Highlights from Thursday’s St. Louis Cardinals minor league spring training games in Florida.
On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals’ top four clubs once again found the Mets as their primary opponent with Memphis and Springfield entertaining their New York opponents in Jupiter, while Palm Beach and Quad Cities 1 again took the short drive to the Mets’ home in Port St. Lucie.
Quad Cities 2 welcomed the World Free Agent Spring Training club. WFAST is a 17-day spring camp for free agents, offering instruction from independent league coaches and of course, game competition for young men looking for professional contracts. The Cardinals minor leaguers play a game against WFAST each spring.
As always, Cardinals director of minor league operations John Vuch shares game highlights. The raw data is his, with the comments mine.
Team summary: Memphis and Springfield fell while Palm Beach worked a tie and both Quad Cities clubs outscored their competition.
Combined records: The Cardinals records on the day were 2-2-1. Spring totals are now 12-22-4 overall and 7-18-2 versus external competition.
My Pitcher of the Day: Randy Santos of Quad Cities 2 spun three shutout innings, striking out four.
My Hitter of the Day: Quad Cities 1’s Jarred Bogany (pictured) singled, doubled, drove in two and scored.
Friday’s schedule: Once again, the Cardinals have no external opponents to play. As such, we are pretty much guaranteed to have a 2-2 day as Memphis will take on Springfield and Palm Beach will face Quad Cities.
Memphis (1-6-1) lost to New Orleans, 8-1
Memphis Pitching
Brandon Dickson – 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K – opposite field solo HR
Brad Furnish – 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K’s – Rough outing for the lefty.
Oneli Perez – 2.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K’s – Could be on the bump with more outings like this.
Pete Parise – 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER – May not get to close to start this year depending on who else makes the team.
Memphis Hitting
Bryan Anderson – 2-for-3, solo HR – Will presumably see more time for Memphis if Pags starts with St. Louis due to Yadier Molina’s injury.
Shane Robinson and Daniel Descalso – singled and walked – Not much else to say about a team that has not been winning so far this spring.
Springfield (3-3-2) lost to Binghamton, 3-2
Springfield Pitching
David Kopp – 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K – Continuing his comeback from imjury.
Brian Broderick – 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER
Richard Castillo – 2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K’s
Chuckie Fick – 2 perfect innings, 2 K’s – Almost the Pitcher of the Day.
Springfield Hitting
Aaron Luna – 2-for-3 – Has been hitting all spring.
Andrew Brown – double – Ditto. His offense may be ready for Memphis, but third base experiment is still early.
Antonio DeJesus – single, HBP, scored – Good to see him here. Is a .252 career hitter, but batted just .229 with Springfield last season.
Tommy Pham – RBI single in his only AB – Another hot bat.
Palm Beach (2-5-1) tied with St. Lucie, 4-4
Palm Beach Pitching
Jared Bradford – 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K’s – Had a 14-to-2 strikeout to walk ratio last season between Gulf Coast League and Palm Beach.
Scott Schneider – 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K’s – Our 2009 Batavia Starting Pitcher of the Year. His 0.91 WHIP last season was second-best in the entire system.
Yoffri Martinez – 1 IP, 0 R
Houston Summers – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 unearned run, 1 BB – Knuckleballer has a much better outing.
Jose Rada – one perfect inning – Led the Appalachian League with 23 appearances in 2009 and posted a nice 1.76 ERA, too.
Joel Pichardo – one perfect inning with a strikeout
Palm Beach Hitting
D’Marcus Ingram – 2-for-5, run, stolen base – His 25 swipes in 32 attempts last season ranked fourth in the organization.
Frederick Parejo – 3-run HR – 19-year-old has just three home runs in 666 professional at-bats during the regular season.
Alex Castellanos – RBI double, scored
Oliver Marmol – single, HBP in two plate appearances
Rich Racobaldo – single, walk, stolen base
Quad Cities 1 (4-4) defeated Savannah, 8-6
Quad Cities 1 Pitching
Deryk Hooker – 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s – Another solid outing. The first time around, Hooker reached Quad Cities for four starts in 2008 and was very strong (1.61 ERA). Still just 20 years old.
