Jim Masilak writes that the Memphis rotation is in flux. Why this is a concern/issue bewilders me as luminaries such as Kiesler and Smith should be moved from bullpen to rotation at need since they have zero value to the organization. I know it’s crude to view them as chips and that’s obviously not how Maloney can handle them but they are really just cogs in the AAA club and I’m sure they realize that for the most part their time as prospects is past.
Sean Danielson has a strong arm — or at least that’s what people perceive it as. I’m trying to find some articles on defense particularly relating to outfield arms and I’ve only come across one at THT. . .and I’m not sure I like the analysis. This has to be one of the more difficult things to quantify since the perception of an outfielder having a good arm (be it right or wrong) may or may not cause runners to hold up on a single or going first to third. If that’s the case, do we attribute the runs saved to the OF’s arm even if that’s simply a public misperception. I need to dig deeper here. Kary Booher’s article is interesting but the premise strikes me as something that’s difficult to pinpoint.
Booher’s also got some words on Rasmus. Another area I’m not sure on is what is causing this recent slump for Rasmus. Could be luck related or a significant slump. Is he hitting a wall with steady diets of good breaking balls? I wish I had answers but I’m not sure what’s up. Let’s hope it ends quickly.
Arnoldi Cruz is the new Bill Brasky. Anthony Reyes pitches well for Memphis. Blake King rears his head and a pair of GCL batters are off to fine starts. It’s all here in the one, the only, Daily Prospect Report.
- Mike McCoy goes 0-for-2 with 2 BBs.
- Edgar Gonzalez went 0-for-1 with 3 BBs.
- Jarrett Hoffpauir hit a double in 3 ABs and took a walk.
- Rick Ankiel went 0-for-4 with 3Ks.
- Anthony Reyes pitched 6 innings allowing 5 hits, 2BBs and a HBP while striking out 5. Though he only allowed 1 run, I’m not thrilled that it took him 109 pitches to get through the Omaha lineup for 6 innings. That’s not a particularly efficient outing.
- SS Jose Martinez and LF Mark Shorey both had 2 hits each smaking a HR and a double.
- Eric Haberer went 7 innings striking out 5 against a measly 5 baserunners (3 BBs and 2 hits). His only run allowed came on a solo HR. Haberer collected 13 groundball outs against 3 flyouts.
- Jason Motte struck out 2 in a scoreless inning allowing 2 hits.
- Matthew Scherer pitched a scoreless 9th.
- Chris Grossman, Luke Gorsett and Isaias Garcia all had two hits. Garcia collected his 2 jack of the season for all 3 of PB’s RBIs.
- Tyler Norrick allowed 4 ER in 5 innings and Trey Hearne decided to show him how to do things right and allow 4 ER in 1.2 innings.
- Donnie Smith and Scott Vander Weg decided that they needed to feel like a part of the team and allowed runs to score as well.
- Arnoldi Cruz goes 3-for-4 with a double and a walk collecting 3 RBI. With Allen Craig on the DL for PB is it too early to ask if Cruz could play at High-A? I say that facetiously because I want to temper everyone’s expectations for this kid. We haven’t seen any of the BIP data for him yet while looking at an incredibly small sample size of less than 100ABs across 4 levels of competition making it very difficult to really know a whole lot more than the Cardinals seem to think he was ready to move up to face some better opposition. Let’s not discuss him as an answer at 3B in STL when he’s a mere 21.
- Jared Schweitzer goes 2-for-4.
- Shaun Garceau struck out 5 in 5 innings against 3 BBs and 2 hits allowing 1 run.
- Cardinal pitchers had 4 wild pitches in this game (as did the Great Lakes).
- SS Jose Garcia goes 2-for-4 with a BB.
- Daniel Descalso goes 0-for-2 with a pair of BB.
- 1B Charlie Pelt went 2-for-4 with a double.
- Jesse Todd threw 5 innings striking out 6 and allowing 4 hits.
- Blake King (there’s a name I haven’t typed in a while) struck out 7 in 3.1 innings but allowed 2 runs including a solo HR.
- Mountain Dew held on for a shaky save.
- Joseph Hage went 2-for-4.
- Casey Mulligan went 1-for-3 with a BB.
- Johnson City pitchers walked 10 batters. How they only gave up 1 run is a study in the luck of baseball. . .
