I didn’t see Chris Perez tonight, but checking out Gameday it looks like he had a solid debut. His fastball was 95-97 and that’s mostly all he threw, with the exception a couple of sliders to Longoria, whom he struck out. Congrats to Perez, we’ll miss talking about him around here.

Jaime Garcia was in the 6-spot on Friday’s Prospect Hot Sheet, netting some much deserved recognition after dominating AA and making a seamless transition to AAA. I’m dreaming of a 1-2-3 of Carpenter-Wainwright-Garcia for 2009.

Kary Booher takes a look at how Shane Robinson got back on track this year. Can anyone possibly hit for a quieter .400+ average?

Jim Callis makes some educated guesses in his first mock draft, and predicts the Cardinals pick OF Zach Collier of Chino Hills High in California. Some see Collier more of a supplemental rounder or even 2nd rounder, so at 13 he could be considered quite a reach, but that’s also what was said about Pete Kozma. I just have trouble believing the Cardinals would pass on Friedrich if he’s available. Anyway, looking at his draft video, it looks like he could develop some pretty nice power.

Get to know Daryl Jones. Daryl is someone I can relate to–he likes playing Halo and Madden. Madden is good stuff, however it’s pretty much been the exact same game the last 5 or 6 years, sans roster updates. Halo is fun but I stink at it. My two brothers-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law and even my wife are much better than me. It’s gotten to the point where I renamed my character “Freekill”. Stupid sniper rifles; oh how I loathe thee. Daryl also likes hip hop and jazz, but when goes he goes with jazz he goes with…um…Kenny G. That’s just blech. Daryl, if you’re gonna do jazz and you like the sax, then you got to go with Coltrane all the way, particularly his earlier stuff with Miles and Monk.

The farm goes 3 for 5 tonight counting the Venezuelan squad, who have found themselves a little coverage in the DFR’s lately.

Memphis 13, Oklahoma 8

• P.J. Walters allowed his 9th homer in his 8th game, and 7 earned runs on 8 hits and 3 walks over 4.2. 3 walks has to be his own personal worst given Walters’ track record of unbelievable stinginess. On the plus, he registered 7 K’s.
• Brian Barden went 4 for 5 and scored 4 runs.
• Josh Phelps went 3 for 5 with a HR and 5 RBI.
• David Freese was 2 for 4 with a stolen base.
• Nick Stavinoha doubled.
• Joe Mather hit his 7th HR and was HBP. That’s a .329 Isolated Power for Joe.
• Now hitting all the way down in the 8th spot, Colby walked, hit a sac fly RBI and struck out twice. Believers in prayer, say this with me- “God, you like Colby. Please remind him how to hit again on a regular basis, and please help the balls he’s hitting find ground. May he never be associated with the name Dee Brown when it comes to his baseball career. Ever. Amen.”
• Mark Worrell struck out 3 over 2 perfect innings.
• Jason Motte has got the motts. He struck out all three batters he faced.

Springfield 9, Tulsa 10 (11 innings)

• Adam Ottavino must be hurt, because he got drilled again tonight. 2 innings, 7 ER, 7 hits (including a grand slam), 3 BB, 2 K. Something still isn’t right with his shoulder, it just can’t be. I expected him to find AA more challenging, but this is ludicrous.
• Tyler Greene doubled and homered.
• Steve Hill went 2 for 5 with a HR and 3 K’s. He also committed his 4th error in his 6th AA game, this time playing LF. It’s like baseballs are out to make him look foolish. Must be revenge for hitting them so freaking hard.
• Allen Craig also went 2 for 5 with a HR.
• Jon Jay went 1 for 6 with a double. He stranded runners on 2nd and 3rd to make the last out of the game, unfortunately.
• Nick Webber threw 4 scoreless innings and induced 10 groundouts.
• Luke Gregerson struck out 2 in 1 inning, with a walk and a balk.
• Fernando Salas struck out 4 in 2 innings. I’m not sure where he’s came from, but Salas has a ridiculous number of 41 K’s in 25 innings. To my Springfieldian readers out there I ask-what kind of gas is this dude bringing?

