Quiet news day. Springfield gets “rained out” because of the grounds crew. Palm Beach was also postponed leaving us with just 4 teams today.
It’s crazy eights with a lucky 13 as the farm system dominates from top to bottom.
- Colby Rasmus be still my heart. 2-for-3 with a double, HR and a walk. He also stole his 10th base of the season. He’s the same player he was last year folks and may be the best prospect still in the minor leagues.
- Josh Phelps goes 2-for-5 with a double.
- Jarrett Hoffpauir was 1-for-4 with a double.
- Clayton Mortensen did what he does best — generate groundballs. He allowed 7 hits and 1 unearned run in 7.2 innings walking 4 and striking out just 2. He had 14 outs on the ground (two of which became double plays) and 7 in the air. His command was a tad shaky as he hit a batter and threw 2 wild pitches but all in all a good night.
- Ron Flores closed out the game walking 2 in 1.1 scoreless innings.
- Adron Chambers was 1-for-5 with a triple.
- Nicholas Peoples went 2-for-3 with a HR.
- Paul Vazquez was 2-for-3.
- Domnit Bolivar was 3-for-4 with a triple. What he really needs to focus on is his bloody fielding as he had 2 more errors bringing his total to 18 for the season.
- Mystery man Richard Castillo pitched 5 hitless innings walking 1 and striking out 6. Just guessing but it’s possible they moved him down to QC to convert him to a starter.
- Colt Sedbrook was 3-for-5.
- Shane Peterson was 2-for-4.
- Jermaine Curtis was 3-for-4 with a double.
- Jonathan Edwards decided to go off tonight. He was 4-for-4 with three doubles and a HR. We heard about his power potential for the last couple years and while I’m not proclaiming he’s going to fulfill those projections based on this one game, it is worth remembering that he’s still only 20 years old.
- Ramon Delgado threw 4 innings allowing 4 hits and 1 walk for 1 ER.
- Jameson Maj came in firing tonight. He pitched the remaining 5 innings allowing just 3 hits and striking out 5.
Johnson City 13, Greeneville 1
- Brett Lilley was 3-for-4 with a pair of walks.
- Guillermo Toribio was 4-for-6.
- Ivan Castro was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
- Travis Mitchell was 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo HR.
- Carlos Gonzalez threw 4 innings allowing just 1 run. He had 4 hits, 1 walk and 4 Ks to his name.
- Michael Blazek was the pitching story as he fired off another 4 scoreless innings. He allowed just 1 hit and struck out 5.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
I don’t know exactly who Guillermo Toribio is, but he’s certainly got my attention.
I think we’re going to see Mortenen get on a roll of good pitching pretty soon. He appears to be adjusting nicely to life in triple A, and I think it’s just a matter of time before he starts reeling off the wins in Memphis.
Colby Rasmus was also hit by a pitch, so that gave him 4 times in 5 at bats that he reached safely.
Mortensen was wilder than the “official” wild pitchers indicates. Anderson was all over the place trying to keep his pitches from the backstop. He seemingly went from Mark Wohlers to Greg Maddux in just a couple of innings though - the big lead helped, I’m sure.
Actually, Mortensen did not hit anyone.
Jon Edwards might be one of our more interesting prospects. He is to me anyway.
In both seasons his ISO has been around .200. If that kind of power is manifesting itself at that early an age, then I think you have to pay attention. It isn’t that common. He’s got a few years to work on making contact more often. If he can improve it, that power ain’t going anywhere and then all of a sudden he’s a hell of a prospect. Plus that arm should play well, and be a big weapon, from a corner outfield spot.
If you rank prospects by the potential that’s there, he makes the short list. Of course he has a long ways to go to get there. I think both sides of that coin make Jon Edwards one of the more interesting prospects to follow.
Batavia is an intriguing team to follow this year. It is sort of a who’s who of the draft.
Speaking of the draft—who has yet to sign, besides B Wallace?
See, I toldja not to worry about Maj. Wasn’t thrilled about him pitching in a tandem at first, but glad to see him getting the innings. Bet he doesn’t walk anyone in his next two starts, too.
As for the draft, the list including who’s signed is here., although it hasn’t been updated to reflect Nico Vasquez’ signing.
I heard Luhnow on KTRS last night. He said they moved Castillo down to QC to get regular starts since Kopp and Garceau were/are coming off the DL. They were impressed with what he did at PB since he was the youngest player in the FSL and are looking forward to him being one of the younger players in the MWL.
He was on KTRS last night? Is that archived anywhere?
I agree, MerryC, about Edwards–as big as he is, though (6′ 5″), I assume he’s got a pretty long swing & therefore may not cut down the K’s too much. If he keeps the walks and power and sound defense, however, even a .260-.270 average would be OK at the MLB level.
One more stellar outing by Richard Castillo, and I’m gonna start calling the 18-year-old “Baby Pedro.” He’s just waaaay too good for his age right now. I am having a hard time corralling my enthusiasm, guys. Someone tell me Castillo’s a 83 MPH junkballer, just to calm me down, please.
Great to see Colby homer off a LHP. His average v. southpaws has been solid all year, and maybe now we’ll start seeing some pop. By the way, Colby is now 37 for his last 100–his June numbers alone don’t reflect how long this transformation (or “return”, if you prefer) has been going on.
Based on what he’s done over the last month…and his phenomenal Spring Training…and his dominant Team USA performance…and his unstoppable final 150 PA’s last season, I’d say young Mr. Rasmus would be the 3rd-best hitter on the Cardinals *right now*. (And Skip’s trade value will never be higher. I’m just sayin’….)
An aside: with so many outfielders performing so darn well in the minors (Mather, Robinson, Jay, Jones), is there really any good reason to keep Brian Barton around?
I feel bad for Brian because his AB’s are so rare, but his productivity seemingly doesn’t warrant short-term MLB playing time (the DEfensive limitations don’t help), and his long-term value is likely no better than 2 or 3 of the aforementioned quartet. Can the Cards afford to keep using a roster spot for a sub-.700 OPS corner outfielder with a marginal throwing arm?
The question is, is Barton really a sub-.700 OPS guy? I just don’t think he is….Agree that the fine play of the Cards OF raises the bar for everyone, but to say that Barton’s true abilities are what his numbers are now is not realistic…I could certainly see he and Schu’s number flip-flopping in the 2nd half.
Best resource for signings.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/draftdb/2008xteam.php?team=1019
Those not yet drafted from the first 30 rounds:
Brett Wallace (1), Aaron Luna (9), Mitch Harris (13, Navy), Scott McGregor (15), Jared Bradford (18), Brett Bruening (30)
I don’t know if the KTRS show from last night is archived anywhere, but it’s definitely worth looking for. It was Hadley’s show. He had Mozlieak on, then Luhnow. After that, it was going to be Moises Rodriguez and Mike Girsch. I didn’t hear the last two guys because I was already to my destination.
I think Barton is also the victim of not getting regular playing time. He’s been less than advertised as far as the tools people said he has, but I think he’s better than he’s shown. The problem is we have so many dang OF’s.
Bob - I agree strikeouts will probably always be part of the tradeoff when it come to Edwards. Just a matter of to what extent. I think the concerns what happens with the K’s as he advances, and what that might do to his on base ability.
It’s possible the K rate could increase more as he moves - I don’t think he can afford that. It’s possible it stays the same - if that happens he’ll need to continue to crush the balls he does put in play…..But if he could even improve that contact rate just slightly, he’s got a great chance of soaring up people’s prospect lists, and through the system too.
What makes it all so interesting is that just about anything is possible with him.