Zach Russell – 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K’s – In 61 career innings, he has 61 walks and 67 strikeouts, but no free passes on this day.
Jesse Simpson – two perfect innings, 2 K’s – His 1.01 WHIP in 2009 ranked seventh in the system.
Aaron Terry – 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER
Jorge Rondon – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
David Carpenter 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K’s – His 12 saves last season with Quad Cities was the sixth-most in the organization.
Quad Cities 1 Hitting
Jarred Bogany – 2-for-3, double, two RBIs, run – Only a .250 hitter in his first two seasons, but seems to be hot this spring.
Luis Mateo – 2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs – 19-year-old 2B quietly posted a .912 OPS in 93 at-bats with Johnson City last season.
C.J. Beatty – 2-for-2, run, RBI – Can’t do much better than that!
Travis Tartamella – doubled in his only AB
Jonathan Rodriguez – doubled
Michael Swinson and Devin Shepherd – both singled, walked, scored
Quad Cities #2 (2-4) defeated WFAST, 7-3 (six innings)
Quad Cities #2 Pitching
Randy Santos – 3 IP, 1 H, no runs, 1 BB, 4 K’s – A stellar performance. His 15 wild pitches led the Appalachian League last season, so he needs a good backstop.
Nick McCully – 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Brett Zawacki – one perfect inning – Great to see him out there after a pair of knee surgeries last summer.
Quad Cities #2 Hitting
Travis Mitchell – two hits
Romulo Ruiz – walked twice, scored twice – A much better player than his career line of .167/.229/.269 would indicate.
Rainel Rosario – singled, scored twice, RBI
Cesar Valera – 2-run triple, walk, scored
David Washington – single, two walks in three plate appearances – Looking to rebound from a rough introduction in the Gulf Coast League in 2009 (.165 in 85 at-bats).
Hector Alvarez – 3-run HR
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I have not seen the name Robert De La Cruz mentioned in any update this spring. Is he in camp?
he’ll be in extended spring training, short-season clubs
Yes, De La Cruz is in camp, listed on Quad Cities 2 roster. As jrocke notes, without change, that would place him among those remaining behind for extended spring training and a short-season assignment for 2010.
Brian, where do you see Valera placed this summer? JC, with maybe a shot at Batavia?
Seems like Ryan Jackson has to start at QC, given how his bat is so far behind his glove.
Have you heard anything about Grabiel Hernandez this spring? Is he even in the U.S., or is he still working out in the Dominican?
Thanks!
Yes, I would think they want Jackson at QC, Yunier Castillo at Batavia and Valera at JC. Not to mention Ted Obregon and perhaps Romulo Ruiz, depending on where they play him.
Grabiel is not in spring camp in Jupiter nor do I think he will be invited to US extended spring training. That would place him back in the DSL for a second season at the age of 18. Not surprising or concerning.
If you are a subscriber, I posted the five working rosters last week on the main site. Of course, at this point, they should be considered to be written in pencil.
Aaron Luna reminds me of Allen Craig. If Luna could have made it at 2B, it would have been great, like Craig at 3B. LF backup to Holliday is tough competition for a tiny job. Same issue with Castellanos; if he does not have IF skills, he becomes one of many OFs.
The Cards were able to invest enough at bats in Chambers and Darryl Jones to improve their skills. If Bogany or Shepherd can get enough playing time, they are even toolsier.
Its going to be not easy to decide which hitters to select for the two A teams. Who has the most upside potential? There must be a lot of candidates for a modest number of roster slots.
I liked the way Justin Fiske was handled. An UDFA lefty starting pitcher, senior from Texas State. He must have been just hated by the radar gun. The Cards signed him anyway, hustled him up to AA, even sent him out to the AFL, now release him. A roller coaster ride, fast up, fair treatment even for the UDFA, quick out. Its not failure, but rapid turnover and optimal use of roster slots.
I am glad to see Jaime Garcia win 5th starter. Garcia should turn out to be an improvement over Wellemeyer. Its nice to see a southpaw not named Mulder.
Rich Hill can pitch at Memphis, try to get his curve called for strikes. If he can collect strikes, Hill can pitch in the majors in the event of an injury.