Palm Beach 3, Vero Beach 2

• Kyle Sadlowski went 5 innings, gave up 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 3. He induced 8 groundball outs to 2 fly outs.
• Elvis Hernandez (Mosquito numero uno) struck out 5 batters in 2 innings. He allowed 2 hits, 1 hit being a solo HR.
• Josh Dew allowed 2 hits and a walk in 1 inning, but didn’t allow a run. He struck out 1.
• Fransisco Samuel (Mosquito numero dos) pitched a perfect 9th, and struck out 2.
• Luke Gorsett doubled and tripled.
• David DeJesus doubled, walked and was picked off at 1B.

Quad Cities 8, Peoria 1

• Nicholas Additon and Mark Diapoules combined for a gem. Additon allowed 4 hits and a walk over 5 innings, striking out 3. Diapoules went 4 innings, allowed 1 run on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 6. He had 5 groundouts, no fly outs. Diapoules is really starting to intrigue me.
• Domnit Bolivar had a big night, going 4 for 5 with a double.
• Pete Kozma went 2 for 5 with a double and 3 RBI. He also committed his 9th error of the season. I’m really not all worried about the errors. Him making plays the average SS isn’t making is what matters to me at this point.
• Luis De La Cruz went 2 for 5 with a double. He allowed his 7th passed ball, and was 1 for 3 on nailing basestealers.
• Osvaldo Morales homered for his 1 hit in 5 at bats.
• Tommy Pham put his speed to good use, legging out an infield hit and stealing a base.

VSL Cards 7, VSL Mets 9

• Roberto Perez went 4 for 5 with a double.
• Limbert Rivas went 3 for 5. Limbert is just a cool name.
• Peter Jaspe and Gerardo Mannbel both went 2 for 5.
• The game had 11 errors, 6 on the Cardinal side. Yuck.

It’s official. Perez up, Izzy to the DL, down with Charlie Brown’s Disease. Hat tip to cardsfan1, who called this last weekend.  I usually save transactions like this for the DFR’s, but Perez to St. Louis is a relatively big deal.

This article indicates that the Cardinals will either be putting Isringhausen on the DL or possibly designating him for assignment. I would imagine that he would clear waivers at this point and his comments seem to indicate that he would accept a minor league stint to find a cure for what ails him. The corresponding roster move would almost certainly be to bring Chris Perez to St. Louis for his first major league experience, since that was the plan for about a half an hour a few days ago before minds were changed. I am sad to see Izzy struggle, because he has given us some good times, but I am really excited to see Perez in The Show.

As mentioned in the comments, Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus had some nice things to say about Jess Todd in an article today. The article is subscriber only, but I’m not sure about this audio interview on BP with John Abbamondi, Cardinals AGM. Elsewhere, Kary Booher has the details of the Cory Rauchenberger retirement and Mark McCormick’s promotion to Springfield.

The system went 4-1 on the night, with Springfield’s seventh loss in a row as the only blemish on the evening. All the details are after the jump.

Oklahoma 4, Memphis 6

• Joe Mather hit a two run homer in the bottom of the 12th to bring home the victory. Atta boy, Joe! It was his only hit in six chances on the night, but he made it count.
• Colby was dropped to eigth in the lineup but it made no difference on this night. He went 0-4 with a sacrifice.
• Brian Barden went 3-6 with a double and Mark Johnson went 2-3.
• On the mound, Anthony Reyes got the start and gave up two runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batsman over 3.2 innings. He struck out three.
• Hugo Castellanos went three scoreless innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out one.

Springfield 5, Arkansas 6

• Allen Craig played leftfield tonight and went 3-4 with a homerun and a double.
• Jon Jay went 1-3 with a homerun and two walks.
• Isaias Garcia went 2-4 and Matt Pagnozzi went 2-3.
• Tyler Herron had a bit of a rough outing, giving up five runs on seven hits, two walks and two hit batsmen. He struck out five.
• Marco Gonzalez pitched two hitless innings, giving up a walk, hitting a batter and striking out one.

