Future Redbirds

Chris Kline of BA talks about the Cardinal relief prospects in his latest edition of Prospect Pulse, specifically Kyle McClellan, Jason Motte and Mark Worrell. (Subscription)

On to the blurbage-

On McClellan:

“The curveball was just OK; the slider showed flashes of being an above-average pitch,” a scout from a National League club said. “And he’ll use the changeup. He’s a little like (Dodgers righthander Jonathan) Meloan with a full arsenal of pitches that flourishes in a later-type inning role.”

On Motte:

“We thought someone might take a chance on him, despite the fact that he just converted and he’s in his second year of pitching,” Luhnow said. “He’s a lot further along at this point than we expected. But being a former catcher with that kind of athleticism, I think it made that transition a little easier than most conversion guys.”

On Worrell:

“You see him and he literally looks like he stumbles off the mound,” Luhnow said. “Hitters buy into that deception and before you know it, there’s the fastball for strike one. That’s the way he is—he’ll show you a lot of different arm angles and his deception is unconventional. He’s very unique and has always been very effective.”

I think one of these players has a chance to win a spot out of camp. Handicapping the field a bit, I’d have to say Worrell may have the slimmest chance out of them all. I really like Worrell, someone needs to record this delivery I keep hearing about and putting it on Youtube already. I think he has a career in the big leagues, but my guess is it isn’t with the Cardinals. I seem to remember Duncan and La Russa seeing Worrell last spring and sounding less then enthused. McClellan may make more sense, as he fits the mold of the swingman the Cardinals are looking for–he has the assortment to start and the demeanor to relieve. But does he have the stuff measure up? Sounds like his stuff is pretty average according to the quote the scout gave BA regarding McClellan.

That would lead me to say that if anyone breaks camp with the big club, it’ll be Motte. Duncan and La Russa oohed and ahh’d over the all-effort, hard throwing Dennis Dove last spring, and he was called up to the big leagues for a short stint after Josh Hancock’s untimely passing. And I would half way wonder if his ability to catch wouldn’t halfway intrigue the oddball mind of Tony, who loves having swiss army knife players around. Imagine, a 97-99 MPH throwing late inning reliever who could be the team’s all important 3rd (or 4th) catcher! That might make Tony’s brain tilt.