GCL Cardinals 3, GCL Nationals 1 (7 innings: Game 1)
- 3B Juan Cabrera went 2-for-3.
- SS Romulo Ruiz went 2-for-3 with a double.
- Phillip Anderson struck out 3 in 2 innings allowing 1 hit.
- Michael Blazek struck out 3, walked 2 and allowed 2 hits in 4 IP. I also think Blazek is one of the better last names in the farm system.
GCL Cardinals 5, GCL Nationals 12 (7 innings: Game 2)
- RF Edgar Lara went 2-for-4 with his 7th HR. In 85 ABs, he’s hitting .271/.333/.576/.909.
- 1B Osvaldo Morales went 2-for-4 with a double and is hitting an even more impressive .293/.402/.585/.987.
- Ramon Delgado was the only pitcher that remained unscathed for the Cardinals striking out 3 in 1.2 innings and walking 2.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
az,
I have seen Danielson in person and he does have a cannon. It is really comparable to Colby’s. Yeah, that is how good it is. I know that Danielson might be a little old for a prospect, 24 and will be 25 in a couple weeks, but the kid is underrated. He could definitely contribute in a So Taguchi role.
http://www.whiteyball.com
For the month of July, Rasmus has struck out in 32.2% of his at bats. that is dreadful. He also has a ground ball rate of 28% which is fine, but a line drive rate of 10%, which is about half of the liners he has been getting. he is striking out a lot or hitting lazy fly balls. at this rate, he may need to repeat AA, or even…dare i say…get sent back to Palm Beach. Right now I’d have to say the aggressive promotion strategy for the razzlemeister is backfiring. he had one other worldly month, and 3 bad ones.
After the bout with the flu or whatever, when Rasmus lost a bunch of weight, I believe he was starting to hit a little again. But, I beleive he was just recenetly beaned in the head while hitting. Ever since he’s striking out almost every single at bat. This could be a big problem. Some guys NEVER get over it.
i got a chance to see the springfield game last night and i thought there were a few things to note:
* Haberer looked really good in his 7ip. He threw mostly sinking fastballs 88-91mph and got a TON of groundballs. he actually had a no hitter going into the 5th when he gave up a solo homerun. other than the fastball it looks like he has a so-so change and maybe a slider. i would compare him to brad thompson probably.
* Colby looked aweful at the plate, but he didn’t see anything close to a fastball over the plate all night. he got a lot of curves thrown his way and he was nowhere close. the troubling part is that the k’s didn’t seem to bother him all that much. i’m afraid that stl fans would react to him the same way they did JD Drew (but that’s just one game).
* Jason Motte can absolutely bring it! he was throwing consistently 97-100mph on the stadium gun. i’ll be excited to see him progress.
* Jose Martinez had a good game in general, and looks like a good defender. he at least has the arm to turn dp’s at the major league level.
* Mark Shorey has some good power. his homerun was absolutely crushed. they announced at the stadium that it was 447ft. and i would believe it. his next ab he flied out to the wall in dead center which is 400 ft. in Springfield.
I would reccommend the drive down from St. Louis any time. they do a great job down there making the games fun and there is a lot of good talent on the team right now to go see.
whiteyball - I haven’t seen Danielson (except once) so I don’t know about his arm but I fully expect that it is a cannon. I was just musing in a general sense how much a good arm really contributes to a good defensive outfielder. My gut instinct says not that much and that range is wildly more important but I’m having a hard time find anything on the topic.
Big Red - But, I beleive he was just recenetly beaned in the head while hitting. [...] Some guys NEVER get over it.
Please don’t ever say that again — because I totally agree with you and I’m terrified that that could happen.
Joe - thanks for the onsite report! (I love the Motte portion as he’s a pet prospect of mine.)
How did I miss that John Rodriguez is having knee surgery?
Arnoldi’s poop is currency in Batavia…his family crest is a crocodile eating johan santana…he breast feeds tim mccarver…
arnoldi cruz goes by tony
How did I miss that John Rodriguez is having knee surgery?
I haven’t seen any articles specifically about that. And frankly, I glossed over it and it didn’t really register with me. . . that really sucks.
“arnoldi cruz goes by tony”
yeah, but how original is that? i’m calling him arnoldi…except to his face
[AZ: I don't like to edit comments but I'm not going to let that provocation stay -- it's over; move on]
the cardinals have announced that they have signed pete kozma