Archive for the “Fernando Salas” Category

The Memphis Redbirds relieves Eduardo Sanchez and Fernando Salas are on the way to meet the Cardinals in Arizona to replace Bryan Augenstein and (potentially) Brian Tallet in the Cardinals bullpen per Bernie Miklasz and John Vuch.

One would think that Salas would be the first to get the call and Sanchez will be activated if and only if Tallet goes on the DL.

Eduardo Sanchez’s first appearance will be his MLB debut.

If there was any doubt as to what the strength of the organization is right now, the last five days of games should have put that to rest.  Starting pitching throughout the system, though most prominently in the low minors, is very much the backbone of the Cardinals prospect lists.  Here’s a recap of the top pitching performances thus far.

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Ok, so this is slightly out of the range of FR, but it involves some of our once and future “Future Redbirds”, so I thought it would be an appropriate venue.  And of course, you know you would like a break from the draft reviews.

Either way, today I will endeavor to prove that the Cardinals have improved their organization through the two trades they made this offseason.

Cardinals trade RHP Blake Hawksworth to LA for SS Ryan Theriot.

Cardinals trade SS Brendan Ryan to SEA for RHP Maikel Cleto.

I’m going to start out with an assumption, but based on how the Cardinals have gone about their business, this is obviously their decision.

1. Ryan Theriot > Brendan Ryan

Whether you agree with this or not (or whether I agree with this or not) is not the point.  The Cardinals believe this to be true, so we will use it as our assumption.

Some corollaries:

a. Fernando Salas > Blake Hawksworth

Over both of their short times in the majors, Salas has more strikeouts per nine innings and a better strikeout to walk ratio.  The same can be said for both players minor league careers as well.  And Salas is not even known to have overpowering stuff.

b. Eduardo Sanchez > Blake Hawksworth

The Cardinals have another up and coming right-handed bullpen arm in Eduardo Sanchez.  Over his minor league career, Sanchez has struck out almost 10 batters per 9 innings.  Although both Hawksworth and Sanchez have similar K/BB ratio, Sanchez’s higher strikeout rate seals the deal.

Obviously, strikeouts and walks do not show all that a pitcher can do, but it gives a quick look at a players control and ability to miss bats, both of which are crucial out of the bullpen on a major league ballclub.  Additionally, Hawksworth’s subtraction can be seen as an addition by subtraction because it makes room for both Salas and Sanchez in the major league bullpen in 2011.

2. Maikel Cleto > Blake Hawksworth

We have already made the points why the moves are for the best for the major league team, but now we can dig further and see why the moves have made the farm system stronger as well.  For evidence on this, we do not have to dig into the stats, just a quick tweet from Baseball Expert Joe Sheehan:

Cards got more for Ryan than they gave up for Theriot.

So, if we use that evidence from Mr. Sheehan, Cleto is a better prospect and better pitcher than Hawksworth.

QED

So, with all the evidence presented, I have now proved the Cardinals have made their franchise better with these two trades.  Obviously, I take the largest point of contention and put it as the assumption, but since this is Future Redbirds, we will leave those types of arguments to Viva El Birdos and other outlets that cover the major league club.  The Cardinals added Cleto into a position of strength, right handed relief, but they have also added to a position of weakness in the system: power arms.

So, have at me in the comments and math people can let me know how badly I butchered proofing.

In an effort to be timely, I though I’d take a quick glance at the big name relief prospects in the high minors. Before we get into the numbers, I think the major league pen is fine despite two nasty outings in a row. These things happen when you have a closer who lives on his control and a somewhat crazy-ex catcher who throws pitches into the dugout on a bad play.

There is not currently a player in the pen that I can definitively and unquestionably point to and say, “What is he doing in the majors?!?!?”.  Generally, that statement is followed by an expletive but we’re a family friendly blog.  Part of what brought this post to fruition was a comment from the Cardinals broadcasting pair last night with regards to Kyle McClellan’s future. There seems to be some continued curiosity about his repretoire and converting to starting pitching.  It’s understandable considering that he has a full complement of pitches (FB, CH, CU, SL) but I’ve long had trepidation about Kyle McClellan.

In any event, the Cardinals continue to produce some interesting relief options in the minors. What follows is an admittedly incomplete list of players that may be ready in 2011 or 2012 for a shot at the bigs.

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Matt Baker, following in Kary Booher’s excellent Springfield Sports blogging shoes, has all the details of the minor league fall out from Brendan Ryan/Khalil Greene’s injuries:

• Pete Kozma from Palm Beach to Springfield
• Donovan Solano from Springfield to Memphis
• Kyle Mura to the DL
• Trey Hearne from bullpen to rotation
• Marco Gonzalez demoted from Memphis to Springfield
• Fernando Salas off the DL(?)

Like mother hens clucking over a prized clutch, we only want the best for the top Cardinal prospects.  We’ve seen what happens when things don’t work out as well.  Starting with prospects 16 through 20, I’ll cover the highs and lows of what you might see this year.

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Check them out at Bird Land.

Interesting blurb on each pitcher:

Salas had a season in Class AA last season that had results “parallel to Kyle McClellan,” Mozeliak said. And while the Cardinals don’t see a McClellan like leap to the majors this spring for Salas, Mozeliak added: “We wouldn’t be afraid to bring him up to the big leagues.”

Salas throws strikes.

Samuel throws hard.

The lithe Dominican Republic native has an easy delivery and instant velocity. His speed appears to pop from an effortless arm swing. “Electric,” said one official.

Pitchers and catchers have reported. The world just feels right. No more hiatus. I’ll be back in the saddle tomorrow.

In what appears to me to be a bit of a down year for the Texas League, four Cardinal prospects ranked in Baseball America’s top twenty. Jess Todd ranked 7th, Daryl Jones 13th, Jon Jay 16th, and Fernando Salas 18th.

For whatever hand-wringing we were doing about Todd’s velocity, BA’s scouting report has him topping at 94. They seem to be fairly sold on him becoming a starting pitcher in the big leagues despite his size and they praise his strike-throwing ability and how he does a good job of keeping the ball down. Four pitch mix with fastball, slider, sinker, and a “squirrely” circle change. Todd was the third starting pitcher in the top twenty, with Vin Mazzaro (A’s) and Daniel Cortes (Royals) ranking just ahead of him.

Jones was omitted from the FSL top twenty, but again he came in 13th overall here. They praise the strides he has made in patience, power and base-stealing ability, but knock him for having a noodle of an arm and lack of instincts to play center field.

What BA liked about Jon Jay is his hands and ability to get the bat through the zone quickly, along with his solid center field defense. They again bring up his unorthodox approach but don’t seem to be concerned. With Colby and Ankiel ahead of him in the depth chart, he may need to move over to left field, where his power (or lack thereof) doesn’t profile well.

I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see Salas at the back of the list, but I think I like Allen Craig better as a prospect. They say Salas gets by more by being a strike thrower then by being overpowering, although with his short arm delivery his 91-92 MPH fastball can sneak up on hitters. His curve is also an effective weapon, but certainly not isn’t a devastating pitch. He ranked sandwiched between Kevin Jepsen, who is on the Angels playoff roster, and Casey Weathers, the 8th overall pick in 2007.

While I’ve belly ached about some of the rankings this year, I do look forward to reading them as they come out. Agree or disagree with them, they do get us talking.