Freese and Garcia are two rookies with good roles on the big club. Craig has a chance too. Three rooks to start the season seems good.
Brian have you heard something specific with regard to Hernandez? Lacking other info, I’d be shocked if he wasn’t in extendeds and starting with the GCL team this summer.
Luna’s an interesting prospect. I didn’t realize he’s only 23 — almost three years younger than Craig. For some reason I thought he was older.
The other thing I didn’t realize is how often he gets hit by pitches — 24 times last year in 89 games, at three levels. Combined with 65 hits and 35 walks, he ends up with a nice OBP. But is that sustainable? It’s an odd stat line. I can’t think of a prospect who made it to the show with an OBP that’s so dependent on HBP.
Then again, 31 of those 65 hits went for extra bases, and that’s with most of his games in the pitcher-friendly FSL.
Definitely a guy to watch this year.
CC, prepare to be shocked.
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/commishs-hot-stove/commishs-hot-stove/2010/03/not-to-panic-pujols-is-scratched-but-fine/
Its really not to hard to read this one. Tony is very much aware of Albert’s “situation”. He is managing here doing what is his strong suit, “understanding the psychological wars”. Lannam is exactly the guy whose going to vex Albert with off-speed away locations. A front line pitcher. Tony knows the game well. He appears to know Albert well too. Not even in a minor league game is he going to allow Albert any “self explorations”………………….this alone is what the 4.5 million is about. Makes me wonder about Tony’s conversations with Mo/BD. They have been mighty sweet lately.
Brian, you aren’t exactly a lucky guy these days. You compliment Furnish and make Santos your pitcher of the day and now they’re gone. Furnish doesn’t surprise except to the extent Eager is still here.
Hernandez not being at the GCL would seem to be a change of stategy by the Cards. His glove reportedly is ready and he proved his bat is also. I can only think they want to spread the SS prospects out a little but still seems silly.
Though I think I last said for Furnish “Rough outing for the lefty” and it is obvious the Santos decision was sealed before he put on a strong performance Thursday, we will count this score two for scouts over stats.
Its good to see the Cards thin-out some of the abundance of farm-hands, so as to allow more playing time to others. Recently, I suggested CF was a well-stocked position within the system. Releasing Mitchell may increase at bats for Ingram, Parejo, or Swinson at Quad Cities.
Lavigne pitched fine last summer at Batavia, but must not have much velocity, he does the job, then its out the door. Maertz ditto, but there are few slots for relievers at A level, with the 8 man rotations. Veres did ok last year as a reliever, but is gone too. Nothing wrong with this. Its a symptom of having a lot of players and focusing on the most promising.
Not sure Furnish was a victory for the scouts. his stats are bad but scouts would tell you he has a live arm I think. It think that is a stat win.
I don’t get how somebody is an all star and gets cut. Or is it better to ask what is known about Maertz’s potential now that wasn’t known when he was signed?
Maertz went to St Peters, in north New Jersey, probably Div 3. He was a senior, who signed in June 08, drafted about round 42. Maertz made the NYPa All Star team in 09. This just means he did well in that league. He is probably 24 and the Cards have more guys than roster slots. More heads may roll.
Maertz led all Cardinals minor leaguers with a 0.84 WHIP and did not allow a home run in 119 batters faced last year.
Brian’s system matrix has 297 names, now minus another 10, down to 287.
47 players are listed for the DSL and 40 for Venezeula. Take away another 25 for the ML team. This leaves 175 players for staffing the 4 full season minor league teams. These have about 98 roster slots, resulting in an excess of 77 players.
Perhaps 10 to 15 might be injured, so 77 could be reduced to 62. If no one else is released or quits, the Cards may have 62 for Extended Spring Training, enough to staff two more minor league teams than they actually have.
Don’t forget to add in the all the players drafted this June…
Another way to look at Maertz’s performance at Batavia….
