• Shelby Miller (Quad Cities/RHP/1990): While Miller was already the top prospect in the system entering 2010, he certainly raised his stock with some exceptional results. In 97.5 IP, Miller posted a 2.75 FIP, with a 11.52 K/9 to boot. While Miller did struggle with some consistency inning to inning, some of the hits that fell can be chalked up to bad luck (.358 BABIP). Miller strengthened all three of his pitches in ’10, and has some talent evaluators wondering if there’s a pitching prospect in baseball with higher upside.
• Oscar Taveras (Johnson City/CF/1992): Taveras enteted the year relatively unknown to most of us, but a hot July, projectable frame, and five-tool skill set has me thinking big upside. Taveras is a left-handed hitting international signing from the Dominican Republic, with the arm and speed to play center. Just 18-years-old, Taveras is a big kid at 6’2 and 180 lbs, with room to fill out. He posted a line of .321/.361/.524 with 8 homers, 13 doubles, and 3 triples. Taveras had some good luck on his side, and struggled against left-handed pitchers, but at with his age and tools, he has plenty of room for development.
• Matt Carpenter (Springfield/3B/1985): Carpenter took a step forward in 2010 at two levels, both low-A Palm Beach, and AA Springfield. While the knock on Carpenter has always been that he won’t hit for enough power at a corner, Carpenter showed signs of some pop at Springfield with a park+luck-adjusted SLG of .452 coupled with an exceptional .410 OBP. I still don’t think above-average power will be part of his game in the majors, but his ability to get on-base exemplified in ’10 showed me he has actual potential to get to the majors.

Three down:

• Daryl Jones (Springfield/OF/1987): Jones stunk. See my post from last week… Major disappointment this year.
• Lance Lynn (Memphis/RHP/1987): Lynn took a step backwards in his first attempt at AAA-Memphis. After a stelar stint at Springfield in 2009, Lynn had trouble keeping the ball in the park with a 1.13/9 in 2010. While his strikeout and walk-rates improved, Lynn was very hittable, allowing 164 hits in as many innings. I’m certainly not ready to dismiss Lynn’s potential as a solid middle of the rotation arm who can eat bulk innings, it would have been nice to see Lynn have a little more success in ’10.
• Robert Stock (Quad Cities/C/1989): Stock was a pick that many, including me, loved from the 2009 pull. He had success early in his first year of pro-ball at Johnson City, getting on-base, hitting for power, and showing potential for some above-average receiving skills behind the plate. However, since his promotion to Quad Cities, he’s been putrid at the plate. He was .213/.300/.277 in 2010.

Batavia 9, Tri-City 10

• Jon Gast got blowed up allowing 7 run in 5 innings. He did strike out 8 guys walking only 1.
• Anthony Ferrara, Keith Butler and Justin Wright combined to pitch 3 shutout innings. They were each granted a hold for their work.
• Chase Reid blew the save in the bottom of the 9th giving up 2 runs. He also allowed the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. Double whammy of a bad outing for Reid. He walked 3 and allowed 2 HRs, one of the walk-off variety.
• Jonathan Rodriguez was 4-6 with a double but committed an error and was thrown out advancing to 3rd from 1st on a single in the top of the 11th. He made the 1st out at 3rd base, baseball no-no.
• Nick Longmire was 3-4 with 2 walks.
• Chris Edmondson was 2-5 with a double.

Let’s quickly run down the success of the minor league teams this year. Palm Beach was the only squad not to make the playoffs.  This is certainly not a be-all end-all status report of the health of the system, but I can remember recently when the minor league affiliates were in last place in all levels. This is better!  Better players make better teams who win more games.  Easy right?

Memphis: playoff berth
Springfield: playoff berth as a wild card
Palm Beach: 4.5 GB in the 1st half, 2 GB in the 2nd half
Quad Cities: Won division in 2nd half to make playoffs
Batavia: Won division to make playoffs
Johnson City: Championship!

Congrats to the Cardinals affiliates who made the postseason. On to the end of the regular season DFR!

Memphis 7, Iowa 6

• Evan Maclane got the start and was not great, but was saved by his relief corps.
• Matt Scherer pitched 1.2 shutout innings, putting out the fire.
• Adam Reifer in his first AAA appearance was asked to hold a 6-6 tie in the 8th in the game to put the Redbirds into the playoffs. No pressure kid. He allowed 1 walk and nothing else in a no-hit shutout inning. It is interesting to see that the Cardinals are giving Reifer is getting a chance in the playoffs and playoff chase for Memphis.
• Josh Kinney got the save.
• Mark Hamilton was the hitter’s hero for the Redbirds. He was 3-4 with a HR and 2 doubles.
• Dan Descalso had a double and a single.
• Allen Craig went 2-4.

