Before we get to Opening Day for the minor leagues, I’d like to give a belated congratulations to Brian Barton, Uncle Rico, and Kyle McClellan. All three enjoyed a measure of success in their major league debuts, with Barton singling in his first at bat, Uncle Rico getting an RBI double in his second at bat, and Kyle McClellan mowing through the heart of Colorado’s linup in successive days (he did give up a run on Wednesday, but a little bad luck was involved there). I was a little surprised that LaRussa went back to McClellan on Wednesday, while keeping Reyes unused in the bullpen (Reyes was used on Thursday with great success, striking out the side). It is nice to see that LaRussa is trusting McClellan with important situations, though. The highlight of the season for me so far was the smile on Barton’s face after getting his first major league hit.
The minor league teams went 1-2 with a rainout on Opening Day. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
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Kyle McClellan pitched well for the big club on Thursday, even though he hasn’t gotten the handshake from Tony LaRussa that makes him officially on the roster for the start of the season. He pitched 2 innings in relief of Kyle Lohse (who also pitched well), giving up one hit and no runs, while striking out 2.
In other prospect news, it looks like Uncle Rico might be making the trip North with the big club, taking Brendan Ryan‘s spot. Ryan is still struggling with a sore ribcage muscle and will stay in Jupiter to for a few extra days. Goold has all the details.
There were two games and an inter-squad game for the minor leaguers today. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
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Yesterday’s big news in the world of Cardinals propects was that Brian Barton and Kyle McClellan almost officially made the team. I say almost because, according to Goold, LaRussa said that unexpected things can happen and so he wouldn’t shake their hand to congratulate them on making the team until Monday. I have to admit to breathing a sigh of relief with the announcement that Barton made the team. Even though the Juan Gonzalez threat was neutralized by his inevitable injury, I still feared that the Cardinals would find a way to deny Barton a roster spot. Now that we know he will be heading North with the Cardinals, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that the organization did the right thing in this situation (even if they sort of backed into it).
As for McClellan, I suspected that we might start the season with a rookie in the bullpen, but I had figured it would be Mark Worrell. But McClellan deserves a lot of credit, when Worrell did not impress in Spring Training, McClellan really stepped up and proved that he deserves a spot. I will be curious to see how he is used this season and what his future role in the organization will be after this season.
The minor leaguers played five games yesterday, a recap courtesy of John Vuch is after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
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My father and I got an almost-private showing of morning practice for the minor league squads on Monday. We were lucky enough to run into Brandon Dickson‘s father outside the gates to the minor league side of camp. He got a guard to let him and us into the practice facilities at about 10:00am. Brandon was undrafted out of Tusculum College and was Quad Cities Pitcher of the Year in 2007 (according to his father). His numbers look pretty good, with a nice K rate, although his father said he was more of a grounball pitcher than a strikeout pitcher.
More observations from Monday after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
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