Vero Beach 4, Palm Beach 5

• Brian Cartie follows up his successful debut with Palm Beach with a huge night, driving in all five Palm Beach runs while going 3-4 with a double and a homerun. He DH’d today after playing third yesterday.
• Daryl “Tools” Jones went 2-3 and Arnoldi Cruz went 2-4 and also threw out two runners attempting to steal.
• Kyle Mura got the start and didn’t have a particularly good day. He gave up four runs in five innings on eight hits and two walks. He also struck out three.
• Brandon Garner and Jon Mikrut each pitched two scoreless innings. Garner struck out three and gave up two hits while Mikrut gave up a hit and a walk and recorded one strikeout.

Quad Cities 3, Peoria 1

• Quad Cities only managed two hits, doubles by Andrew Brown (1-3 with a walk) and Paul Vasquez (1-4).
• Joshua Wilson got the start and lasted five innings, giving up a run on three hits and two walks, while striking out one.
• Brian Broderick went four scoreless innings, striking out three and allowing two hits.

VSL Cardinals 5, VSL Tigers 4

• The batting line of the day goes to Carlos Yegues, who went 3-5 with a pair of doubles.
• David Brito gets the pitching line of the day for pitching 3.2 hitless innings, giving up only a walk and striking out two. Honorable Mention goes to lefty Miguel Lopez for giving up only an unearned run on two hits over four innings and striking out three.

A few news and notes around the Internet concerning some of the draft prospects I thought were worth mulling over a little bit.

Baseball America is saying Tanner Scheppers has had some inflammation in his pitching shoulder. His coach has ridden him pretty hard, so hopefully it’s not a prelude to something more serious. Scheppers could be selected in the 6-12 range, I wonder if this news could slide him down a little. He’ll be pitching this week, I’m interested to see how he fares. UPDATE. Turns out he has a stress fracture in his shoulder. That’s not good, and will certainly shake things up a bit.

Keith Law says Melville’s stock is back up, as he’s been warming up with the weather. On the other hand, Kyle Skipworth’s stock sliding a little bit, as there are some concerns now about whether or not he can stick at catcher. Also in Keith Law’s top 30 is FR’s own favorite cheeseball and hometown hero Jake Odorizzi.

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com takes a stab the first ten picks, and has all sorts of juicy nuggets of info along the way.

-The White Sox really like Arizona State 3B Brett Wallace.
-The Reds could take SS/RHP Casey Kelly in the first round. Kelly’s a top 30 prospect, but not a top 10 guy in most people’s minds. But, his dad is Reds bench coach Pat Kelly, and we know from drafts were Jocketty was the GM that his clubs can reach a bit to show some favor (read: nepotism) to his coaches and scouts.
-Despite concerns about his defense, the Marlins have been all over Kyle Skipworth.

If the buzz proves to be true, it could drop an interesting player down to the Cardinals than what we previously projected.

With the latest rumors de jour in mind, here’s my latest shot at mock draft mockery.

1. Tampa Bay-Buster Posey
2. Pittsburgh-Pedro Alvarez
3. Kansas City-Tim Beckham
4. Baltimore-Brian Matusz
5. San Fransisco-Justin Smoak
6. Florida-Kyle Skipworth
7. Cincinnati-Casey Kelly
8. Chicago-Brett Wallace
9. Washington-Aaron Crow (high price tag and injuries concerns, Nats will jump to get Crow)
10. Houston-Gordon Beckham
11. Texas-Eric Hosmer (will they open the wallet that much?)
12. Oakland-Tanner Scheppers

That leaves a few interesting choices at 13.

Can Yonder Alonso play another position? If the answer is yes, then the Cards have to seriously consider him. Are they willing to gamble on a high school pitcher? If so then Tim Melville could be the man. Shooter Hunt and Christian Friedrich seem like the obvious choices given past draft history. After hearing several glowing reviews of Jake Odorizzi and seeing a few videos of him on the web, I’ve been sold. Would the Cards reach down a little bit and grab him? Because he’s not likely to be there at 39.

