Highlights from Saturday’s St. Louis Cardinals minor league spring training games in Florida.
On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals’ five squads were “home” as their Florida Marlins counterparts take the short walk over from their side of the Jupiter complex.
As always, Cardinals director of minor league operations John Vuch shares game highlights. The raw data is his, with the comments mine.
Team summary: The Cardinals had just their second winning day of the spring and their best overall to date. Memphis finally collected their second win in camp whiile Palm Beach and Quad Cities 1 were also victorious. Quad Cities 2 tied their Marlins counterpart. Completing the table-turning, the Cardinals’ winningest team this spring, Springfield, was the only one to take a loss on Saturday as their pitching blew a gasket. The other clubs rode their strong pitching to success.
Combined records: The Cardinals records on the day were 3-1-1. Spring totals are now 16-24-7 overall and 11-19-3 versus external competition.
My Pitcher of the Day: Gary Daley, pitching for Memphis, allowed just two baserunners in four shutout innings. How can one not root for a turnaround by the Cards’ third-round selection in 2006 who has 202 strikeouts with 188 walks in 247 1/3 career innings and mid-90’s heat?
My Hitter of the Day: Memphis’ centerfielder Shane Robinson (pictured) was on base four times, including via a pair of triples. Let’s see… The major league team needs a reserve centerfielder and it is Robinson’s natural position. He went 4-for-11 (.374) in big league camp, including two doubles. Shane also walked three times, drove in three and was hit twice by pitches. Maybe he is trying to suggest he deserved more of a chance?
Sunday’s schedule: The Cardinals enter their final week of camp by facing the Mets. This time, Memphis and Springfield board the bus for Port St. Lucie while the A-level clubs stay home.
Memphis (2-6-2) defeated New Orleans, 9-2
Memphis Pitching
Gary Daley – four shutout innings on one hit, one walk and one strikeout – The Pitcher of the Day.
Trey Hearne – 2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Josh Kinney – 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB – Needs to start putting up goose eggs.
Tyler Norrick – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Fernando Salas – one perfect inning with 2 K’s – Pitched better in big league camp this spring than some still there (9 Ks to 1 BB, 2.45 ERA).
Memphis Hitting
Shane Robinson – 3-for-3 including two triples, a walk, 2 runs and an RBI
Tony Cruz – 2-for-3 with a double, a HBP, two runs and two RBIs – If he keeps hitting like this, it will be tough to send him back down to Springfield when the Molina-Pagnozzi dominoes eventually fall.
Amaury Cazana – 2-run HR – Will he return to Mexico? Will he ever play for Memphis again?
Mark Shorey – doubled and scored
Donovan Solano – 1-for-2 with a walk and RBI
Mike Folli – 1-for-2 with an RBI
Tyler Henley – singled and scored – Note Henley is with Memphis while Jones is with Springfield.
Springfield (3-4-3) lost to Jacksonville, 13-3
Springfield Pitching
Scott Gorgen – 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K’s – Rough outing for the 2009 Arizona Fall League participant.
Ryan Kulik 3 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K – After a 43-10 strikeout to walk ratio in 2008, it zoomed up to 71-46 last season. Not a positive trend.
Thomas Eager – 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – Fifth-round pick in 2007 has yet to turn the corner.
Eduardo Sanchez – 1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 K’s – Not what one would hope to see from a legitimate closer candidate.
Springfield Hitting
Andrew Brown – 3-for-4 with a run scored and RBI – Getting listed here more days than not this spring.
Matt Carpenter – 2-for-3 with a walk
Curt Smith – RBI double
Daryl Jones and Colt Sedbrook – singled, walked and scored – Since being sent down from big league camp (1-for-5), Mr. Jones, the organization’s 2008 Player of the Year, has been quiet. (Nothing against Jones, but our pick that year was David Freese.)
Aaron Luna – single, walk, RBI
Tommy Pham – walked twice
Palm Beach (4-5-1) defeated Jupiter, 7-2
Palm Beach Pitching
Mark Diapoules – 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K’s – Nice showing. Last season, he made 15 appearances with Palm Beach before injury and return to Quad Cities. In the Florida State League, he posted a 5.72 ERA as walks were a problem (28 in 39 1/3 innings).
Arquimedes Nieto – 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 unearned run, 1 BB, 4 K’s – His 116 strikeouts last season was fourth-highest among all Cardinals minor leaguers. His 22 starts between Quad Cities and Palm Beach ranked ninth in the system.
