There’s a couple real surprises on that list for me. Andres Rosales was just 22 and had posted some nice strikeout rates but was undone by poor command in recent seasons. Justin Fiske was damaged goods in an organization with too many upper minors pitchers right now.

The rest of the players simply weren’t performing up to par to keep their roster spots. This is likely the first of several waves of releases from minor league camp.

Justin Fiske has enjoyed quite a rise in his stock this past season. After having his contract purchased from the independent league Joliet Jackhammers just a little over a year ago, Fiske to now pitching in the Arizona Fall League, which is considered to be the “finishing school” for a professional club’s top prospects. During the regular season, Justin pitched in relief for the Quad Cities and Palm Beach and was moved to starting for AA Springfield. Cumulatively he averaged over a strikeout per inning and posted a 3.20 FIP, impressive for someone who throws a mid-eighties fastball. He has only thrown two innings so far in the AFL due to a sore shoulder, but has kept busy with a number of baseball activities, including a little blogging on the side. Justin kindly agreed to answer some of my questions during his down time.

Is Justin Fiske your stereotypical off-the-wall left-hander?

I like to think I’m pretty normal. I would have to say that I do some goofy or off-the-wall things sometimes, but over all I’m just a laid back and easy going guy who loves the game of baseball. I do have a few superstitions but nothing too crazy. For example, I always jump over the white line. Simple things like that, but I don’t have very many.

Is pitching simple, or is it complicated?

To me, pitching is both. Pitching is an art at times. Just like anything else you can feel great about what you are doing on the mound and then all of a sudden you hit a wall and can’t get guys out. I think sometimes people make it more difficult than it has to be. There is definitely a difference between being prepared to perform and face hitters, and over thinking and trying too hard to pitch to a hitter’s weaknesses. The idea behind pitching is what seems to be simple. From an outside view it’s just getting the sign from the catcher and then throwing that pitch. A lot more goes into each pitch than what the average fan sees. Usually hitters will tell you what they are looking for or what they are gearing up to hit. So it’s the job of the pitcher and catcher to work together and see these things and pitch accordingly.

What does the term “pitch to contact” mean to you?

Pitching to contact is more like pitching in a way that you get the hitter to make “weak” contact. If you just throw the ball up there to get contact, you won’t be in the game long. Hitters will take advantage of those pitches. To get weak contact, a pitcher simply wants to throw a lot of strikes low in the zone. By keeping the ball down you force the batter to hit balls into the ground resulting in a lot of ground outs. When you pitch to contact in that way, you can certainly help yourself out by keeping your pitch count low and keeping the pace of the game up.

How would you describe your pitching style? Give us a little scouting report on yourself.

I would definitely say I am a backwards pitcher. Most people pitch off there fastball where as I pitch off my change up. My change up is my best pitch so I’ll use it to get ahead in the count and even to strike guys out. My fastball does come in handy when hitters are looking for my change up. Running a fastball up and in will get them off my change up. Sometimes I’ll even get swing and misses on those pitches. Not many hitters go up to the plate looking forward to hitting an off speed pitch. So when they see a fastball they like to jump on it. Because I don’t throw very hard, my off speed pitches are my go to pitches. That allows me to use my fastball more effectively.

How different is starting from relieving? Do you prefer starting?

Starting and relieving are very different. To be honest, I really like both roles. When I’m a starter, I have a set schedule during the week to get myself prepared of the next game I throw in. It also gives me 4 days in between starts to fine tune a pitch that I have been struggling with. As a reliever, you have to be ready everyday. There are situations during every game that the manager may want you in so you have to be prepared for that. Because relievers have to be ready everyday, they aren’t able to work as much outside of the game on pitches. But, because they throw more often, losing control of a pitch doesn’t happen as easily. Also as a reliever, there are some intense situations that I may be put into, and personally I love pitching in those situations.

Prior to the season, did you see yourself moving up the ladder as quickly as you have with the Cardinals, going from Low A all the way to AA and now to the Arizona Fall League?

Certainly there was no way for me to expect this to happen this year. This was my first full season in pro ball and I was just excited to make a full season team. When I got the promotion to Palm Beach I had reached my goal for the season. If it weren’t for the injuries that we had throughout the system, I don’t know if I would have had the opportunity that I got this year. But when I did get the call up to AA, I wanted to stick. I just thought to myself, “It’s the same game, just different hitters.” That seemed to help me be confident that I could still throw my game and be successful.

What is your experience been like working with Bryan Eversgerd?