So who could be at #39? Some names I could see the Cardinals calling is Josh Lindblom of Purdue, a right-hander who is widely considered as having one of the best sinkers in the draft. Adrian Nieto is a powerful switch-hitting high school catcher and teammate of Eric Hosmer.

Wade Miley of SE Louisiana and Tim Murphy of UCLA could be there if the Cardinals don’t get Friedrich but still really would like a polished, college lefty.

Niko Vasquez hales from the same HS as Tommy Pham, also a SS. He’s a projectable player with a strong arm, good defense and is said to have an Albert Pujols type of hitting style.

James Darnell plays opposite of Justin Smoak for South Carolina, who doesn’t portend to hit for a high average at the next level but has very good power.

We know one thing is certain and that is the Cardinals will have their own rankings that will differ from a lot of lists we’ll see. After seeing some of the early returns on the 2007 draft, I’m willing to not be quick to call “reach” and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Today was an off day for Memphis and a travel day for me. I am a bit out of the loop on what has been going on since I have been out of town since Saturday (which is ironic since I was actually in St. Louis). From the looks of things, though, Springfield is really missing Jaime Garcia and Bryan Anderson, as they lost their sixth in a row this evening. Palm Beach and Quad Cities save the day, though, as the system goes 3-2 on the day (counting the VSL). All the details are after the jump.

Springfield 3, Arkansas 4

• Man, Myth and Legend Steve Hill had another outstanding night as his transition to AA hasn’t fazed him much. He went 4-4 with a pair of doubles. His defense is still problematic, though, as he had another error playing first base, this one was on a throw.
• Mark Shorey was 2-4 with a double and Isaias Garcia was 2-3.
• Clayton Mortensen bounced back with a strong outing, going 7 innings and giving up two runs (one earned). He gave up three hits and two walks while striking out four. Seventeen of his twenty one outs were recorded via strikeout or groundball.
• Fernando Salas pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.
• Luke Gregerson only recorded one out before blowing the save and taking the loss. He gave up two runs on three hits.

Palm Beach 2, Jupiter 1 (12 innings)

• Neither team scored until the 11th inning, when each scored a run. Then the good guys scored again in the 12th (on a wild pitch) and Jupiter couldn’t match them.
• James Rapoport and Oliver Marmol each went 2-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
• Brian Cartie, in his first game with Palm Beach, went 2-5 with a double and drove in the run in the 11th. He also committed a throwing error in the field.
• Brad Furnish pitched the first five scoreless innings, striking out a pair and giving up only one hit. He was followed by Mark McCormick, who lasted three innings and struck out five while giving up one hit and two walks. Josh Dew pitched the next two scoreless innings and five of his six outs came via the strikeout. He also allowed a single and two walks. The lone run of the game came off of Francisco Samuel and it was unearned (Samuel threw a wild pitch that advanced the runner into scoring position). He struck out three in 1.2 innings and gave up one hit and two walks. Jon Mikrut earned the save for recording the last out of the game.

Quad Cities 3, Peoria 2 (Game 1)

Quad Cities 7, Peoria 4 (Game 2)

• Tommy Pham had a nice day, going 3-7 with two homeruns (one in each game) and a stolen base.
• Pete Kozma was 3-5 on the day with a double and two walks. He also stole a base.
• Mike Kingrey went 3-7 with a double; Andrew Brown went 3-6 with a homerun and a double; Matthew Aburr went 1-4 with a homerun (he only played in the second game); and Osvaldo Morales went 2-5 with a triple and a walk.
• Thomas Eager got the start in the first game and went five innings, striking out three and giving up two runs on four hits.
• Eduardo Sanchez started the second game and he also lasted five innings, allowing four runs on three hits and four walks. He struck out six.
• Matt Spade pitched a scoreless inning in the first game and gave up one hit while striking out one batter; Cardoza Tucker got the save in the first game, walking one in his scoreless inning; and Pete Parise got the save in the second game by throwing two scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

VSL Mariners 8, VSL Cardinals 2

• There were no extra base hits by any of the Cardinals players and no exceptional offensive stat lines. Gerardo Mannbel, who was mentioned in the comments yesterday, went 1-3.
• The pitching lines were a bit messy, with lots of walks ( and strikeouts (9). The line of the day goes to Geney Rios, who struck out all three men he faced.

