Kevin Goldstein has his risers and fallers for each NL team. (subscription normally required, but free preview available now.)
Great Leap Forward: Rick Ankiel’s move to the outfield has been nothing short of remarkable, as the game’s former top pitching prospect has 26 home runs in 289 at-bats for Triple-A Memphis while batting .270/.312/.592. Outfielder Joe Mather has been this year’s version of Terry Evans, turning tools into production quite suddenly by reaching Triple-A and batting .283/.367/.579.
Not What We Expected: While he has the best power stuff in the system, righty Mark McCormick can’t stay healthy, and has missed the entire season with shoulder woes. The organization had high hopes for toolsy outfielder Daryl Jones in his full-season debut, but he’s hit just .196/.292/.268 for High-A Quad Cities.
Open Questions: Will the Cardinals resist the temptation to rush center fielder Colby Rasmus (.258/.354/.513 at Double-A Springfield) and let him develop into a more consistent hitter instead of an all-or-nothing type? Is Double-A closer Chris Perez ready for the big leagues with 55 strikeouts and just 16 hits allowed in 35.2 innings?
Who Will Be No. 1?: Rasmus still has some holes in his game, but his ceiling remains roof-high; he’s the obvious candidate in a weak system.
19 year old infielder Donovan Solano was called up to Palm Beach. Solano was hitting just .258/.302/.285 in 315 plate appearances. On the positive side, he’s only struck out in 8% of his at bats. He was hitting .324 for the month of July.
The Tulsa World has a look at Pete Kozma’s 72 year old coach and ex-Cardinals pitcher Bob Blaylock. It seems he’s been a big influence on Pete’s, um..swing.
Kozma credits Blaylock with teaching him how to hit by constantly reminding him to lead with his hands — even if it meant yelling at him from the stands during his high school games.
“Every time I see him, he keeps on telling me to stay away from girls and stay away from booze,” Kozma said. “I’m going to keep that in my mind wherever I go.”
Everyone was off tonight except Johnson City and the GCL Cardinals.
Adron Chambers went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI.
Jose Garcia also went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and was caught stealing 2nd.
Beau Riportella went 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a stolen base. He’s now hitting .356 in 59 at bats with 6 steals in 17 games.
NDFA catcher Paul Vasquez went 2 for 4 with a double. He now has a 1.012 OPS in 49 at bats.
Jose Mateo allowed 3 hits and a walk, striking out 3 and getting 8 ground outs over 5 innings.
Andres Rosales allowed no runs on just 2 hits and a walk over 4 innings, striking out 5.
Hector Cardenas allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5.
The hitters didn’t do much exciting. Frederick Parejo and Osvaldo went 0 for 2 with 2 walks.
Edgar Lara went 2 for 4 with a HR and 2 RBI.
Osvaldo Morales also homered.
23rd round pick from the 2004 draft Philip Andersen made his return from Tommy John, striking out 1 batter out of the three he faced in relief. In 2005 Andersen posted a 5-1 record with a 2.96 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 37 walks over 100.1 innings.
Fabian Marquez allowed 4 runs on 6 hits while striking out 2 and giving up a homer over 3 innings.
35th round Mike Blazek gave up a run on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. Blazek was drafted out of a Las Vegas high school this past draft.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports, Transactions
erik
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fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Good to hear about Andersen. I’ve heard he has poor secondary pitches, but he’s always been a favorite sleeper of mine.
Erik, you would put it’s subscription required, when it’s not because BP is having a free preview week, silly you. And whats this new “chat with me” feature?
Also, I find it convienant that Goldstein didn’t mention Perez’s walks while mentioning him.
I noticed that Kevin Goldstein took a jab at the Cardinals minor leagues in his last sentence by saying that Rasmus was the best in a “weak system”.
Makes me sick that others still think that about the Cardinals farm system. Our lack of organizational depth is alarming and does not bode well for the future. I would have to say that Goldstein is just telling the truth. Overall it is a weak minor league system.
That Tulsa World article says Blaylock threw a splitter back in the fifties.
And whats this new “chat with me” feature?
Shhh — please ignore the man behind the curtain. It’s for something that erik is putting together that will at a later date.