It was a great experience because he too was a lefty pitcher. He helped me tremendously with the sinker that I was trying to develop. He was also able to give me a ton of insight on what to expect as I continue to play this game. He was a great pitching coach because he would tell you when you’re doing good, but at the same time he would point out what needed to be worked on. It’s always a great opportunity to get advise from people who have made it to the big leagues and who have seen what it takes to stay there.

With an obvious need for left-handed relief for the big league club, do you see this fall league as an opportunity for you to garner some attention?

I think everyone who is a Cardinals fan knows about the lefty problem we have. I certainly see it as the biggest opportunity I’ve received since becoming a cardinal. Being out here in Arizona with 2 other lefties means I’ve still got to perform to get the job. I’m not going to assume what they have in store for us, but I would be dumb to think I can just sit back and relax because I was chosen to pitch in the AFL.

Having played in Davenport, what was your experience with the flooding this year?

That was certainly a once in a life time event for me. We had to walk through the water and get our equipment out to play the next 3 games at other parks. The craziest thing about it is it was snowing on our way out. So imagine walking through flood water and getting hit with snow at the same time. I never knew that was possible. Sure it was an inconvenience, but we certainly didn’t have it as bad as those people who had to worry about their houses flooding. I was there only for the first flood so I don’t know how bad the second one was. I heard it was pretty bad as well.

Justin Fiske – This year’s P.J. Walters, only left-handed and without the fanfare. Fiske had success at three different levels this past season, despite throwing slower than slow. The former Joliet Jackhammer has only 110.1 minor league innings to his credit, but some pretty nifty numbers: A K/9 rate of 9.71 and a FIP of 3.05. He has been used by the Cardinals as a reliever at first, but was switched to starting late July and took rather well to the change. It is a small sampling, but Fiske has held lefties to a .204 average and with a strikeout rate of 13 per nine innings. His career MLE against lefties is a 3.29 FIP. Fiske’s fastball is only in the mid-eighties. He also throws sinker and a “Bugs Bunny” change up.

Brad Furnish – Furnish may have the best stuff in the group, with a 89-92 four-seam fastball and a plus curve. He throws over the top, so he doesn’t really profile as a lefty specialist. The problem is since getting to the A ball level, Furnish’s numbers are pretty darn oogly. You can click on his splits page for yourself and find he actually has a reverse platoon split. He pitched surprisingly well once called up to AA, but there was some flaky stuff going on. His HR/9 rate in the power suppressing Florida State League was 1.07. In the much more power friendly Texas League, Furnish’s homer per nine rate was 0.40. Given the fact that he has a 42% fly ball rate, gopherballs are in his future. Going to the dry air of Arizona to face some of the best prospects in the game, Furnish will need to bring his A game to get attention.

Having seen Furnish pitch, I like him, but the stuff just has not matched the results. I have not seen him throw above the Quad Cities nor this year, and I know he had some bone spurs removed in the last off-season. Maybe that had some sort of effect on him…

Tyler Norrick – He was in and out of last year due to shoulder tendinitis, mostly out. Norrick’s biggest mark on the season when he was called up to Memphis to make an emergency start and pitching on nerves and adrenaline, Norrick turned in a gutsy eight K, two-hit 4.1 inning performance. From all the reports I’ve read, Norrick has long been viewed as a lefty reliever in the making. His fastball comes in at 90-93 and his slider is OK, but lacks two-plane break. In 67.1 professional innings he’s held left-handed batters to a .211 average with a K/9 rate of 9.09 and a FIP of 3.25.

There really isn’t an odds on favorite in this bunch. Furnish needs a lot of work, so I can’t see him really burgeoning into the lefty reliever the Cards are looking for. It should come down to Norrick and Fiske, two very different pitchers. Norrick is more of a “scout’s guy” with a pitchers body and a big league fastball. On the other hand, he’s raw and couldn’t stay on the field. Fiske was completely undrafted and not even a couple of seasons removed from pitching in the independent leagues. But, he has “pitchability”, that changeup and some nifty stats. I am rooting for either one of them emerge, but I think the Cards would be smart to hedge their bets and find a minor league free agent or three to bring to camp.

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.