Ramon Delgado – 1.1 perfect innings with a K
David Carpenter – one hitless inning, one walk, one K – Tied for seventh in appearances in the organization with 52 at Quad Cities despite it being only his first full season after converting from catcher.
Palm Beach Hitting
Rich Racobaldo – 2-for-2 with a double, two runs, RBI
Jason Stidham – two hits, run, two RBIs – Did you know the 22-year-old was born at Lakenheath, United Kingdom? I didn’t.
Domnit Bolivar – two hits, run – To be in the know, work on pronunciation of the 20-year-old Venezuelan shortstop’s name – “DUG-nee BO-lee-var”.
Jose Garcia – tripled and scored
Frederick Parejo – single, walk, RBI
Osvaldo Morales – RBI single
Quad Cities 1 (5-5) defeated Greensboro, 1-0 (10 innings)
Quad Cities 1 Pitching
Kevin Siegrist – four hitless innings, 1 BB, 3 K’s – Could mount a very strong argument for repeating as Pitcher of the Day (also won on 3/22). Seven shutout innings over his last two outings. Impressive. Has a 3.07 ERA in his first two seasons. Was with Batavia in 2009.
Mike Blazek – 4 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K’s – A shame this fine outing is almost lost among the other standout performances. Blazek led the New York-Penn League with 13 wild pitches last season, but seemed to be right on the mark on this day.
Andrew Moss and David Kington – 1 IP, 1 H each
Quad Cities #1 Hitting
Niko Vasquez – singled and scored the game’s only run
Jonathan Rodriguez – singled and walked
Devin Goodwin – doubled and walked in his two plate appearances – Second baseman taken in 33rd round in 2009 looking for playing time.
Travis Tartamella – singled in his only AB – 22-year-old catcher batted just .183 in his rookie season at Johnson City.
Quad Cities 2 (2-4-1) tied Marlins 5th club, 1-1
Quad Cities 2 Pitching
Cale Johnson – 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K – Last season, he was fourth among Cardinals relievers with a 5.2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio.
Hector Hernandez – 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Chris Corrigan – two hitless innings, two walks, one K
Keith Butler – 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s – His 1.02 WHIP in 2009 ranked as eighth-best in the system.
Quad Cities 2 Hitting
Rainel Rosario – 2-for-4 with an RBI – 21-year-old Dominican had a .758 OPS with Johnson City last season, his second in the US.
Anthony Garcia – doubled in his only AB – Seems to be doing well with the bat in his playing time.
Jesus Montero – singled and walked in two plate appearances
Yunier Castillo – singled and scored a run – Encouraging to see the defensive standout appearing again among the offensive highlights.
Roster move: Adam Ottavino was optioned to Memphis on Saturday.
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Too bad Robinson is 5’9″ 160. If he can hit for any kind of average at Memphis, say .275, and still walk as much as last year, he’d have something going. Maybe Big Mac worked some magic.
he’s still a work horse and gives a 110% out on the field! Gotta love Shane!
Welcome, bisc. Maybe that is why Robinson is trying second base. Fans of this organization seem to embrace scrappy second basemen.
Robinson was college player of the year in 05. In 08 at AA, he averaged .352. He should improve at Memphis this year.
Perhaps, Jumbo, but recent history is full of guys who hit well for a partial season with Springfield, only to be unable to repeat it. Other than his first season and that period with Springfield, Robinson never hit above .253 in any of his other stops.
If Daley can get back on track, it will be an amazing story, reflecting well on him and the Cards. Stidham: Lakeheath has a USAF base.
Bolivar: its not easy to pronounce Dom as Dug.
Tony Cruz could be a sleeper. He had good success throwing out runners last year. And before he moved to catcher, he showed he could hit.
As far as hitting goes, Ozzie Smith is an example of a guy about that size who became a .good hitter. (Smith’s bio says 5’11 “……of course he is)
Robinson began at QC in 06; began hot, but cooled down to the .280s by the end. He dipped a bit in 07 on the step up to PB, but this is normal. In 08, Robinson, like Anderson, was red hot for Springfield. This does not just seem a league or short-term effect, but in keeping with previously demonstrated abilities.
Robinson hit .220 in his first Memphis play. Last year around .235 was disappointing. Maybe he played with an injury. He is streaky; he plays hard and wears down. But hes clever with the bat. Maybe David Eckstein with better speed. Eck got released by the Sox after his first season of AAA, but kept trying and good things came to pass.