Joe Mather is on a tear as of late, and what the heck is going on with Kenny Maiques?

THREE UP

Joe Mather: “Joey Bombs”  is putting on a show reminiscent of the one he put on in AA last season, yet even better. Since coming off the disabled list Mather has been a one-man wrecking crew. He’s hitting .321/.433/.617 in 98 plate appearances. He’s homered 3 times in his last 6 games, and twice in his last two. His batting eye has been outstanding, he’s walked 14 times to 12 K’s. If it weren’t for such a crowded outfield situation already with the big club, one would think Mather would be in the big leagues now.

Allen Craig: He was nearly listed in our last edition of three up, three down, but on the downside. Craig is slugging .652 for the month of May, and hitting for a .326 average. He has yet to draw a walk this month, but it’s great to see his power return. 6 of his last 13 hits have gone for extra bases.

Nick Stavinoha: The former long-snapper has yet to hit for the type of power he showed in college or at the QC, but he’s hitting .433 in his last 10 at bats, and .381/.416/.548 in 126 at bats for the season. He’s not drawing a ton of walks or hitting for a lot of power, and he just turned 26, so it’s hard to get too excited about him. But he’s also not striking out often and hitting a lot of line drives, thus the high average.

THREE DOWN

Colby Rasmus: Ugh. It’s not like his tools has just disappeared, but good grief. I’ve seen way too many 0 for 4, 0 for 5, 2 or 3 K nights in the DFR’s lately. Colby has made 130 outs, more than anyone in the minors. In the month of May Colby’s hitting .178/.240/.267, striking out in nearly a third of his at bats. If there is a silver lining, it’s that he’s hitting for a 23% line drive rate this month, and less groundballs. His BABIP is an unlucky .233, so when he’s making contact it’s finding somebody, but he has to cut down the K’s. I still believe, but it just seems like it’s been such a long time since we’ve seen the Colby we all have come to love.

Kenny Maiques: I’ve seen Maiques pitch on several occasions last year, and he was dominant, throwing a 94 MPH fastball with nice movement, and a wicked slider reminiscent of K-Rod. I’ve interviewed Maiques, and he seems like he has a good head on his shoulders. I went as far as to rank him my #9 prospect going into the year, I liked him that much. So I have no idea what the heck is going on, but behold the oogliness: 12.1 innings pitched, 10 earned runs, 20 walks, 6 hit by pitches, 5 wild pitches. Sadly, Maiques is highly unlikely to be able to reinvent himself as power hitting outfielder.

Brandon Buckman: Buckman burst on the scene last season in the QC, hitting .341/.384/.590 in 286 plate appearances. But he’s found the spacious ballparks of the FSL not to his liking. He’s drawing walks, but just 5 of his 32 hits have gone for extra bases. He has a Glausian-like 1 HR in 120 at bats leading to a paltry .325 SLG.

J.J. Cooper puts together the Indy League All Star team, a compilation of independent leaguers who either began their careers in the indy leagues or were found in indy ball after being released from A ball or below. The reason it make mention of it is current Cardinal Josh Kinney and former Cardinal Jason Simontacchi both made the team, and only the Red Sox and Angels had more than one member on the “team”. It is too bad about Kinney suffering his set back after TJ surgery, I’m afraid his baseball life is taking a turn down the Mike Lincoln career path. It seems like every year there are several players from indy ball in the system, right now only QC closer Pete Parise comes to mind. You also have to tip your cap to the Mariner scout who discovered George Sherrill, who is now the closer for the Orioles and came over in the Erik Bedard deal.

Amaury Marti has been placed on the DL. Amaury Marti…injured..that…that can’t be. What could his kryptonite be?

The farm goes 2 for 3 tonight. Oh, and the Venezuelan Summer League started yesterday.

