Archive for the “Mark McCormick” Category

Hey y’all. Nope, still can’t pull it off. Oh well. I thought I would give it a shot, seeing as how I haven’t been around here much at all for quite a while.

You know, I was actually planning a post today taking that long-promised look at the Cincinnati farm system, but something erik put in his GCL wrap just a couple of days ago changed my mind. And I quote:

I don’t want to pick on Gary Daley any more than I already have, but when was the last time you’ve seen a 5/32 K/BB ratio? From a 22 year old in rookie ball? From a third round pick? That’s just…wow.

That got me to thinking. Over the past few years, the Cardinals have shown a proclivity for drafting a certain type of player, a certain draft demographic, if you will. I’m speaking, of course, of the raw college pitcher. A bit of an odd breed, to be honest. Traditionally, teams would draft one of two ways. If they wanted upside and talent, they would draft a raw high school kid. If they wanted experience and polish, they would draft a guy out of college, who was much closer to being a finished product. The Cardinals, however, have bucked that bit of conventionality by taking pitchers out of college programs who have had relatively poor results, often are considered very raw, and generally just need quite a lot of work.

Anyway, I immediately decided that, rather than discuss the Cincinnati Reds and their prospects, I would take a look at some of the pitchers that the Cardinals have taken out of this specific segment of the draft, and see if they’ve had any success at it. Read the rest of this entry »

[UPDATE: Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus is reporting that Buster Posey is asking for $12M and, therefore, the Rays will be selecting Tim Beckham first overall.  KG thinks that the number is posturing on Posey's part and I happen to agree.  Frankly, I think the Rays should be taking either Beckham or Alvarez anyway.]

I haven’t had this much anticipation for the draft since… well, last year probably, but there is a little more of an edge to the excitement this year because of where we are drafting. To me, the big question is whether the slotting system is really on life-support, as many are reporting, and teams are going to take the best prospect, regardless of bonus demands. If that is the case, then I see the Cardinals taking someone like Friedrich who is considered good value for their spot. However, if the draft continues as it has in years past, the Cardinals are in a great spot to nab one of the top guys that drops because of signability concerns. There is always someone that falls further than anyone expected – the edge in my anticipation comes from the concern that the Cardinals will allow that player to get past them.

Let’s take a quick break from the draft-related hoopla and take a look at the guys already in the system. You will be returned to your regularly-scheduled programming shortly.

Kary Booher had an interesting article today about Mark McCormick‘s recovery from shoulder surgery and his outstanding start on Monday. Memphis had the day off and the rest of the system went 3-0 on the day, all the details are after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »