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St. Louis Cardinals Top 20 Prospects in Review

This list was originally posted January 11, 2008.  THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST!!! THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST AND THE OLD GRADES!!!!!!!!

1) Colby Rasmus, OF, Grade A
   .249/.346/.395 with 11 homers, 15 steals for Triple-A Memphis, out for the rest of the year with injury. Sunk by a poor first month, but he rebounded eventually before getting hurt. Retained good strike zone judgment and I still like him long-term.
2) Chris Perez, RHP, Grade B
     3.20 ERA with 38/12 K/BB in 25 innings, 11 saves for Memphis, 4.18 ERA with 22/13 K/BB in 24 innings for the Cardinals. Terrific stuff, just needs to control it.
3) Jaime Garcia, LHP, Grade B
     Dominated Texas League early, then 4.44 ERA with 59/26 K/BB in 71 innings in Triple-A. Has done OK in limited major league action, four runs in nine innings. A solid pitcher.
4) Adam Ottavino, RHP, Grade B
   5.61 ERA with 76/45 K/BB in 87 innings for Double-A Springfield, 95 hits allowed. Not a good year, a blow to his status.
5) Bryan Anderson, C, Grade B-
     .303/.384/.400 for Memphis. Continues to hit for average with strong contact skills but weak power.
6) Tyler Herron, RHP, Grade B-
      Has pitched great in the Florida State League (2.31 ERA with 29/3 K/BB in 35 innings) but struggled in the Texas League (5.20 ERA with 59/29 K/BB in 81 innings, 101 hits allowed). Stock has dropped a bit.
7) Clayton Mortensen, RHP, Grade B-
     4.32 ERA with 88/48 K/BB and 118 hits in 119 innings combined between Double-A and Triple-A. Numbers similar at each level, main difference is less impressive GO/AO in Triple-A.
8) Pete Kozma, SS, Grade B-
     .284/.363/.398 with 12 steals for Class A Quad Cities, which is pretty solid performance for the hitting-difficult Midwest League. Strong plate discipline.
9) Jess Todd, RHP, Grade B-
     3.19 ERA with 78/22 K/BB in 96 innings in Double-A, 78 hits 
10) Allen Craig, 3B, Grade B-
      .309/.374/.503 with 20 homers, 39 walks, 75 strikeouts in 447 at-bats for Springfield. Hard to argue with his production though could tighten the strike zone.
11) P.J. Walters, RHP, Grade B-
      Pre-season sleeper call with mixed results. 4.77 ERA in Triple-A, but 8-3, 96/45 K/BB in 94 innings, 99 hits. Needs to get the walks down, K/IP remains strong. Still a sleeper though the grade was a notch too high.
12) Jose Martinez, SS, Grade B-
     .237/.277/.327 for Springfield. Obviously this grade was too high too.
13) Mitchell Boggs, RHP, Grade C+    
      3.61 ERA with 61/35 K/BB in 95 innings for Memphis, 7.41 ERA with 13/22 K/BB in 34 innings for the Cardinals. i felt he was somewhat overrated by others pre-season. He hasn't convinced me I was wrong yet.
14) Jon Jay, OF, Grade C+
      I predicted a rebound and he has come through, .308/.381/.464 between Double-A and Triple-A. Excellent contact hitting skills with improving power.
15) Brian Barton, OF, Grade C+
      .306/.414/.571 in Triple-A, .246/.331/.369 in the majors. I think he just needs consistent playing time.
16) Joe Mather, OF, Grade C+
       .303/.406/.630 in Triple-A, .244/.309/.465 in the majors. Like Barton, he has some skills but needs playing time to show the  marginal, but good power.
17) Dave Freese, 3B, Grade C+
      .299/.351/.528 for Memphis. Marginal plate discipline but good overall production.
18) Cody Haerther, OF, Grade C+
      .260/.331/.358 for Memphis. He's not going to have enough pop to be useful I fear. 
19) David Kopp, RHP, Grade C+
       3.76 ERA with 30/15 K/BB and strong ground ball tendency for Palm Beach in the Florida State League, but limited pitching time due to injury.
20) Steven Hill, C-INF, Grade C+
       .303/.330/.505 for Springfield but on the DL since June.

The Cardinals system has made a lot of progress the last few years. Some of my sleeper calls look dicey right now, but I'm glad to see Jay progressing as he has been a favorite of mine since he was in college a Miami. I think Rasmus just needs to reset and start over next year, but I retain faith in him long term. Kozma is a breakout candidate for 2009.

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Jason Motte

John, I know Motte didn’t make your top 20, but he’s got to be in the discussion now after the season he’s having. That 93/22 K/BB in 55 IP is quite impressive.

by seabass on Aug 5, 2008 1:46 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Agreed

I’ve read that report before, looks like it bodes well for him. I just have a hard time believing that the Cardinals couldn’t use him in their pen right now, as he’s been completely locked in for the last month. Maybe his slider has improved since that report, which I don’t think is out of the realm of possibility, given his numbers and his relatively short pitching career. Over his last ten appearances: 13.1 IP, 0 runs allowed, 27/3 K/BB.

Izzy gave up three in the ninth last night. I’m not saying Motte should come up and close (but I bet he could) but the Cards have what looks like a dominant reliever in AAA when their MLB bullpen is suspect at best.

by seabass on Aug 6, 2008 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Ditto

Daryl Jones…gotta thing he makes it next time…

by Dfarth on Aug 5, 2008 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Hill

I’m a huge fan of Steven Hill, and he was having a great season prior to the injury, k/bb issues aside. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him bash AAA pitching next year, but I wonder if there’s a sport for him on the Cards roster.

by Sigur Ros on Aug 5, 2008 3:54 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I had high hopes for David Kopp

not 100% what the status is on his health but hopefully nothing super serious.

Amaury translates into "Punisher of Spheroids" in the lost tongue of Atlantis. Marti means "Belgian Waffle."

by erik on Aug 5, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

here's a deal...

allen craig for vin mazzaro…is that a fair deal for both teams?

by Asfan4ever723 on Aug 5, 2008 7:20 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I don't know enought about Mazzaro...

But I can definitely see the Cards parting with Craig or Freese this offseason. Mazzero’s AA numbers are quite impressive. Their system could certainly use more starting pitching.

by nmstar on Aug 7, 2008 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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