Memphis 6, New Orleans 10

• Clayton Mortensen did not have his best outing. He followed his M.O., getting a bunch of groundballs (7-1 gb to fb) and striking out another four, but he also gave up bunches of hits, nine to be exact. He was touched for eight runs over 4.1 innings, including two dingers. Mortensen apparently came out in the fifth inning due to injury – the last batter he faced reached on a “line drive to Mortensen” according to the game recap. Hopefully he’ll be ok.
• Matt Clement was brought in to relieve for Mortensen and he allowed an inherited runner to score and another run of his own in the two thirds of an inning that he pitched. It was really a neat trick, as he did it all without allowing a hit. He hit two batters and walked another.
• Nick Stavinoha was 1-5 with a home run, which makes three in the last two games or three since Az wrote that Nick has no power. My guess is that he read what Az wrote and has extra motivation now – good job, Az! Stavinoha also made an error in the outfield and had an outfield assist.
• Uncle Rico Washington was 2-4 with a bomb.
• Bryan Anderson was 2-5.

Palm Beach 6, Clearwater 1

• Donovan Solano and Charles Kingrey each homered this afternoon, providing the power. Solano was 2-4 with a walk and Kingrey was 3-4 with a double and a walk.
• Daryl Jones was 1-4 with a walk and his seventeenth stolen base of the year.
• The Cardinals were a little sloppy in the field with errors from Solano, Eddie Degerman and Daniel Descalso.
• Shaun Garceau had a nice start, going six scoreless innings, scattering four hits and two walks while striking out two.
• Degerman struck out three in his two scoreless innings of relief.
• Kenny Maiques was the only Cardinals pitcher to struggle today. He walked a pair of batters and gave up a hit and an unearned run while only retiring one batter.
• Francisco Samuel was called in to clean up the mess and he retired the final two batters to earn the save.

Quad Cities 8, South Bend 2

• Richard Castillo pitched six solid innings, giving up a pair of runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four.
• Matt Spade followed Castillo with two perfect innings, striking out one.
• Brandon Garner pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up only a walk.
• The offensive player of the game was Roberto Espinoza, who went 2-4 with a double and three rbi.
• Nicholas Peoples and Oliver Marmol each also went 2-4. Peoples also doubled and Marmol also stole a base.
• Pete Kozma and Brett Wallace were each 1-4. Wallace also walked.
• Aaron Luna was 1-3 with a walk.
• Thommy Pham was 0-2 with a walk and an outfield assist from center field.

Lowell 5, Batavia 1

• Charles Cutler was 2-3, but he had a passed ball and a throwing error behind the plate.
• Shane Peterson was 1-4 with a double.
• Jon Edwards was 1-3 with a walk.
• Jose Garcia was 1-4 with a stolen base.
• Zachary Pitts took the loss, but he didn’t really pitch that bad. He gave up a pair of runs over five innings on six hits. He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out a pair.
• Hector Cardenas, on the other hand, was terrible. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk and only managed to retire one batter.
• Rigoberto Lugo (no, I did not just make that name up) didn’t do Cardenas any favors, allowing one of two inherited runners to score on a couple of walks. He got a pair of outs without giving up any runs that are attributed to him in the boxscore.
• Arquimedes Nieto (who, if I’m not mistaken, is Tom Nieto’s fourth cousin, thrice removed through his maternal grandfather – but I could be wrong about that) came in after the Cardenas-Lugo disaster and struck out three over three scoreless innings.

Pulaski 5, Johnson City 2 (Game 1)

• The Cardinals only managed five hits in the first game and a double by Osvaldo Morales was the only extra base hit.
• Deryk Hooker had a nice start, giving up one run on five hits over five innings. He also struck out four.
• Samuel Freeman and Jorge Rondon let the game get away from the team in the sixth inning, allowing four runs and only retiring one batter between them.
• Santo Maertz came in and put out the fire, allowing a hit and two walks, but not allowing a run or letting either of his inherited runners to score. He pitched the final 1.2 innings and struck out a pair.

Pulaski 8, Johnson City 5 (Game 2)

• A bit more offense for Johnson city in Game 2, but not enough.
• Nico Vasquez was 2-4 and was thrown out trying to steal.
• Osvaldo Morales was 2-3 with a pair of doubles.
• Paul Cruz, Curt Smith and Jairo Martinez were all 1-3.
• Michael Blazek only lasted four hitters into the game. The first reached on an error, then Blazek threw away a pickoff attempt, then he walked a batter before giving up singles to the next two batters. Then he was removed. Ouch.
• Carlos Gonzales followed with an erratic performance. He allowed two runs on three hits and two walks, but he struck out eight in only 3.2 innings.
• Joel Pichardo then gave up three runs on three hits in 2.1 innings, but he only struck out a pair.
• Jose Mateo finished off the game with a perfect inning, striking out one.