This chat roundup discusses the Cardinals interest in Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday. This quote, in particular, caught my attention:
“Certainly the Rockies are fishing for prospects and names such as (OF Colby) Rasmus, (C Bryan) Anderson and (LHP Jaime) Garcia will be thrown around. John Mozeliak insists he is not going to trade Rasmus. I believe it, but no GM would publicly make available his top prospect since it would only erode leverage.
The last sentence sort leaves the possibility open that Rasmus could get traded (although it is only a Joe Strauss chat, so he certainly doesn’t speak for the organization). I personally don’t want that to happen and I really don’t think there is much chance that it will happen.
This article discusses some roster moves the organization made today, including Mr. Wallace being assigned to Quad Cities, Matt Arburr and Charles Kingrey being promoted to Palm Beach and Carlos Pupo moving up to Quad Cities. That QC team suddenly has an intriguing infield.
The exciting news for the night is, of course, Brett Wallace’s debut at Quad Cities. He DH’d and batted third - the details of his night, along with the details from four squads (Springfield was off, but Palm Beach played two) are after the jump.
- Colby got the night off tonight and somehow the Redbirds managed to win with only one extra base hit (a double by Hoffpauir).
- Nick Stavinoha, David Freese and Bryan Anderson were each 2-4 on the night. Anderson allowed a passed ball behind the plate.
- Joe Mather was 1-3 with a walk.
- Anthony Reyes got the start, but he only pitched 2.1 innings. It wasn’t a horrible start, he gave up a run on a hit and a walk while striking out one, and I’ve been unable to find any explanation for his early departure.
- Matt Clement also pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and striking out one.
- The game was held down by the back end of the bullpen: John Wasdin pitched two scoreless innings and then Ron Flores, Mark Worrell and Kelvin Jimenez each pitched a scoreless inning. Worrell struck out a pair.
Palm Beach 3, Vero Beach 4 - Game 1
- Tyler Henley and Daniel Descalso were each 1-3 with a double.
- Shaun Garceu was… how to say this gently? …not good. He lasted 4.1 innings and walked five, gave up five hits and allowed four runs.
Palm Beach 11, Vero Beach 2 - Game 2
- Game two was much better. Daryl Jones, Arnoldi Cruz and Antonio DeJesus each went 2-4. Cruz had a double and Jones had a walk.
- Tyler Henley was 1-3 with a double and a pair of walks.
- Eddie Degerman gave up two runs on three hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four.
- Blake King stuck out the side in his perfect inning of work and Kenny Maiques also pitched a perfect inning, which is hopefully a sign of good things to come.
- Well, Brett Wallace’s first professional game didn’t have any fireworks, but I approve. He was 0-2 with two walks. I think you have to be impressed with his poise and plate discipline; I am sure that he was anxious to impress in his first outing, so for him to show patience in that situation is great.
- The Quad City offense, which should get a boost from Wallace’s presence, was pretty inept tonight. Pete Kozma got the only hit of the night for the team (he was 1-3 with a walk).
- Ryan Kulik got the start, which I believe was also his first for Quad Cities. Unfortunately, he did not impress. He lasted two innings and gave up four runs on six hits.
- Chuckie Fick followed by giving up two runs on three hits in 3.1 innings.
- Then Wayne Daman gave up one run on two hits in 2.2 innings and, well, it got worse from there. Let’s just leave it at that.
- Lance Lynn had another successful outing: one hit over three scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
- The pitching was solid all around, obviously: Joshua Hester pitched the first four innings and scattered five hits while striking out three and walking one while Hector Cardenas and Adam Reifer each pitched a scoreless inning, with Reifer striking out a pair.
- Jon Edwards was 2-4 with a homerun, a walk and an outfield assist.
- Chris Swauger was 3-4 and hit his first professional homerun.
- Blake Murphy was 1-5 with a homerun.
- Jermaine Curtis was 2-5 with a triple.
- Frederick Parejo had a nice night, going 3-6 with a pair of doubles.
- Niko Vasquez was 1-4 with a walk.
- Joseph Hage was 1-3 with a homerun and a walk.
- Jairo Martinez was 2-4 with a double.
- Travis Mitchell was 1-4 with a homerun.
- Brett Zawacki got the start and was hit hard. He gave up ten hits in three innings and was credited for six earned runs. He also walked one and struck out a pair.
- The relief corps was somewhat more reliable: Joel Pichardo went two scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out three and Deryk Hooker only gave up an unearned run in three innings on one hit and a pair of walks. He struck out four.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
I’m guessing Reyes just hit a pitch count. He threw 47 pitches in those 2.1 innings in his first outing off the DL.
I am guessing pitch count and workload are the only reason why Lynn isnt in Iowa?
Make sense,, I guess..with his time at Ole Miss and Team USA…dude has thrown a ton of innings over the past 12 months or so. Its probably best to limit his summer innings to 75 or so.
So are ever going to settle the Niko vs Nico debate…..which one is it?
I vote for Nikko…then we can get some sponsor’s:)
Reyes was on a 40-45 pitch count, and went a little over with throwing 5 pitches to the last batter
Trading Rasmus for Fuentes would be devastating and would make no sense for an organization looking to rebuild from within. While I’m very pleased with Ludwick, Ankiel and Schumaker, I still don’t believe that any of them have proven that they will stick.
Garcia ought to be out of the question as well. It makes no sense to trade for a rental when you have a similar player under long-term contract who’s almost ready.