Memphis 6, Tucson 0

• Jaime Garcia threw 7 innings, allowed 6 hits and a walk while striking out 6. 10 of his outs came via the gorundball. Wow. In 13 AAA innings, Garcia’s allowed just 1 run, 1 walk and has 12 K’s. I know the MLB rotation is doing well overall, surprisingly. They have started to stumble a bit as of late. It’s nice to see Jaime showing himself ready.
• Joe Mather homered, his 3rd in his last 6 games. He was also hit by a pitch. He’s hitting .321/.433/.617 in 81 at bats. The big club has 5 pretty handy OFers as it stands now, something has to give. I’m pondering what Chris Duncan would fetch in a trade…
• Nick Stavinoha went 2 for 3 with a BB.
• Josh Phelps homered.
• Chris Perez walked one and struck out one.
• Colby Rasmus went 0 for 5. I’m not making excuses for him much longer.

Springfield 4, Arkansas 5

• Brandon Yarbrough doubled and tripled.
• Shane Robinson singled, stole a base was was caught stealing.
• Jess Todd allowed only 2 hits over 6 innings, striking out 2 and walking 1. It took him just 77 pitches.
• The 9th inning was a comedy of errors. Luke Gregerson allowed a solo homer to start the inning. Steve Hill apparently dropped an infield fly, his 2nd error of that variety in his short AA stint. Jose Martinez had an error that allowed the bases to be loaded. Gregerson then threw a wild pitch to tie game. He intentionally walked the next batter to reload the bases. Then Arkansas won it on a walk off single. Ugh.

Palm Beach 9, Jupiter 5

• James Rapoport went 2 or 5 with a SB. He’s stolen 5 bases in 11 games played. He’s like our own Alex Sanchez, only with defense.
• Daniel Descalso went yard.
• Arnoldi Cruz went 2 for 4. He was 1 for 3 on catching base stealers.
• Brandon Buckman went 3 for 5.
• Oliver Marmol tripled.
• Brandon Dickson went allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 4 hits, 3 walks and 2 K’s over 3.1 IP.
• Shaun Garceau went 3 innings, allowed 1 run on 1 hit (solo HR), walked 1 and struck out 2.

QC @ Peoria was rained out.

I can’t promise we’ll do this in every DFR, there’s just so much not really known about these players and I’m not sure how much I really care….but for opening day, what the hey…

VSL Cardinals 6, VSL Phillies 6 (11 innings)

• Gerardo Mambel went 4 for 5 with a double and a HR.
• David Brito pitched 5 scoreless innings, striking out 2 and allowing 2 hits.
• Moises Colorado threw 3 innings, allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 2.

The next edition of “Three up, three down” should be up tomorrow. I’ve been a little busy lately so I haven’t really had time to put together any midday post ideas. So when in doubt, why not do a prospect ranking? The lazy bloggers’ way out! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken some time and really thought this through. When doing my rankings, I put my amateur GM hat on and just rank them in the order I’d want them in a trade. We’re about 40 games in; there’s been some moving and shaking. I don’t want to too heavily weigh early returns, but some prospects have gone splat (Maiques), while some are moving quickly through the system, which has to be taken into account. So for what it’s worth, here ya go:

