springfield)

I’d guess you’ve got at least 4 of the system’s top 10 prospects in that group and maybe more.  We’ll have AFL updates once the games start in October.

*Correction: As Derrick Goold points out, Anderson did not have shoulder surgery instead opting for rehab.

The Arizona Fall League is also known as “prospect finishing school”. You need only to look at the past couple of MLB All Star games and you’ll find each team is packed with AFL grads. As a rule, the dry air of Arizona makes for a hitter’s league, and for Cardinal players, the rule stuck. Let’s give out the grades.

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that three of the pitchers the Cardinals are sending to the Arizona Fall League are left-handed, especially considering the “southpawfulness” we have witnessed this season. (Yeah, that’s right. Southpawfulness. Sure it’s corny, but every time you say it, you owe me a quarter.) The Cardinals may as well audition their in-house options while monitoring the free agent market. From the looks of things, the Cardinals will need more than just one lefty reliever, because as we know in any La Russa bullpen, having two left-handed specialists is sine qua non. I could see them spending money on a Joe Beimel type B free agent over the winter to be the main lefty out of the pen and a poster at VEB has a detailed outline as to what other free agents could be available. Feel free to discuss the major league side over there, but for right now, let’s explore the internal options.

Read the rest of this entry »