All posts by Brian Walton

Brian Walton runs The Cardinal Nation, covering the St. Louis Cardinals and minor league system.

TCN Blog 2015 Top Story #18: Alex Reyes’ Suspension

One can look at Alexander Reyes’ situation in at least two different ways.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ top prospect and one of the best young pitchers in the minor leagues has everything going for him, including a blazing fastball and impressive strikeout totals at every level through Double-A. With continued development and no major setbacks, the right-hander could become the top of the rotation replacement for Adam Wainwright one day.

The other side of the coin is valid concern about the judgment of a 21-year-old who seems to have not taken seriously his first positive drug test before being caught a second time with marijuana in his blood stream. To make matters worse, Reyes was suspended the very day before he was scheduled to start in the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game before a national television audience.

In the bigger picture, the 50-game timeout that ensued was not only embarrassing for Reyes and the Cardinals organization, it took him out of the pitching plans for St. Louis for at least the first half of the 2016 season and likely longer.

To his credit, Reyes wrote a letter of apology, but it does not change the situation. Seemingly unlimited talent is not enough alone to make it.

In 2016, Reyes will be able to participate in spring training and extended spring training, but will not be allowed to take the field in official action until around Memorial Day.

Instead of going to spring camp to compete for a spot in the Triple-A Memphis rotation, my guess is that Reyes will be returned to Double-A after his suspension ends to demonstrate he is back up to speed.

Over the long haul, the impact of this incident will be minimized – if Reyes uses it in a positive manner and removes concerns about his maturity and judgment. It is entirely up to him.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.

TCN Blog 2015 Top Story #19: First Base (Mis) Fortune

First base is a position from which offensive leadership is expected. That did not occur for the 2015 St. Louis Cardinals.

Of St. Louis’ eight non-pitching positions, here is how the aggregate first basemen stacked up in comparison to their Cardinals peers:

Batting average – .235 / ranked seventh (second to last)
On-base percentage – .310 / seventh
Slugging percentage – .392 / fifth
OPS – .702 / sixth

In other words, in all the slash line categories, the first basemen were in the bottom half of the inconsistent 2015 Cardinals offense.

Among the 15 National League teams’ first basemen, the story is worse:

Batting average – 14th
On-base percentage – 11th
Slugging percentage – 15th
OPS – 15th
Home runs – 13th
RBI – 13th

That is right. Of what teams want the most from first base – slugging (and OPS) – the Cardinals were dead last in the league in 2015.

Sure, there are explanations, but they don’t change the bottom line.

Here is how 2015 rolled out.

In the second straight May, Matt Adams hit the disabled list. The big man suffered a significant right quad tear and went out on the 27th. Before being injured, his line was .243/.281/.375/.656. All were career lows.

The 27-year-old did not return until September 10 and did not appear to be 100 percent. 10 of his 17 appearances were as a pinch-hitter as he went just 7 for 31 (.226/.273/.387/.660) to close out the season. Adams was left off the playoff roster.

Veteran Mark Reynolds took over as the every-day first baseman for Adams until Brandon Moss was acquired from Cleveland on July 30. Reynolds’ line at first for the season was .237/.331/.426/.757. He hit 11 home runs and drove in 38 in 311 plate appearances while at first base before departing as a free agent following the season.

31 of Moss’ 51 games after joining the Cardinals were spent at first despite the fact that he was acquired after left-fielder Matt Holliday was injured. When playing at first, Moss hit just two home runs and plated four in 97 plate appearances with a line of .213/.278/.360/.638.

Though Stephen Piscotty first arrived from Memphis on July 21, the rookie primarily played at his regular position in the outfield, with only occasional appearances (nine games) at first. In that small slice of data, 27 plate appearances, Piscotty the first baseman slashed .333/.407/.458/.866. He had a home run and seven RBI.

In a potential look to the future, Piscotty started three of the Cardinals’ four NLDS games at first base and continued to hit well.

After the 2015 season, general manager John Mozeliak pointedly said on KMOX Radio that he wants a .900 OPS out of first base, not a .750. It seemed the most likely position for the team to seek an upgrade for 2016, but that has not been the case, at least to date.

As of now, Piscotty, Moss and Adams are all on the 2016 team. Moss and Adams would not be an ideal platoon as both hit left-handed while the right-handed hitting Piscotty may be needed in the outfield.

