On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers had another camp day. When the Mets and Marlins face each other, the Cardinals have no one to play other then themselves. Springfield faced Memphis on Field 2 while Peoria 1 took on Palm Beach over on Field 5. The remainder of the Peoria players worked out on Field 3.
Memphis and Palm Beach, the two higher-level clubs, were victorious. The Cardinals’ spring record against themselves is obviously at .500 while their mark against external minor league competition remains 3-5-1.
As he has been doing the last few seasons, Cardinals farm director John Vuch is sharing game stats. As always, the raw numbers are his, but the comments and players of the day are mine.
Saturday’s Player of the Day: This was easy. 2012 second-rounder Carson Kelly launched a Kyle Helisek offering far over the left-field fence for a three-run home run – into the wind, no less. As a 17/18-year-old at Johnson City last year, the third baseman hit nine long balls in 213 at-bats. (This photo is of his home run swing on Saturday.)
Saturday’s Pitcher of the Day: Pitching way above level against Double-A Springfield for the day, Lee Stoppelman again impressed. The lefty who was with short-season Batavia after being drafted in the 24th round in 2012 allowed just one baserunner in two innings while fanning four.
The Cardinal Nation subscribers can check out the Saturday’s starting lineups, pitcher velocity readings and other insider news from a writer who was at these games. Spring training working rosters and the full minor league spring schedule are also available to subscribers.
The entire system view by level and position is available via the Roster Matrix, free, right here at The Cardinal Nation Blog.
Memphis 3, Springfield 1 (6 ½ innings)
Memphis stats
| Memphis pitching | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes | Memphis hitting | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | Notes | |
| Nick Additon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Pitched in winter ball in Mexico this off-season. | Tommy Pham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Making bid in what could be final year in system | ||||||
| Nick Greenwood | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | A lot of LHP competition at Memphis | Cody Stanley | 2 | 1 | 1 | Played in Arizona Fall League in 2012 | |||||||
| Lee Stoppelman | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2012 draftee handled big step up in competition well | Xavier Scruggs | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Had a popular blog at The Cardinal Nation in 2012 | ||||||
| Jamie Romak | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Free agent re-signed with Cardinals | |||||||||||
| Colin Walsh | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Had .413 OBP last season | ||||||||||||
| Chris Edmondson | 3 | 0 | 1 | Also hit by a pitch | |||||||||||||
| Vance Albitz | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Getting a lot of time at SS with MIF’s with StL |
Springfield stats
| Springfield pitching | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes | Springfield hitting | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | Notes | |
| Sam Gaviglio | 2.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Rough day at the office | Patrick Wisdom | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Mom was among game attendees | ||||
| Tyler Melling | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Few bats on the ball, but also missing zone at times | Stephen Piscotty | 3 | 0 | 2 | Outfield or third base, he can hit | ||||||
| Matt Williams | 2 | 1 | 1 | Under-the-radar shortstop |
Palm Beach 4, Peoria 2 (5 ½ innings)
Palm Beach stats
| Palm Beach pitching | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes | Palm Beach hitting | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | Notes | |
| Mitch Harris | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 unearned R after 2 errors – velocity up over 1st outing | Adam Ehrlich | 2 | 2 | 1 | The Cardinal Nation’s 34th-ranked prospect for 2013 | |||||||
| Steve Sabatino | 2 | 1 | 2 | Gave up Tilson’s triple – also picked off a runner | Carson Kelly | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Player of the Day is TCN’s 10th-ranked StL prospect | ||||||
| Mike Aldrete | 2 | 1 | 1 | Surprising velocity for generously-listed 5-10, 165 pdr. | Ildemaro Vargas | 3 | 1 | 1 | Unheralded middle infielder | ||||||||
| Steve Bean | 1 | 1 | Texas high schooler taken 59th overall in 2012 draft |
Peoria stats
| Peoria pitching | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes | Peoria hitting | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | Notes | |
| Kyle Helisek | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Victim of Kelly’s long ball | Charlie Tilson | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Long triple into LF corner into the wind – impressive | |||||
| Joe Scanio | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Lance Jeffries | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Luis Perez | 2 | 1 | Former C was 2B in Gulf Coast League in 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Rowan Wick | 2 | 1 | 1 | Outfielder lost the ball in the sun in deep CF |
On Sunday, the Cardinals will have five games against the Marlins. All will be on the Miami side of the complex except for Peoria 2’s game, which will be on St. Louis’ diamonds, all at Roger Dean.
Subscribers to the main site, TheCardinalNation.com, should continue to check out my extensive spring training content over the upcoming days.
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Haven’t seen Lemmerman’s name.
So, this is the burning question I have. If there are going to be 5 bench players, then there can only be 12 pitchers, 5 starters and 7 bullpen guys. We know Motte, Boggs, Mujica, Scrabble and Choate are a lock. That’s 5. Mozeliak has indicated that Rosenthal is likely for the pen, so that makes 6. If Salas gets the 7th spot, then that means one of either Kelly or Miller is headed for Memphis.
If Miller wins the 5th starter, would sending Kelly to Memphis make a whole lot of sense? Salas has had a pretty good spring, even though he has been inconsistent, so it seems unlikely they would send him down. Sending Miller down would make the most sense, but if he out pitches Kelly they will have a hard time justifying it to the fans, most of whom are screaming for Miller anyway. Not that I think fan preference should make a difference, but if Miller pitches better……
Anyway, I like Shelby and think he has a promising future as a starter, but I would hate to see Kelly demoted to Memphis after all that he did last year. Such a dilemma.
I suspect Salas could be the one on the bubble if Kelly ends up in the pen.
One of the things I have wondered for some time is why they don’t/won’t/can’t trade some of their relief surplus that does not have a home. Some guys have been on the 40-man for awhile and have yet to break through with new guys being added each year, coming up behind them.
You really think they would send Salas down? He hasn’t pitched badly.
If the decision is whether to send Salas down or Kelly? Yes.
Maybe nobody wants them. Or they can’t get what they want for them.
My burning question is how long is Freese going to milk the boo boo he got two weeks ago.
Has anyone ever seen Dr. Paletta and blingboy together?
The tailbone’s connected to the ankle bone . . .
It’s Spring Training, bling, so there is no reason to rush him back if he is not 100%. Don’t push it, there are plenty of 3B in camp.
There are no bruised tailbones in baseball.
That’s not what I hear.