1. Colby Rasmus-As terrible as Colby has been so far, it’s not like his tools have just evaporated. He’s still far and away the best prospect in the system; just needs more time to adjust than we hoped. I’d like to stop seeing him whiff 2 or 3 times a game as he has done lately.
2. Chris Perez-A few more blown saves by Izzy, or the closer committee, or whoever, and he will be the closer. (I would hope.)
3. Bryan Anderson-Hot April led to a promotion to AAA and he’s yet to show signs of slowing. Improved defense.
4. Jaime Garcia-Like Anderson, hot first month led to AAA call up, showing himself to be a K machine.
5. Pete Kozma-1st rounder doing more than just holding his own in first shot at the A level, his coaches have noted that he’s become a clubhouse leader.
6. Brian Barton-Still considering him a prospect until he hits the magic number of AB’s, which may be a while at the current rate. But when he’s playing, he’s playing well.
7. Clayton Mortensen-Has had his ups and downs in AA, which is to be expected.
8. Kyle McClellan-Rocketing up the board here. Impressed in big league camp, now a very nice set up reliever who could see some saves opportunities. Also, has opportunity to make it as a starter in 2009.
9. Adam Ottavino-Struggles due shoulder problem has been the story of his early season.
10. Tyler Herron-Herron won’t even walk his dog. Herron walks nothing and no man. Aggressively promoted to AA after nice April. I’m noticing a recurring theme.
11. Jon Jay-Finally healthy, swinging a hot stick in AA.
12. Mitch Boggs-What I said about Mortensen applies to Boggs. Ups and downs in trip-A to be expected.
13. Jose Martinez-Yet to really catch fire.
14. Joe Mather-Hitting very well in AAA, will need someone to get injured or seriously slump to make it to majors before September.
15. Jess Todd-Now in AA after hot April. Strong K/BB ratio 4:1.
16. David Kopp-Ground ball machine performing reasonably well at advanced A level. Call him up to AA lately. Let’s stick with protocol, people!
17. P.J. Walters-I’m a little worried about the HR/9 rates, but it’s nice to see him in AAA already. I know some of you are going to protest him being down here at #17.
18. Jason Motte-Flamethrower looks to be ready for show now, secondary offerings, schmecondary offerings.
19. Allen Craig-Coming alive after a rough April.
20. Jarrett Hoffpauir-He’s still getting on base, but not as often as before, and showing little to no power.
21. Mark Worrell-Makes more sense at the MLB level than Parisi, not much left to prove in minors,
22. Steve Hill-At first whiff of full season, according to Luhnow Hill has “mastered a ball”. Homered in 1st game in AA.
23. David Freese-The return for the charred remains of Jim Edmonds is hitting OK for making the jump from A to AAA.
24. Daryl Jones-You could think he’s finally starting to live up to his tools if you look just at his “slash” stats. Big underlying concern about his 30 K%.
25. Mike Parisi-At long last, 2004 draft’s 1st MLB player. Seems to have decent stuff, but fringy command.

I plan to have my next ranking post draft. Debate away.

I don’t think I’ve seen this posted before but Keith Law unveiled his top 60 prospects in the upcoming draft. He noted that it’s not a projection but simply who he thinks the best 60 players are.

Shane Robinson was the Texas League position player of the week. He was also discussed in Goldstein’s Monday Morning 10 Pack:

In 32 games, Robinson is hitting a back-to-college-esque .434/.469/.628, but he’ll have to keep it up for a while before scouts are able to look past the five-foot-nine, 160-pound frame, little power, and a weak arm.

David-Eckstein-in-the-outfield suffers from the same kind of skepticism that PJ Walters and his 85mph fastball shake off at every level.

Not a good night for the farm system although Memphis is currently tied so there’s still hope. . .

But there is no joy in Mudville — the system foes 0-for-4.

Memphis 4, Tuscon 7

• Colby Rasmus goes 0-for-4.
• Joe Mather goes 2-for-4 with a HR. He’s hitting a ridiculous .325/.430/.597 with more walks than strikeouts and a .272 ISO. Looks like last year’s breakout was legit.
• David Freese went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
• D’Angelo Jimenez was 1-for-3 with a walk. Given his .655 OPS and Brian Barden’s success at SS, maybe it’s time to cut bait and let Jarrett Hoffpauir play everyday. The Cardinals already have 4 MI at the major league level do they really need to stockpile depth in the form of Jimenez.
• Mitchell Boggs allowed 8 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings while striking out 2.
• Ron Flores allowed a 3-run HR to the opposition’s 1B during the 8th inning to take the loss.