Jumbo, are you aware of the years of data that indicate the Texas League favors hitters as the Florida State League does pitchers? Just checking…
The Cards like to view a player based on his “history” (all the N). For Robinson, this would include excellence in college (FSU?). He had a foot injury at Palm Beach, but has been pretty consistent across the years, until getting to Memphis. Will Shane be defeated by AAA pitchers (like Travis Hanson)? Or will Robinson adjust? My guess is Robinson (Jay and Anderson) will catch up to AAA pitchers and lift their batting averages.
Not to side track the discussion, but Brian or others, any information on the status of R. Castillo or Garceau. It seems like the way the daily updates are provided you see everyone who pitches listed. Since a couple of good outings early in camp from each, I have not seen their names in probably over a week.
There are some parks in the PCL that favor hitters, with the one in New Mexico being most notorious. In contrast, Memphis is the hardest offensive park in the PCL. Schumaker spent two full years at AA, about 3 more at AAA. Chris Duncan had 1.5 years at AAA. Rasmus experienced a conventional decline in batting average (.275 AA to .251 AAA). Stavinoha was .295 at AA, lower his first year at Memphis, .325 his second season. There are precedents for hitters to take time to adjust to the more sophisticated pitching of AAA.
(Incidentally, this makes it all the more impressive when a Memphis rookie adjusts swiftly, like Freese, Craig, and Greene, and hits well during a first full season.)
vegasjim, please comment anytime.
Castillo was in Thursday’s report. Garceau pitched on the 23rd, Tuesday. Guys also throw on the side, especially if they are really working on something.
I will see about a general medical check tomorrow.
Jumbo, continue your discussion, but at least note that Rasmus was out of sorts and injured in 2008, which likely affected his results as much or more than any “conventional” league adjustment.
“Rasmus was out of sorts and injured in 2008.”
Once he was injured, he was shut down for the season. He may have been out of sorts. He was a kid, with overoptimistic notions of skipping AAA, and then he found AAA was no cakewalk.
Its hard for most kids to go from high school to Johnson City and play against a lot of collegiates, so those who can do this, such as Rasmus, Kozma, Anderson, Haerther, Vasquez, etc., its a good sign.
The NYPa league is hard offensively, so a guy who can start well there, as did Hamilton, its good. Or college juniors who can skip over the league directly to the MWL, like Jay, Robinson, and Tony Cruz, its positive.
The MWL can be hard for first full year pros, but its easy in relation to hitting in the Florida State League, since FL is a peninsula, the air has water vapor, and the ball does not carry well in the heat of summer.
The Texas League is good for hitters.
Memphis is tough for hitters.
Sometimes how well a player will do in the PCL can be guessed from how fast he performed at lower rungs. Hanson was ho-hum in the MWL, had an injured year at PB, excelled at AA, and then collapsed at AAA. He is an unusual extreme example. He batted 3rd at AA, a favorable spot in the lineup, and collected a lot of ribbies, but only hit .281 by averge, IIRC. When he got to Memphis, the expectations were high, it was harder, maybe he had an injury or illness, and lost confidence. Maybe he was a tweener, a little underpowered for 3B, trying to slug to qualify as a 3Bman. So there are cases where a guy hits AAA and does not gain traction and washes out. Gorecki might be another, being pretty old by the time he was allowed to reach that level. The Cards have moved Robinson along as swiftly as they can. He has found it difficult so far. But it would not be surprising if he succeeds in making adjustments and hitting .300 at Memphis during 2010.
Shane probably can never become an everyday ML CF, on a playoff team. Teams want higher OPS in CF. Eckstein was able to make the majors because SS has a low OPS expectation. If Robinson like Schumaker could shift to 2B, he could play more. Or Shane might be able to serve as a ML reserve OF, like Taguchi.
Garceau is one of several low-profile pitchers who could emerge. There is LHP Additon, who pitched well at AA last August. Fans seem interested in Richard Castillo. Archimedes Nieto, Diapoules, Gorgen, Kopp. Some will be at AA, some at PB. Some guys may fair well, others will become injured or struggle. It will be interesting to see how things turn out.
Who gets selected for the piggy-back rotations at the A level is interesting. The Cards have abundant candidates for Quad Cities behind Shelby Miller and Joe Kelly, including Hooker, Blazek, Siegrist, and Ferrara.
If your not watching the game, your missing an Albert appearance. He is pressing the bat back and laying it off a bit. That puts tension on his left shoulder and keeps him from flinching open on his pitch read. He had a couple of nice pulls but the best was the HR taken a little deeper and with a fairly relaxed swing to center. Holiday is of course not there which is conspicuous…………as mentioned earlier on both issues.
