Future Redbirds

 Rounding up Redbird notes from around the net.

John Sickels All your question are belong to us. The whole thread is worth a read but I plucked out the Cardinal related notes.

On Allen Craig:

I like Craig a lot and rate him as a big sleeper in the book. Not sure where he fits defesnively, but I like his power a great deal and I think he will continue to hit at higher levels. Very much an unsung prospect.

I was quite surprised to see David Freese as a just missed on Kevin Goldstein’s list but no Craig. I still think Freese is the secondary prospect behind Craig.

On ranking centerfielders:

Rasmus, Maybin, Young, Jones, McCutchen, Gomez.

He’s gonna be good folks. He’s gonna be good.

KLaw chats again this past week (his last chat until the season starts. . .disappointing).

TS (NYC): Hey Keith, who has the most upside: Rasmus, Alvarez, Smoak or Villanlona? How long before each player is in the majors?

Keith Law: I suppose the easy answer is Villalona because he’s so young, but if I had to put $500 on the question I’d take Rasmus.

I’ve got to say that I thought this was a reallllly odd question.  Unless their’s a Rasmus coming up in the next draft that I’m unaware of, Colby is 2 levels closer than Villalona and the other two haven’t even been drafted.  Doesn’t seem like we’re comparing apples to apples.

Fred (St. Louis): Who has a better chance of winning their respective league’s ROY, Longoria or Rasmus?

Keith Law: Longoria.

Given playing time differences, I think this is a very reasonable assumption but think about that for a second.  If the Cardinals start Rasmus in the majors they have a legit ROY contender.  When was the last time we promoted someone like that?  Pujols?  Has it really been that long?

Jay (Hazleton, PA): Do you think Adam Wainright will continue at his post-ASB pace in 2008?

Keith Law: He’s a breakout candidate for me.

I know that some aren’t enamored with his mechanics but I’m still a Wainwright fan.  He reminds me a bit of Carpenter given the pitch repertoire.

Patrick (Chicago): Keith, Do you even know who Daniel Cortes is? Also, what kind of person doesn’t eat steak?

Keith Law: The guy the Royals got from Chicago for Mike Macdougal. A vegetarian.

While it’s kind of a chicken or the egg question as to which precipitated which, that part of the chat contributed to this — quite funny — post on Keith’s blog.

Here’s looking at you kid.  Cardinal prospects Jason Motte, Chris Perez, Adam Ottavino and Colby Rasmus all make an appearance in the latest round of STL P-D photos. (hattip FGC).

The Birdhouse assembles a roster from the farm system.

Kary Booher checks in with his weekly prospect piece and it’s another good one.  can Tyler Greene finally take that step forward and turn his tools into results.  It’s an interesting question and if the answer is yes, that would be a great thing for the Cardinals.  Greene has the best pure tools of all the shortstops in our system.  Luhnow seems optimistic:

But what about shortstop Tyler Greene?

“He’s one of my sleepers for this year,” St. Louis farm director Jeff Luhnow will tell you, and for good reason.

Apparently Greene has been hunkered down at the Cardinals’ spring training campus in Jupiter, Fla., the past few months and is stalking a breakthrough year in the minor leagues.

For now, his career has been nothing more than the answer to a neat trivia question — who was the other first-round pick the Cardinals took in the 2005 draft after Colby Rasmus? — but it won’t be such a charming legacy if Greene’s career stalls once again.