Anderson is the only one that I’d even consider, since we already have Molina. I understand the need to get rid of an outfielder, but not when it’s Rasmus for a rental. I’d rather see any outfielder on the current roster traded before Rasmus, though I doubt that anyone would want to trade Ludwick or Ankiel for Fuentes, which leaves Duncan, Schumaker, Mather and Stavinoha.
In order of preference, I’d like to see Stavinoha, Duncan, Schumaker or Mather as the first to go. The important thing, however, is that we don’t disrupt a potentially great future outfield for a less-than-stellar rental, even if it hurts during the short term.
Aaron Luna signed Tuesday night
http://startelegramsports.typepad.com/college_baseball/
Schumaker must stay with the Cards as he may just be the best of the outfielders. Duncan can go but who would want him?
Rob speaks the absolute truth! I agree 100% with everything he said.
thnx for the info on Luna, JDK. That’s good news.
The Luna signing makes this draft look a lot better.
Now that most of the draft picks have signed and it’s about mid-season, can we do a mid-season top-10 or top-20 for the organization?
My mid-season Top-10
1. Rasmus
2. Anderson
3. Todd
4. Garcia
5. Perez
6. Wallace
7. D. Jones
8. Mortenson
9. Kozma
10. N. Vazquez/ Lynn/ Mather
The Cardinals will not trade Rasmus for Fuentes, however the real threat is if the Cards pickup Holliday. If the Cardinals trade for Holliday you can gaurantee that Rasmus is part of it.
The Luna signing is great news.
I wonder when we’re going to find out if the Cardinals signed any Latin guys yesterday. I thought we’d hear something by now.
Arnoldi Cruz in the last 10 games: 6 walks, 4 K’s. That’s a big improvement over earlier in the year, maybe he’s starting to figure out high-A, and he’s only 21 years old.
I was just gonna say it looks like Arni Cruz is heating up.
Also What more does Ank have to prove Rob?
The kid will probably finish with 35 homeruns batting .270 with close to 100 RBIs and play Gold Glove defense the whole year?
I would say that he has shown he will stick.
Rasmus in my opinion should not be traded for Holliday let alone Fuentes we would get robbed in that deal.
I disagree on Rasmus For Holliday. I’m willing to bet you can land Holliday without giving up Rasmus. Look at what Atlanta gave up to Mark Teixiera (arguably, a better player than Holliday) and Ron Mahay
Jarrod Saltalamachia = Bryan Anderson
Elvis Andrus = Pete Kozma
Neftali Feliz = Jess Todd
Matt Harrison = C Grade Prospect
Beau Jones = Nick Additon
That being said, I wouldn’t be willing to give up that much of a package for Holliday, even if it didn’t include Rasmus.
How does somebody contact you guys without leaving a comment?
I would do Bryan Anderson and Jess Todd for Holliday. .but certainly not Rasmus. IMO Holliday is a better player than Teixeira, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Feliz is a lot better prospect than Todd. Although Todd is more safe, Feliz has true ace potential.
Also, the Rockies don’t want/need Anderson. They have Iannetta.
Do we even need to trade for Holliday? It is not like we are short in the outfield. But his stats would look great at second base…(I know, just saying)
Unfortunately Mike I disagree with your comparison for the Teixeira trade. I think you may be putting more value on the Cards prospects than in reality.
Salty is way more valuable a piece than Anderson. While Anderson will probably be a .290-.300 mlb catcher, Salty has the potential to be a consistent 30 hr catcher. Not even really that close in terms of value.
The Andrus and Kozma differential once again favors Texas. There probably aren’t any GMs or scouts that would say Kozma is on the same level as Andrus.
The Todd and Feliz comparison is very interesting, because like Shh I think it favors Feliz on pure talent, but Todd to me represents someone who will be no worse than a #4 MLB starter. However on pure value Feliz probably would rank higher.
In order for the Cards to get Holliday, unless Mo robs Colorado, it will take a similar bounty as the one seen for Teixara. However, if you want a true comparison you will see a haul of Rasmus, Garcia, Anderson, Addition, Daryl Jones. To me that is way to much for a season and a half of Holliday.
Dunno if this has been mentioned in previous Holliday discussions…
In 1297 PA away from Coors field, Matt Holliday is .277/.340/.450. Now, it HAS climbed every year and is doing so again this year (.309/.401/.472), but I need to be convinced that it’s worth Garcia, Anderson and others. I don’t see it, especially when he’ll get Pujols money in the next two years.
Good points Chris and you’re right. I was just trying to think of the prospects in our system that are most comparable to those involved in the Tex trade.
Andrus, in my opinion, is a ridiculously overrated prospect though. I’ve just never seen anything about him that warrants his incredible hype.
What would we do with Holliday after this year? Ankiel has 30+ HR power, and is great in the OF, Rasmus has the potential to be a gold glover in the future, and it sound like a 20-20 guy, and Ludwick looks like he can be an all around above average player.
I would rather see us save the money and prospects and get a to notch SS this off-season. Maybe even a healthy pitcher.
The last thing we need to do is dismantle our minors for a rental, and an expensive OF who would further crowd the OF.
Without stockpiling good playrs in the minors the last few years we would not even be where we are today. The last thing we need to do is go back to an aging group of expensive veterans.
Howard, on the bottom of the site is erik’s email address:
eriknmanningATgmailDOTcom
Colby has the night off again??? Something wrong?
My guess is that it has something to do with Gulin pitching. IIRC he’s a lefty who throws absolutely nothing but junk — the kind that Jim Edmonds always got the night off against.