Springfield 3, Arkansas 8

• Steve Hill was 2-for-4.
• Jose Martinez was 3-for-4 with a double. He’s hitting .246/.272/.341 this season and we haven’t really commented on his struggles much considering all the press he was getting after his half season power surge at Springfield in 2007. If you look at his 2007 line in Palm Beach and 2008 line in Springfield they look awfully similar. A dip in power coupled with a dip in line drives coupled with a dip in BABIP — all three of those things are inherently related but the general problem is he isn’t hitting the ball with hard contact. The result is that his batting average goes in the toilet and because he never walks, his offensive value plummets. When his only other offensive skill, power, declines at the same time, it’s just a nasty combination.
• Mark Shorey was 2-for-4.
• Cory Rauschenberger got absolutely lit up allowing 8 runs (7 earned) in 4 innings on 9 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5.
• The relief pitching was good — Adam Daniels threw a scoreless frame (he needs to stay in relief), Marco Gonzalez pitched a pair of perfect frames striking out 2 and Fernando Salas struck out 3 while walking 1 in a scoreless frame.

Palm Beach 3, Jupiter 4

• Jim Rapoport went 3-for-4.
• PB collected 8 hits and 3 walks but nothing for extra bases.
• The pitching was not bad but no one particularly stands out. Elvis Hernandez started out with 3 innings allowing 4 hits (double, triple) and 2 runs. He struck out 2 and walked 1.
• Josh Dew followed up with 2 scoreless innings allowing 2 hits and 1 K. He had 4 groundouts against 1 flyout.
• Kyle Sadlowski allowed one run from a gopherball over 2.1 innings striking out 3 and walking 1 with 4 hits.

Quad Citied 5, Peoria 7

• Tommy Pham didn’t wait long to show signs of life after his demotion. He went 2-for-5 with a HR but also struck out 3 times.
• Pete Kozma was 3-for-5 with a stolen base.
• Charkes Kingrey went 2-for-4.
• QC was sabotaged by their defense committing 5 errors.
• Chuck Fick allowed 5 hits, 2Ks and 1 walk. He also allowed 6 unearned runs in part because of 2 errors he committed himself.
• Blake King struck out 3 and walked 2 in 3 innings. He’s walked 21 in 25 innings. That’s just an absurdly high walk rate — in fact it’s his worst walk rate of his pro career.
• Wayne Daman allowed 1 hit and a walk in 2 innings striking out 4.

We are only 3 weekends away from the draft, so the guys are running out of time to impress. The top of the draft has been locked in for a while, but there are some new names popping up in the late first round. One of those guys stretched it out a little this weekend. Tanner Scheppers and Zach Putnam, two big time righties that are on the Cardinals’ radar didn’t pitch this weekend, but I haven’t heard why just yet. Check out those that did play and impressed inside.

Batters

Pedro Alvarez Vanderbilt 6-12, 2B (10), 3B (1), HR (6), 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB—-up to .322

Buster Posey Florida St. 7-8, 3 2B (20), HR (15), 8 R, 8 RBI, 3 BB—–now hitting .471

Gordon Beckham Georgia 4-13, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB

Yonder Alonso Miami (FL) 3-12, HR (15), 4 R, RBI, 2 BB

Brett Wallace Arizona St. 4-9, 2B (10), HR (16), 2 R, 6 RBI, SB (14)—–if he could play third in pro ball he would go a lot higher, still might not slip out of the top 20

James Darnell South Carolina 4-11, HR (16), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB—-could be a Cardinal target in the sandwich round

Dennis Raben Miami (FL) 4-12, 2 HR (8), 4 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB——starting to show that power

Pitchers

Brian Matusz San Diego 8.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 14 K

Aaron Crow Missouri 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 11 K—–finally pitched well, but walks are still high

Shooter Hunt Tulane 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K—–has been pitching very well recently

Christian Friedrich Eastern Kentucky 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 6 BB, 13 K—–still has some control problems that come up every few starts, but he has been dominating

Joshua Fields Georgia 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K

Andrew Cashner TCU 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K—-fast rising closer with great stuff

Ryan Perry Arizona 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K—–pitching great since move to the pen

Chris Carpenter Kent St. 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Aaron Schafer Wichita St. 7.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Scott Gorgen UC Irvine 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K

Dan Schlereth Arizona 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K—–lefty reliever has been dominant