Future Redbirds

The Architect got his contract extended until 2008, which is good news. Very notable however is the promotion of Jeff Luhnow to vice president for scouting and player development, a position once held by Bruce Manno. Luhnow is from the new school of baseball thought and has worked in the area of statistical analysis and has now ascended to overseeing the entire farm system. He’s been over the draft for the last few years, now he’ll have full authority over all his picks.

P-D columnist Bernie Miklasz sees this as a shift of power within the front office, new school verses old school, stats verses scouts, and could even have implications with Tony LaRussa and his future in St. Louis. Miklasz even speculates that Luhnow is the heir to the GM position, which would not suprise me. (Though I gotta say, I think Jocketty is more “Moneyball” then a lot of people think).

I know Bill DeWitt has received a lot of flack for allegedly being a greedy mizer of sorts, but give him credit for listening to a guy like Luhnow, who sees the importance of stats and scouting, using new methods to mine for talent, and has helped reshift the team’s focus to other nations. Under Luhnow’s supervision the farm system has been bolstered through well-thought out drafts and is no longer thought of as a running joke. That certainly helps any team build a winner, especially one that’s looking to do it on a sensible budget.  

The farm system sure got a ways to go, but it is a lot better then where it was, and I’m looking forward to seeing where Luhnow takes it.