Despite being a college senior in 2008, there was not enough roster room for him to reach Quad Cities in 2009. There are only 4 reliever slots and he was never able to get one. Some other pretty good relief pitchers like Buursama and Frevert began 2009 at EST, getting a chance later. Maertz never got this chance, showing he was ranked lower than them. Maertz was sent to Batavia and kicked butt, making the all-star squad. Yet this honor does not indicate Maertz is a prospect, rather it more puts in perspective why he did well at Batavia. He was mature for the league, a man among boys.
Last spring, IIRC, the Cards released Jameson Maj who had done ok as a starting pitcher for Batavia in 2008. Guys can play encouragingly at Batavia, but still get released because there are not enough slots. Maertz may have been as good this spring as last summer, but he still does not profile as a prospect. Personnel decisions are based on potential. The Cards have said player development is more important than W-L records and they are being honest.
I appreciate the discussion Jumbo. Going from two rosters to one at QC explains the need to cut guys, but I just can’t see cutting a guy who has excelled in the league where he was put. One minute I imagine some cigar chomper deciding Maertz doesn’t have a big league body, and the next minute it’s a bespectacled wonk pouring over green bar paper and giving him a thumbs down. I’d blame that MIT guy whispering in Mo’s ear, but we’re talking about levels a long way from the majors.
Maertz probably has arm strength, why the Cards inked him to begin with, out of obscure St Peter’s. Probably recommended by Joe Rigoli, whose home is in New Jersey.
There are exceptions — Josh Kinney, Jason Motte and Chris Perez — but most guys who become ML relievers develop as starting pitchers (Isringhausen, Hawksworth, Franklin, McClellan at the A level, Boggs). This gives them chance to work on breaking pitches.
A level reliever is extremely long odds for high promotion. The Cards have innovated by adopting the 8 man rotations for their bottom 10 teams. This devotes 3 more roster slots to starting and reduces relievers. Even though Maertz was certainly good enough to play at the A level last year, he did not get a chance. One guy who kept him out of QC during 09, Veres, also got released.
It could be a mild surprise Maertz could make the NYPa all star team, and be let go. Yet the Cards are doing the right thing. They found a small college guy who pitched well for rookie league teams. He distinguished himself, at his job. Unfortunately, the Cards must give priority to the long term potential of all employees. The business purpose of the minor leagues is to develop ML candidates. You would like to rack up good W-L records, but this is only a secondary result. There are correlations between minor league statistics and ML potential. But with injuries, different amateur experiences, and different rungs, the relationship between stats and longterm potential has a lot of short-term statistical “noise.”
I dont understand the assumptions people are making in this thread. We are forced to make assumptions due to lack of facts but the ones here dont seem logical.
I doubt the MIT guys whispered in Mo’s ear to get rid of Maertz. In fact his stats would lead the MIT guys to advocate keeping him.
Why would we assume Maertz has good arm strength? In fact, being released with good stats would suggest the opposite. It would suggest that even though he has been effective the scouts may not believe he has the arm strength to succeed at higher levels.
Buursama began 2009 in EST, though he was pitcher of the year as a reliever in his college conference in 2008. He is a sidearmer, like Mark Worrell or a kid we used to have from U Nebraska. When he got a chance, Buursama did well at QC and ended up at PB, no surprise. He has an unorthodox delivery, probably not a lot of velocity.
Frevert had a big sophmore season at U Missouri, fell back as a junior, and fell to the Cards in the 28th round in 08. He began in EST during 09, got a chance at Quad Cities, and is still around.
Maertz never got a chance at full season ball. He was at JC, EST, and Batavia, though a senior coming out of college. He was on a non-fast track. Maertz struck out more than a man per inning as a pro reliever. His college coach complimented his fastball, but this is not a reliable fact. He pitched one summer in the respected Cape Cod amateur League, but was not listed among the top 20 amateurs in New Jersey before the 2008 draft.
Maertz was well enough known to make the Cape Cod league, but a low draft pick. Buursama and Frevert are right relievers who were drafted higher in 08 and have been given more opportunity.
Buursma was reported to throw 85-88 on his sinker, with a fringy slider. Another reliever from the same 2008 draft Frevert struck out more than 15 per 9 innings at Missouri as a sophmore; during his junior season, he was reported 90-91, up to 93. These two might make the Palm Beach bullpen for 2010.