How the 2016 Cardinals could get to .900 with their existing personnel remains a major question. Adams’ only season above .780 was .839 in 2013, far below the ideal. Even before his 2014 hip surgery, Moss reached it just once, in a partial season of action back in 2012 (.954).

Piscotty is the wild card. With regular 2015 right-fielder Jason Heyward having moved on and no replacement yet added, that duty would seem to fall to Piscotty by default and if so, would likely keep him out of the first base derby.

No matter where it comes from, the Cardinals need more from first base in 2016 if they want to improve on their 2015 offensive inconsistencies.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.

Cardinals Confidential: Inside the Winter Meetings on FOX Sports Midwest

FOX Sports Midwest release

FOX Sports Midwest takes fans inside the St. Louis Cardinals meeting room in Cardinals Confidential: Inside the Winter Meetings, a 30-minute special premiering Wednesday, Dec. 16.

Jim Hayes hosts this look at last week’s baseball winter meetings. Hayes and a FOX Sports Midwest producer and photographer went behind the scenes with Sr. Vice President and General Manager John Mozeliak and the Cardinals baseball operations staff. They discuss how the groundwork was laid for the Cardinals trade for Jedd Gyorko and signing of Jonathan Broxton.

Preview clip: https://www.foxsports.com/midwest/video?vid=585345603626.

Cardinals Confidential: Inside the Winter Meetings on FOX Sports Midwest (times Central)

Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 20 at 9 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 24 at 11:30 a.m.

Follow me on Twitter.

TCN Blog 2015 Top Story #20: The Bench Turns Over

Though the St. Louis Cardinals won 100 games during the 2015 regular season, their five-man bench was generally underutilized. One reason is that they did not hit well individually or as a group.

That put pressure on the starters to play more than some of them should. I feel this was a contributor to the team’s early October exit. More on that is coming in a future article in this series.

Though batting average is not the be-all and end-all, here are the full-season marks for the five primary 2015 reserves along with their number of at-bats:

CIF Mark Reynolds (382): .230
OF Jon Jay (210): .210
C Tony Cruz (142): .204
OF Peter Bourjos (195): .200
MIF Pete Kozma (99): .152

In the weeks since the playoffs concluded, all five became former Cardinals. (Their new homes are noted in parens.)

Reynolds (Colorado) and Kozma (Yankees) departed via free agency, the latter after having been removed from the 40-man roster. Bourjos (Philadelphia) was lost via a waiver claim before Cruz (Kansas City) and Jay (San Diego) were traded. Jay, Cruz and Kozma had been career Cardinals.

This purging of the bench comes a year after two other homegrown long-time reserves in Shane Robinson and Daniel Descalso were let go.

For 2016, the final makeup of the bench is yet to be determined, but as of this writing, it could consist of these players. Their 2015 batting averages are listed.

1B/OF Brandon Moss: .250 (with StL)
OF Tommy Pham: .268
C Brayan Pena: .273 (with Cincinnati)
IF Jedd Gyorko: .247 (with San Diego)
IF Greg Garcia: .240

The worst hitter of the new five had a higher average last season than the best of the 2015 crew. Of the new five, only two – Pham and Garcia – came up through the Cardinals system. Moss and Gyorko were trade acquisitions and Pena was signed as a free agent.

If another hitter is signed or acquired, whether an outfielder or first baseman, the two players most at risk could be the two homegrown Cardinals, if for no other reason than because they have minor league options remaining. Of course, a trade could impact the team in multiple ways.

Time will tell, but as a whole, this new group seems to have more offensive potential than their predecessors. If they are utilized more frequently than the 2015 bench, the 2016 Cardinals may be better balanced for the long haul as a result.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

Follow me on Twitter.

The Cardinal Nation Blog’s Top 20 Stories of 2015 Countdown

As year-end approaches, it is once again time for my view of the top 20 stories across the St. Louis Cardinals Nation during this calendar year. As has been the case previously, the countdown begins with story number 20 and will continue until number one.

I will then wrap up the series with my prediction for the top five Cardinals stories of 2016 and audit how well I did in attempting to predict 2015’s biggest news items one year ago.

This placeholder post will carry the links to all 20 stories. A link to it as well as the top stories of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and my start-of-year predictions for 2015 can be found via the Lists > Top Stories of the Year dropdown, located on the red bar near the top center of the page.