Springfield 3, Arkansas 6

• Ryan Kulik got the start in the losing effort, going 5.2 innings scattering 8 hits, striking out 4.
• Scott Gorgen got his 4th appearance since returning from injury and pitched his 4th inning. He walked 2 and allowed no hits and no runs.
• Daryl Jones had the only extra base hit for the Cardinals, a double.
• Matt Carpenter and Aaron Luna each had two singles.

Quad Cities 4, Peoria 9

• Jorge Rondon did not have a game to remember as he gave up 7 runs in 4.2 innings. But at least he struck out 9.
• Chris Corrigan and Aaron Terry finished off the game.
• Cody Stanley had a pinch-hit 2 run HR.
• Edgar Lara and Devin Goodwin each had the only other hits in the game.

Memphis 8, Iowa 7 (15 innings)

• Daniel Descalso went yard in one of his 6 trips to the plate.
• Allen Craig was 3-for-5 with 2 walks. He also had the game winning RBI in the 15th.
• Mark Hamilton was 3-for-7 with a double.
• Oneli Perez started the game and got bombed. He allowed 6 runs in 4 innings on 7 hits and 5 walks.
• Eduardo Sanchez pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th allowing 1 walk and 1 hit while striking out 4.
• Josh Kinney had the 10th and 11th scoreless with 2 punchouts and 1 walk.
• Franciso Samuel had the 12th striking out 2 and walking 1.
• Amazingly, Tyler Norrick pitched 3 scoreless frames to pick up the win.
• That win brings the PCL playoff spot dependent on the outcome of the LAST game of the year for Memphis who will again play Iowa tonight.

Springfield 1 , Arkansas 8

• Springfield managed just 4 hits (3 doubles) and walked 4 times.
• Trey Hearne allowed 4 runs (1 earned) in 3 innings on 4 hits and 4 walks.
• Thomas Eager came on in relief of Hearne and was touched up for 4 runs in an inning of work.
• Blake King finished off the pitching for the Cardinals with scoreless 8th.

Quad Cities 1, Peoria 0

• A pair of back-to-back doubles in the first by leadoff hitter Michael Swinson and Ross Smith was all the offense this game would see.
• Daniel Bibona pitched 2 innings striking out 4 and walking 2 with 2 hits.
• Joe Kelly came on to pitch in relief (and pitched on both sides of a 31 minute rain delay) with 2 scoreless frames striking out 4 and walking 1 with 1 hit. He was, in a word, impressive.

Batavia 7, Auburn 0

• Audry Perez and Joey Bergman went 2-for-4.
• Matt Valaika and Jonathan Edwards both went 2-for-4 with a double.
• Pat Biserta was 2-for-3.
• Nick McCully pitched 6 scoreless frames striking out 4 against 6 hits.
• Chase Reid struck out 3 in the 9th with 2 hits.

- Our friends at PlayAHardNine took a good look at Rasmus’ approach at the plate. It’s broken down into two parts:  Part 1 & Part 2.

- Daren Smith of MiLB.com recaps Johnson City’s Appalachian League Championship well here.

- Jay Hulsey of i70Baseball.com profiles Tyrell Jenkins.

- Adam Foster of ProjectProspect listed Daniel Descalso as a Top 5 Second Base Prospect.

That’s all I’ve got. Have a great Sunday, everybody.

Johnson City 8, Elizabethton 2

• Phillip Cerreto went 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Virgil Hill was 2-for-4 with a a double and a HR.  Hill’s done a nice job getting on base (~.380 OBP) so the future development of power will be critical to his continued progression.
• Kevin Siegrist went 6.2 innings with 6 strikeouts.  He allowed 3 hits and 1 run.
• Hector Corpas struck out 3 in 1.1 IP.
• JC won the Appy League by beating Elizabethton last night.

Batavia 12, Auburn 19

• Chris Edmundson went 2-for-5 with a double and walk.
• Juan Castillo was 4-for-6 with a double.
• John Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a double, triple and a walk.
• Matt Valaika hit a grand slam.
• Jon Edwards was 2-for-4 with a walk and a double.
• Yunier Castillo was 2-for-5 with a double.
• Anthony Ferrara got blasted for 7 runs without recording an out.
• Houston Summers also struggled allowing 5 runs in 2 innings.

