Top 20 PRE-SEASON Cardinals Prospects in Review

    This is the PRE-SEASON list. That means it was generated BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED and that the grades were PRE-SEASON. Anyone complaining about the grades based on 2006 performance will be smacked up the side of the head with a Chad Hutchinson autographed baseball, if he can hit you with it.

1) Anthony Reyes, RHP, Grade B+
     Pitched well in Triple-A, has a 2.14 ERA in four starts for the Cardinals, with strong component ratios. Doing even better than expected so far, and I expected a lot.

2) Colby Rasmus, OF, B+
     Hitting .310/.373/.512 with 22 doubles and 11 homers for Class A Quad Cities. Also has 17 steals. . .power, speed, it's all here.      

3) Cody Haerther, OF, B+
     Hitting just .235/.282/.394 for Double-A Springfield. Quite disappointing, lacking power and not making up for it in the batting average and OBP departments.

4) Tyler Greene, SS, B-
     Stole 22 bases in 71 games for Palm Beach, but hit just .224/.308/.325 due to severe contact problems (90 strikeouts in 268 at-bats). Toolsy but overmatched at this point.

5) Adam Wainwright, RHP, B-
     2.80 Era in 30 games for the Cardinals, with a 35/8 K/BB in 41 innings. Having a strong season out of the bullpen. Will he start eventually?

6) Mark McCormick, RHP, B-
     3.72 ERA in 10 starts for Quad Cities, 59/38 K/BB in 48 innings. Good stuff as shown by the K/IP, but his command is shaky and will have to be improved.

7) Nick Stavinoha, OF, B-
    Hitting .271/.299/.367 for Springfield. Decent batting average but not as much power as expected, plus poor strike zone judgment inhibiting his OBP. I thought he was a major sleeper but this has not panned out so far.

8) Bryan Anderson, C, B-
    Hitting .307/.394/.428 for Quad Cities. Solid batting average and OBP, just 2 homers but he has a lot of potential.

9) Travis Hanson, 3B, C+
     Hitting a combined .229/.290/.298 between Triple-A Memphis and Double-A Springfield. No power, no batting average, another offensive disappointment.

10) Chris Lambert, RHP, C+
     7-6, 5.51 in 16 starts for Springfield, 73/43 K/BB in 85 innings. Has good stuff but his command leaves much to be desired. At this point I am having doubts that he will make it.

11) Juan Mateo, RHP, C+
      Returned to Cubs under Rule 5. Is 5-4, 2.62 in 13 starts for Double-A West Tennessee, with a 50/20 K/BB in 69 innings. A decent prospect.

12) Stuart Pomeranz, RHP, C+
     7-3, 3.98 in 16 starts for Springfield, 61/27 K/BB in 95 innings, 99 hits allowed. Doesn't have a huge margin for error and will need a full season of Triple-A.

13) Eric Haberer, LHP, C+
     4-7, 3.83 in 16 starts for Palm Beach, 64/28 K/BB in 99 innings. He has good control but otherwise there isn't a lot to get excited about here.

14) Tyler Herron, RHP, C+
     Just activated from extended spring training, has a 6.59 ERA in three starts for Johnson City in the Appy League. Sample too small to be meaningful.

15) Nick Webber, RHP, C+
     3-3, 4.31 in 14 starts for Palm Beach, 33/35 K/BB in 71 innings. I hate his K/BB ratio, and unless that gets better I'm not optimistic about his chances in the long run.

16) Mark Worrell, RHP, C+
     19 saves for Springfield, with a 42/15 K/BB in 35 innings, 25 hits allowed. He has a 4.41 ERA although his components would support an ERA lower than that.

17) A.J. Van Slyke, OF, C+
      Hitting just .228/.276/.272 in 59 games for Quad Cities. I am very disappointed with this one. I saw him play a lot of college ball and I thought he would do better than this.

18) Mike Parisi, RHP, C+
      3-4, 4.46 in 15 starts for Springfield, 61/33 K/BB in 81 innings, 88 hits allowed. Surviving in the Texas League but not thriving.

19) Tyler Johnson, LHP, C
      4.91 ERA in 23 games out of the Cardinals bullpen, trying to establish himself as a LOOGY. Best mark is 14 strikeouts in 15 innings.

20) Rick Ankiel, OF, C
     This time it's his knee.

Comment:
     Although there are some disappointments on this list, the Cardinals farm system is still in better condition than it's been in in some time. I really like Rasmus and Reyes, and Wainwright has certainly acquitted himself well in the bullpen. Once again there are disappointing hitters, a frequent theme on these lists this year. Could the minor league replacement umps early in the season have had that much of an effect?