The Cardinal Nation blog’s top 20 stories of 2015

20. The Bench Turns Over
19. First Base (Mis) Fortune
18. Alex Reyes’ Suspension
17. Billion Dollar TV Contract
16. Carlos Martinez’ Breakout
15. Jaime Garcia’s Comeback
14. Mike Leake Signing
13. Cardinals Hall of Fame Inductees
12. Fatigue Sets In
11. Outfield Churn
10. Rosenthal Steps Up
9. Carpenter’s Consistency
8. Overcoming Pitching Injuries
7. Lackey the Interim Ace
6. The Rookie Outfield Trio
5. The FBI Investigation
4. Historically Great Pitching
3. Coming in Second (for Free Agents)
2. Losing to the Cubs
1. 100 Wins

Other related articles:
Past Predictions: TCN Blog’s Top Five Cardinals Stories of 2015
Projected Top St. Louis Cardinals Stories of 2016

Follow me on Twitter.

Molina Mourns Trades, Criticizes Management

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is considered the best in the game at what he does.

The seven-time all-star is well-compensated for his many accomplishments – made a wealthy man via the third largest contract on his team, a five-year, $75 million dollar deal. The Puerto Rican native owns two mansions in the US, started his own record company, has lucrative endorsement deals and gives to others via his charitable foundation.

The 32-year-old is also a good teammate and friend, especially to two of the players his club traded away this week in catcher Tony Cruz and outfielder Jon Jay.  After better seasons in the past, the two now ex-Cardinals batted just .204 and .210, respectively, in 2015.

Molina’s unhappiness over the departures spilled over into his social media accounts on Tuesday, where he posted this photo along with some pointed comments.

This is what he said on Twitter.

So sad!First Tony and now Jay!! Maybe I’m next!!!It may be business but for me you guys are family. U will b missed!

Nice sentiment and all, but in reality, Molina has exactly zero chance of being “next” – unless he has quietly waived his full no-trade protection.

The catcher should have stopped there, but unconstrained by 140 characters, he went further on Instagram – perhaps one step too far.

yadier_marciano_molina very sad!! first tony , now jay!!! wow maybe iam next!!! ,,, i know is business for them ,,,, they dont care about anything only business ,,for me we are family ,, iam so sad men!! @jonjayu @dakidcruz i wish you guys the best !!

This is a good reminder that players can at times be as emotional as fans. Yet, the criticism of his long-time employer was better off unsaid in a public forum.

By upgrading their bench via these trades, it seems to many impartial observers that “they” – undoubtedly a reference to the Cardinals front office – are taking necessary steps to improve the roster.

If the Cardinals cared only about business, as Molina asserts, they would have maintained the status quo with the less-expensive Cruz and Jay instead of taking on more payroll dollars and years of contract commitment by adding Brayan Pena to replace Cruz and Jedd Gyorko in return for Jay.

Since Molina was injured and unavailable in each of the last two post-seasons as the Cardinals were eliminated, it is too bad he cannot appreciate that his bosses are making moves to try to make his team better – and specifically to keep him healthier.

Clearly one of his team’s leaders, Molina is one of the few remaining Cardinals to possess two rings. I trust in time he will accept that changes that may feel uncomfortable to him personally are needed to put him in a better position to earn a third.

Hopefully, that next championship is what matters most to everyone involved.

Follow me on Twitter.

Bye-Bye to the Berm at Roger Dean

Though it is very small, the grass seating area behind the home bullpen at Jupiter, Florida’s Roger Dean Stadium was my favorite feature in the park – a nod back to the olden days in what is otherwise another cookie-cutter minor league stadium.

The berm is soon to be a thing of the past, a casualty in the never-ending quest for revenue growth, reports the Palm Beach Post.

The $15-$20 bargain area, where fans could sit on blankets and share banter with the relievers sitting on the benches a few feet away, is being converted to the exact opposite of cheap seating. Starting this spring, for $52-$60 each, 136 fans per game will be able to enjoy unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages in the “Bullpen Club”.

The Bullpen Club will consist of two rows of seats and 20 tables that seat four each. Ticket holders will have access to a dedicated concession stand, allowing faster access to the unlimited fare.