Quad Cities 2, Peoria 8

• Luis Mateo was 2-for-3 with a triple (probably should have been a double that the CF couldn’t scoop out from under the wall).
• Eric Fornataro went 4 innings allowing 7 runs (3 earned) on 3 walks and 7 hits.
• Nick Greenwood went 3 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 3.

Palm Beach 11, Jupiter 5

• Ryan Jackson was 3-for-5 with a triple and a walk.
• Niko Vasquez was 4-for-6.
• Alex Castellanos was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles.
• Richard Racobaldo was 3-for-4 with a walk.
• Ryde Rodriguez was 2-for-5.
• Brett Zawacki went 5 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4.

Springfield 3, Arkansas 1

• Xavier Scruggs went yard.
• Brian Broderick went finished off his regular season with 7 strong innings allowing just 2 hits and blanking Arkansas in the process.  He walked 2 and struck out 3.
• Scott Gorgen, pitching relief, struck out 2.
• Adam Reifer allowed 1 run in the 9th but managed to shut the door and pick up the save.

Memphis 5, Iowa 8

• Mark Hamilton went yard.
• Joe Mather was 3-for-4 with a double and a triple. Mather has accumulated a .868 OPS for the month of August — his best of the season excluding an 11 at bat May.
• Ruben Gotay was 3-for-4 with a double.
• Lance Lynn struck out 7 in 5 innings of work but was roughed up 5 runs on 3 walks and 6 hits.
• Chuckie Fick was tagged for 3 runs in his 1+ inning of work.

Memphis 2, Iowa 4

• A tough loss as Memphis in chasing Iowa to finish off the season on top of the standings.
• Memphis had just 3 hits and 5 walks in the low scoring affair.
• Brandon Dickson struck out 7 in 5.2 innings. He walked 4 and allowed 7 hits for 2 ER.
• Matt Scherer came into the 6th and stranded the bases loaded. In the 7th, he allowed 1 ER.
• Eduardo Sanchez pitched a 1 hit, 1 unearned run while striking out 1.

Springfield 2, Tulsa 4

• Daryl Jones was 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Andrew Brown was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.
• Jermaine Curtis was 2-for-4 with a double.
• Nick Derba also went 2-for-4 with a walk.
• David Kopp struck out 5 in 6 innings. He allowed 1 ER in 6 innings of work on 7 hits. Kopp didn’t walk a batter leaving his regular season K:BB rate at 90:50 this season.

Palm Beach 2, Jupiter 5 (7 innings)

• Jared Bogany was 2-for-4.
• Palm Beach had 6 hits and 3 walks.
• Richard Castillo allowed 4 runs and 5 hits in 4 innings of work. Despite throwing all his innings in pitcher friendly Florida State League, Castillo’s numbers are quite bad.

Palm Beach 8, Jupiter 1

• CJ Beatty was 2-for-5 with a HR. Beatty has struggled to hit for average this year though he’s done a decent job of taking walks and hitting for power.
• Ryan Jackson was 3-for-5. With an OPS just over .700, Jackson’s path to the majors relies on him maintaining some minimal level of offensive abilities while flashing some sick leather.
• Scott Schneider went the distance with probably his best outing of the season. He struck out 8 batters allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk. Schneider failed to replicate his Quad City numbers in Palm Beach as his GB rate, BB rate and K rate all went in the wrong direction after the promotion. He ends the season, however, with a K:BB rate is just shy of 3.

Quad Cities 4, Wisconsin 0

• Michael Swinson was 2-for-4 with a HR.
• Raniel Rosario was 2-for-5 with a triple.
• Michael Blazek allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks in a solid 8 inning outing. He struck out 5.
• Jose Rada struck out 1 and walked 1 finishing off the game in the 9th.

Batavia 8, Auburn 5

• Chris Edmundson was 2-for-3 with a HR.
• Audry Perez was 2-for-5. Perez hit over .300 and tallied a .818 as a catcher in the NY-Penn league.
• Joey Bergman was 2-for-3 with a HR and a walk.
• Yunier Castillo was 2-for-4. He maintained his heady walk rates taking 6 free trips to first in 182 ABs.
• Zach Russell struck out 7 in 5 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Russell was striking out a batter an inning but had sketchy command leaving him with just a 2:1 K:BB rate.
• Travis Lawler struck out 2 in an inning of work.

