2007 St. Louis Cardinals Prospects

2007 St. Louis Cardinals Prospects

1. Colby Rasmus, OF, Grade B+ (solid all around tools and skills)
   
2. Jaime Garcia, LHP, B (came out of nowhere last year)
   
3. Jon Jay, OF, B (I really like him and I think he is underrated)
   
4. Adam Ottavino, RHP, B (needs to improve control)
   
5. Bryan Anderson, C, B- (good bat and defense has improved)
   
6. Chris Perez, RHP, B- (fireballing reliever should move fast)
   
7. Cody Haerther, OF, B- (interesting bat but needs more power)
   
8. Blake Hawksworth, RHP, C+ (seems to have overcome shoulder trouble but doesn't throw as hard)
   
9. Tyler Greene, SS, C+ (imagine Rob Deer, with speed, playing shortstop with a good glove)
   
10. Mark McCormick, RHP, C+ (throws hard, bad command)
    
11. Chris Narveson, LHP, C+ (for some reason I thought he wasn't a rookie but he definitely is)
    
12. Daryl Jones, OF, C+ (excellent tools, could be Lankford clone if he puts it together)
    
13. Matt Scherer, RHP, C+ (exceptional K/IP ratio last year)
    
14. Brad Furnish, LHP, C+ (college lefty from '06 draft)
    
15. Jon Edwards, OF, C+ (power prospect could step forward in '07)
    
16. Blake King, RHP, C+ (throws hard, good season in rookie ball)
    
17. Nick Stavinoha, OF, C (will he get the homers back?)
    
18. Mark Hamilton, 1B, C (good power but batting average?)
    
19. Mark Worrell, RHP, C (middle relief candidate with decent arm)
    
20. Eddie Degerman, RHP, C (Rice ace looks like good mid-round pick)
    
21. Nathan Southard, OF, C (Tulane product had strong 2006 debut)

Others of Note: Mitch Boggs, RHP; Troy Cate, LHP; Andy Cavazos, RHP; Gary Daley, RHP; Reid Gorecki, OF; Eric Haberer, LHP; Tyler Herron, RHP; Chris Lambert, RHP; Tyler Norrick, LHP; Tommy Pham, SS; Shane Robinson, OF; Randy Roth, 1B; Brendan Ryan, INF; Mike Sillman, RHP.

The Cardinals in One Sentence: This is a thin system, with one clear impact talent in Rasmus, three solid Grade B prospects, then a bunch of guys who either have major questionmarks or project as spare parts.

Cate, Cavazos, and Sillman could all be effective middle relievers. Also watch toolsy infielder Tommy Pham, and first base sleeper prospect Randy Roth for signs of progress in '07.

ALL GRADES ARE PRELIMINARY. If you hate a grade, feel free to make a case for me to change it, though remember that cases phrased respectfully using logic and facts are more likely to be viewed positively than those featuring insults and invective.

There is a lot of slack in the B-/C+/C range and players may move up and down depending on how my thinking progresses. Feel free to make comments, point out sleepers I may have missed, etc. Note that there is only a limited amount of space in the book, and the max I can do is 35-36 players per team.

And, as always, there is the helpful reminder to Buy My Book, which will lay out reports for all these guys (and more) in detail.