Future Redbirds

Just a few quick links:

Many of you have seen that I posted my list of the Cardinals’ top 15 prospects at VEB.

More VEB, lboros notes that the recent class of rookies has been the most fruitful group in years.

Brian Smith of Baseball Analysts continues his 5 part series on the top 75 prospects at SI.com. Colby Rasmus ranks #28. Here’s the blurb:

If there was ever a season for a teen-age star to be lost in the shuffle at A-ball, it was 2006. Six other teen-age outfielders who excelled at Low-A are ranked higher on this list. Rasmus possesses a polish that few have at his level, a refinement that extends to his offensive approach, baserunning and defense. In his first 12 games of 2006, Rasmus hit just 8-for-49 with 14 strikeouts. After that, before a promotion to the Florida State League, Rasmus batted .339 with 41 strikeouts in 66 games. The Cardinals want Jim Edmonds to hang on two more seasons, hoping their center-field position goes from one sweet left-handed swinger to another.

Jaime Garcia was ranked #74. More blurb-age:

A scouting story of yesteryear, the Cardinals swiped Garcia in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft thanks to a scout who remembered his curveball from the Mexican junior national team. A good athlete, Garcia saw a rise in velocity once he stopped hitting, and now has significant life on a low-90s fastball. Between both levels he pitched at and winter league ball, Garcia had a 2.85 groundball-to-flyball ratio in 2006. Strikeouts and groundballs from a southpaw are a sure-fire predictor of future success in my book.

Todd Morgan at Scout.com offers up an early preview of the ‘07 draft, and predicts the Cardinals will pick RHP Jake Arrieta. 

Arrieta offers an intriguing combination of size and stuff. While he doesn’t have an overpowering fastball like some of the higher-ranked pitchers in the 2007 draft class, he does offer more consistency with his stuff than most. The fastball is always between 90 and 92 mph, and he’s shown that he can maintain his velocity deep into every single start. That talent isn’t as flashy as a 99 mph heater, but lots of guys who show velocity spikes like that also fall off for stretches during a long season. Whatever organization drafts Arrieta likely won’t have to worry about that.

Arrieta fits with the modus operandi of  the Cardinals drafting college pitchers in the first round. Morgan also goes on to say the Cardinals have no impact starting pitchers in the system, which made me (and Jaime Garcia) cringe. Another mock draft I recently saw the had  the Cardinals picking high school outfielder Jason Heyward. Brewerfan.net has a scouting report.

Heyward is an exciting power prospect who is athletic enough to handle a corner outfield spot, but could be a perennial Gold-Glover at first. He has long, strong limbs that creates natural extension, yet he has more of a gap-to-gap, line drive approach. Despite his size, he controls the strike zone very well, and when he learns to add more loft and spin on his swings, he could be a perennial 30-home run threat at the highest of levels and a natural run producer hitting in the middle of a lineup. In addition to his offensive prowess, he also has very good speed for his size and a strong throwing arm. Heyward would be similar to a left-handed hitting version of Derrek Lee. He doesn’t turn 18 until next August.

I think I’d rather have Heyward. I wonder if he has any relation to Ironhead…Brewerfan.net has a scouting report on Arrieta as well. One last note, an article at the University of Portland’s athletics site lends a little light about what troubled Travis Hanson last year. Parasites.

Hanson hit .284 with 20 homers and 97 RBIs for Double-A Springfield in 2005. He started the 2006 training camp well, only to be stricken with an illness that put him out for 10 days — he lost 15 pounds in five days. Hanson never fully recovered and batted just .223 with three homers and 38 RBIs at Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but looking back at how good I felt in batting practice the day before (the illness),” he says, “I never came close to that the rest of the season.”

Doctors later said he had cryptosporidium, a parasite that probably knocked him down in 2005 as well. “It can be dormant,” he says. “I have no clue — I don’t know if it will come back.”

That’s pretty weird.