RC………..Colby gets some Albert love…………….that was sweet. Hr was wind aided but he put a charge into that one.
Stava is in early because he is running out of time to impress. Craig is formidable.
Freese just put a nice stroke opo………..he isn’t tempted by the wind. Both pitchers are trying to keep the ball out of left field……………Freese takes advantage.
Lohse is starting to get a rhythm. His early inning are always unnerving because he doesn’t use all his pitches in a game that his goal is to go deep in. Starting the forth you saw more off speed and breaking pitches as he cycled their order 2nd time. He is running like a SS out there.
Brian, you are aware that the difference in atting average between the FSL and the TL is minimal aren’t you? It is slugging where the difference between the 2 leagues is large and since we are talking about Shane’s BA……………….
Robinson has had some significant BABIP swings in his career. Some of that due to luck and some of that due to changing LD rates. Robinson supposedly retooled his swing going into 2008. he had a LD rate of 24% in AA and 19% in AAA (despite a low BA due to an unlucky BABIP). In 2009 he must have lost his new found swing as he reverted back to a 11.9% LD rate at AAA. My guess is that his success in 2010 will be determined whether he can find his 2008 swing again and get his LD rate back up.
When he first got to Memphis in 2008, Robinson had an OPS of 532, terrible. During 2009, he improved to 657. In 2010, he needs to get it to 710, by lifting batting average. Robinson is not going to slug his way to the majors. He has to get on base.
That was a great game, WC! I mean, the Mets can make anyone look good, but it was a rather impressive performance all around by the Cards. Most of my intended comments would have simply mirrored yours.
Oh, except that Solano made our old buddy Tatis look a bit foolish today. Those choppers were insane.
I am most happy about our regular rotation guys coming around to form. Lohse today, Penny yesterday. On the edge of my seat to see how Garcia does in his start tomorrow, and how McClellan does in his minor league game start. Then we’ll see Carp and Wainy again. I’m not sold on Franklin yet, but optimistic.
We shouldn’t forget about Walters as a possible factor later in the year.
One of the advantages of listening to a game on the radio, all the Cards hits were screamers, while the Muts were just chunking out cans o corn that fell in once in a while. Oh, how I hate the Muts.
Though many things can go wrong during a long season, if they enjoy few injuries, this Cards team could turn out well. The MVP at 1B and a $120MM man in LF. Rasmus is developing. There is depth, including at AAA. 4 vet pitchers and promising Garcia could make a strong rotation. This squad has fewer question marks than many years.
The milb rotation, I believe, is off from the rain day (wednesday).
I like Shane Robinson been a fan for years, I hope that things work out. College metal to pro wood is very tough adjustment, for many.
Welcome, southeast!
I posted: “Rasmus was out of sorts and injured in 2008.”
Jumbo responded: “Once he was injured, he was shut down for the season… ”
Well, no, that wasn’t the case. You make assertions appear to be fact, then I have to correct them. RC can fill in the details if he chooses, but before Colby hurt his knee, he was dealing with a groin strain. That is what knocked him out of the Futures Game and Team USA commitments. The knee came after, as I understand it. He returned to action in the second half of August, but the organization chose not to promote him when the GCL season ended. Just go to his player page at The Cardinal Nation and you can read the chronology.
I have had this debate with the spreadsheet crowd several times in the past as some of them don’t bother to try to understand the circumstances that may affect the numbers.
Also, I said this on the other thread where you posted the same thing, but Shelby Miller is now expected to open at Palm Beach, not Quad Cities. That is not official yet, but based on who told me about it, it seems likely.
It’s looking like Schu/Lopez and Ryan might be the top of the order. Whether or not Luddy can hold the 5 spot will be interesting to see. I think it was Westy mentioned that some time ago. He may benefit from having Colby and Freese behind him.
Brian states Rasmus had a groin strain that knocked him out of the Futures Game. This may be so. However, my intended context earlier was his getting knocked out of the Memphis lineup. This owed to the knee. On this, there seems agreement. Brian adds “He returned to action the second half of August.” Yet this was in the Gulf Coast League. After the knee injury, he went on the DL and then had a rehab in the Gulf Coast.
Rasmus began his PCL season in a terrible funk, the doldroms. His batting average was beneath .200. If injuries to groin and knee came later, they cannot explain the early slump, which dragged down his season as a whole. He did a great job to elevate his batting average by August, given the deep early slump, which was likely not injury induced. I am not a member of a spreadsheet crowd and am not looking at his player page, but this is what I recall.