Johnson City 7, Elizabeton 2

• Greg Garcia was 3-for-5.
• Oscar Taveras was 3-for-4 with a double. Taveras is approaching a .900 OPS as an 18 year old in rookie ball.
• Kleininger Teran was 2-for-4 with a double. I’m also convinced that danup only likes his name because he types it once a year. Trying to remember the names, levels and spellings of 6 teams is . . . challenging with names like Kleininger thrown in. But yes, cool name.
• Virgil Hill went yard.
• Cesar Valera was 2-for-4.
• Boone Whiting has been the most dominant of any 2010 draftee on the mound. He added to that tonight with 7 strikeouts in 6 innings while allowing just 5 hits and 1 ER. On the season, Whiting has an incredible 68:5 K:BB in 54 innings. Simply dominant.
• Trevor Rosenthal struck out 2 in a perfect 8th.
• Hector Corpas followed that up with a 1-strikeout, perfect 9th.

Miller has lived up to the hype this year but I’m not sure how many people realize just how good he’s been. In 104 innings, Miller has struck out 140 batters, which easily leads the team despite having two pitchers with more innings than Miller.  In fact, Miller has the most strikeouts of any pitching prospect in the system.

Lance Lynn has thrown 159 innings but only has 134 strikeouts. Nick Additon has 109 in 150 innings. And Kevin Thomas leads with 94 punchouts in 107 innings at Palm Beach. Now, not all of those players are strikeout pitchers, but give Miller his due.  He’s simply outclassed Midwest League hitters.

But this wouldn’t be the first time someone is effectively wild and walks a ton of batters while striking out gaudy numbers. Except that’s not the case with Miller either. He’s sporting a 4:1 K:BB raito with just 33 walks. So to date, he’s shown that at least he can control his pitches (the fastball at a minimum).

If there’s an area to pick on Miller, it’s that he doesn’t generate groundballs. This seems like highlighting a weakness to try and dim what is, in reality, a bright star in the system at the moment.  He’s the next test of whether or not different pitching styles are acceptable as he’s unlike anything or anyone in the system since Anthony Reyes was strikeout king of our minor league system.

So, despite a limited number of innings, Miller’s 2010 campaign has to be considered wildly successful. He’s still got plenty to work on for the future — I’m told the change still needs a heap of work — and I don’t expect the club to start him anywhere other than Palm Beach next year.  If he progresses faster than one level a year, that’s gravy because he’s doing everything that can be expected of him at the moment.

Unfortunately, I won’t have the priveledge of watching him this weekend. I will get to see Daniel Bibona (2010 draft) for the first time and Joe Kelly for the first time live. I saw Kelly’s televised start earlier in the year and thought he looked impressive. I’ve got high expectations for him this weekend as well. Quad Cities here I come!

Wins must begin to come in bunches, starting this weekend. While saying anything is a ‘must win’ is silly as long as there are still numbers left on that elimination column (or if you are Marv Levy, you have a different opinion about must wins), that bunch of wins has to start Friday. A sweep, the ultimate correction to this horrendous 2 week stretch, would move the Cardinals back to a 5 game deficit. The Reds would leave St. Louis to face one of their toughest remaining series, a four game set in Colorado while the Redbirds head to the land of brats and beer, Milwaukee. Any combination of Rockies wins equal to or greater than 2 and Cardinals wins of 3 in those two 4 game sets and the Cardinals find themselves back in a position where picking up a win a week for the remainder of the season gives them a chance.

By the time we talk again next week, we will know a lot more about how the picture for the Cardinals postseason hopes look. Having seen this team for the 120+ games they’ve played so far, my gut tells me that it won’t be a pretty picture. However, I also know this offense has to revert to the mean hard and soon. And when that happens, the runs will flow in a glorious fashion. Let’s hope the pitching decides to steady itself the rest of the month as well.

On to the DFR!

Memphis 3, Nola 2

• Tyler Greene went 1-for-4.
• Daniel Descalso went 2-for-4.
• Mark Hamilton went 1-for-4.
• James Rapoport went 2-for-3.
• PJ Walters threw 107 pitches in 5.1 IP. He gave up 6 H and 2 ER but struckout 10 against 1 BB.
• Chuckie Fick went 2.0 IP with 2 H and 2 BB.
• Rich Rundels only get 2 outs (1 on a K) but picked up the comeback win.
• Josh Kinney logged yet another save.

Springfield 7, Tulsa 9

• Springfield threw up a 5 spot in the first inning and still managed to give this game away.
• Daryl Jones returned to the leadoff spot and went 2-for-5 with a leadoff HR.
• Matt Carpenter and Andrew Brown both went 1-for-4.
• Xavier Scruggs went 1-for-4 with a 2B and 2 RBI.
• Jose Garcia went hit his 5th HR, a 3-run shot in the 1st inning.
• Nick Additon went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI.
• Nick Additon also gave up 5 ER in 5 IP. He was tagged with 7 H, 1 BB and 5 K.
• Ramon Delgado threw 2.0 scoreless innings, with a H, 2 BB and 1 K.
• Jason Buursma didn’t record an out, giving the game up with 4 ER on 3 H and a BB.
• Blake King walked 3 and struckout 1 in his inning.

