Adam Wainwright

Top 20 Cardinals Prospects in Review

1) Anthony Reyes, RHP.
   Effective when he is on the mound, 6-3, 2.93 with 72/17 K/BB in 74 innings at Triple-A Memphis. But health questions remain. He's a good pitcher when his arm doesn't hurt.      
2) Chris Lambert, RHP.
   7-1, 2.63 in 10 starts for Class A Palm Beach, but hit hard after being promoted to Double-A, 5.86 ERA in 6 starts with poor 25/21 K/BB. Very good arm strength but still learning how to pitch.
3) Cody Haerther, OF.            
   .318/.380/.584 for Palm Beach. Recently promoted to Double-A, is 13-for-55 so far (.236). A solid line drive hitter.
4) Brad Thompson, RHP.
   2.66 ERA in 18 games for the Cardinals, pitching well out of the bullpen.
5) Adam Wainwright, RHP.
   6-6, 3.40 in 17 starts for Triple-A Memphis, 85-25 K/BB in 114 innings. Not overpowering, has given up 118 hits, but healthy and throwing strikes.
6) Stuart Pomeranz, RHP.
   3.35 ERA in 8 starts at Palm Beach, but has struggled since promotion to Double-A Springfield, with 6.86 ERA in 8 starts. I think he's a sleeper prospect but will need time to develop.
7) Donnie Smith, RHP.
   6.00 ERA in 5 starts for Class A Quad Cities, ineffective thus far since being activated in late May. Sample too small to get paranoid about (just 24 innings).
8) Blake Hawksworth, RHP.
   Just activated from extended spring training, pitching for New Jersey Cardinals in New York-Penn League.
9) John Gall, 1B.
   Hitting .282/.349/.456 for Triple-A Memphis. Nothing left to prove in the minors, but still waiting for an opportunity.
10) Brendan Ryan, SS.
    Hitting .309/.356/.430 in 39 games for Class A Palm Beach. Hitting quite well, playing time limited due to injury, came off the DL in late June.
11) Chris Duncan, 1B.
    .252/.334/.446 with 14 homers for Memphis. Duncan has power, but an erratic track record that makes it difficult to project what he will do in the future.
12) Mike Ferris, 1B.
    .218/.314/.402 for Quad Cities, with 11 homers, but overall a very disappointing season. Hasn't shown the same overall offensive potential that he did in college.
13) Justin Garza, RHP.
    Just 10 innings of work, 14 hits, 8 runs at Class A Palm Beach after being activated off the disabled list in early June. Not a good year.
14) Eric Haberer, LHP.
    Pitching very well, with 2.11 ERA in 9 starts at Quad Cities and 2.51 ERA in 7 starts for Palm Beach. Combined K/BB of 53/32 in 98 innings is not impressive, however, and indicates he may have a hard time when he reaches Double-A.
15) John Nelson, SS.
    Hitting .273/.370/.488 with 12 homers for Memphis. Has also improved his reliability on defense. Has pop, gets on base, good arm. Two negatives: his age (26) and his strikeout rate, more than once per game.
16) Mark Worrell, RHP.
    19 saves, 3.11 ERA, 38/14 K/BB in 38 innings for Palm Beach. Good solid year, deserves a full chance at higher levels.
17) Calvin Hayes, 2B.
    Hit just .215 for Palm Beach, resulting in demotion to Quad Cities two weeks ago. Not doing well this year, status is slipping.
18) Skip Schumaker, OF.
    Hit .287/.330/.418 at Memphis, went 0-for-5 in cup-of-coffee with the Cardinals. Some line drive hitting ability, but unlikely to be an impact player.
19) Jarrett Hoffpauir, 2B.
    .313/.376/.419 at Quad Cities, earning promotion to Palm Beach where he is 8-for-52 (.154) so far. I think it unlikely that he will hit sufficiently at higher levels.
20) Mike Parisi, RHP.
    5-5, 4.08 in 14 starts for Quad Cities, earning promotion to Palm Beach where he is 0-2, 5.25 thus far. Doing OK but gives up too many hits, 113 in 98 innings already.

The Cardinals farm system remains thin but improving. I wish Reyes could stay healthy; he's a sharp pitcher but I doubt his arm will hold up in the long run.