Johnson City 20, Burlington Coat Factory 2

• It’s a rough night when you are outscored by 18 and outhit by 10.
• Greg Garcia went 2-for-5.
• Oscar Taveras went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.
• Kleininger Teran went 3-for-5 with a 2B and 4 RBI.
• Phillip Cerreto went 1-for-3.
• Roberto Reyes went 2-for-4 with a HR and 3 RBI.
• Virgil Hill went 1-for-1 with a HR.
• Travis Tartamella went 2-for-5 with a 2B and HR for 3 RBI.
• Patrick Elkins went 3-for-4 with 2 2Bs and 3 RBI.
• Cesar Valera went 2-for-4 with a RBI.
• Cale Johnson went 6 innings, only yielding the 1 ER on 7 H, 1 BB and 5 K.
• Francisco Guzman went 2.0 IP with 2 H, 1 ER and 3 K.
• Robert Revesz walked 1 in his IP.

River Bandits 7, Wisconsin 4 (11 innings)

• Luis Mateo went 2-for-5.
• Edgar Lara went 1-for-3 with a HR.
• Robert Smith went 1-for-4 with a 2B and RBI.
• Michael Swinson went 1-for-5 with 2 RBI.
• SHELBY MILLER ALERT!!! Shelby threw 5 IP, giving up 5 H and 1 ER. His control was good with a 8:1 SO to BB ratio. He gave up the ER on a longball.
• Jorge Rondon picked up a Hold with 2 IP of 1 H, 1 R (UER), 2 BB and 2 K baseball.
• LaCurtis Mayes took the blown save getting only 2 outs while giving up 3 H and 2 ER.
• Aaron Terry threw 1.1 IP with 2 H.
• Daniel Calhoun picked up his 9th win with 2 IP of 1 H, 2 K work.

Muckdogs 4, Jamestown 5

• Victor Sanchez went 1-for-5 with a 2B.
• Jon Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with his 12th HR.
• Geoffrey Klein and Patrick Biserta both hit 2Bs.
• Justin Edwards took the loss giving up 5 ER on 7 H and 3 BB. He struckout 6 in 5 IP.
• Chase Reid threw 2 IP with 1 H, 1 BB and 1 K.
• David Kington worked 2 IP, striking out 2 and walking 1.

Palm Beach 2, Fort Meyers 5 (10 innings)

• Ryan Jackson went 2-for-4 with a 2B.
• Nico Vasquez went 1-for-5 with a 2B and RBI.
• Richard Racobaldo went 1-for-3 with a RBI.
• Kevin Thomas gave up 2 R (1 ER) in 4 IP. He did it on 5 H, 1 BB and 3 K.
• Jesse Simpson threw 2 IP with 2 H, 1 BB and 3 K.
• Matthew Frevert gave up a H and got a K in his 1 IP.
• Casey Mulligan handed out 2 BB and 3 K in 2 IP.
• Joel Pichardo took the loss, only getting 1 out before giving up a 3-run HR for the loss. He gave up 2 H, 3 ER and 1 BB.

Jones, an extremely athletic three-sport athlete in high school, was selected in the third round of the 2005 draft. After struggling to translate his tools to results in his first full two years of pro ball, Jones broke out in 2008, posting a .316/.407/.483 line with Palm Beach, and Springfield.

While he did hold on to a steady 21.5 LD% in 2009, his first full attempt at AA was hampered by a quad strain, and he’s never been the same since. While Jones has never been expected to hit for plus-power with his linear swing, he hasn’t even been capable of posting average power numbers lately, topping a .400 SLG in just one of his past nine months of ball. In ’10, his LD% trailed off to 19.7%. With a .292 BABIP, Jones posted a park-adjusted line of .241/.332/.345.

I had previously thought that if Jones could carry his success from ’08, and the first half of ’09, he could have a legitimate shot at earning a spot with the big league club in the 2011 Spring Training. That appears to be a long-shot now. And while Jones is still just 23-years-old, this stunt in progression is startling, and something to note, in my opinion.

What say you, readers? Is the injury still hampering him? Is it too early to give up on a 23-year-old? Has your projection of his upside been changed considerably with his awful ’10 season?