Other prices for spring training seats at RDS are $15 for the 1,000-seat bleacher section, $28 for loge box and $29 field box seats. All are the same as last year except loge boxes are $1 higher.

Follow me on Twitter.

TCN’s 2016 Cardinals Top 40 Prospect Countdown Begins Monday, 11/30

Once again, it is time for the unveiling of our annual The Cardinal Nation/Scout.com Top 40 Prospect List, back for its 11th year.

Starting with number 40 on Monday, November 30 and each day throughout the period we call “40 Days, 40 Nights, 40 Cardinals Prospects”, a new top St. Louis Cardinals prospect will be disclosed, with the process carrying us well into the New Year.

Here is the link to the schedule of articles, announced names and more details about “40 Days, 40 Nights, 40 Cardinals Prospects for 2016.”

Follow me on Twitter.

Matt Adams and The Hammer

Elizabeth, N.J. is known to St. Louis Cardinals minor league followers as the birthplace of the organization’s top prospect, currently-suspended 21-year-old right-handed pitcher Alex Reyes.

An earlier native of the same New Jersey burg made his mark in the majors as the slugging first baseman-designated hitter of the Kansas City Royals from 1993-1996, Bob Hamelin.

Hamelin became an every-day player in the strike year of 1994, when the power hitter went on to blast 24 home runs, drive in 65 and post an OPS of .987. In the process, he beat out Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez for the American League Rookie of the Year award.

His success was short-lived, though. “The Hammer” suffered through a series of leg injuries, never playing in more than 110 games in any of his six partial seasons in the majors. As his numbers dropped off markedly following his first-year success, the Royals finally cut him loose at the conclusion of 1997 spring training.

Hamelin moved to the Tigers that season and was done with the big leagues after hitting .219 with a .699 OPS for the 1998 Milwaukee Brewers. He quit baseball entirely in the middle of a Triple-A game with Toledo at the age of 31 in 1999.

You may wonder why I am sharing this Hamelin lesson.

Here is why. I will never forget the two-word response I once received from a talent evaluator whom I respect greatly when I asked him for his impression of then-Cardinals first base prospect Matt Adams.

His reply was simply, “Bob Hamelin”.

Of course, the suggestion being made was that Adams would not have long-term success as a power-hitter in the majors and his numbers would fall off relatively quickly.

This is especially topical today as Adams is currently at the same point of his career as when the Royals gave up on Hamelin, after his third full-season in the bigs.

Similar to Hamelin almost two decades earlier, Adams got out of the gates in a promising manner, logging what has been his career bests in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS as a rookie in 2013. However, his numbers have fallen off each year since as the Cardinals’ big man also struggled with injuries.

One key difference, though, is that Adams’ high wasn’t all that high. His best season wasn’t in the same league as Hamelin’s strike-shortened debut. In other words, Adams did not have as far to fall. Still, his .657 OPS last season was a huge disappointment.

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak was recently quoted as saying his club needs a .900 OPS first baseman, not a .750 one. It was a pointed reminder that first base is one position at which St. Louis could markedly upgrade its often-sluggish offense.

I am not suggesting Adams will be released this coming spring as was Hamelin, but I do suspect his days as an every-day starter with St. Louis may be over. Even when healthy, Adams could not hit left-handed pitching and still struggles against the ever-present defensive shifts.

In 2016, maybe he will find himself being given another chance to break through as the busier half of a platoon with Stephen Piscotty – or perhaps he will simply become a reserve behind a flashy new acquisition such as Chris Davis.

Or just maybe, Adams will soon follow Hamelin’s path toward his own Detroit, Milwaukee and Toledo.

Hamelin G PA HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS
Adams G PA HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS
1994 ROY 101 375 24 65 0.282 0.388 0.599 0.987 2013 108 319 17 51 0.284 0.335 0.503 0.839
1995 72 242 7 25 0.168 0.278 0.313 0.591 2014 142 563 15 68 0.288 0.321 0.457 0.779
1996 89 299 9 40 0.255 0.391 0.435 0.826 2015 60 186 5 24 0.240 0.280 0.377 0.657
total 262 916 40 130 0.242 0.360 0.469 0.829 total 310 1068 37 143 0.279 0.318 0.457 0.775

Follow me on Twitter.

Cardinals Hot Stove Show Returns on FOX Sports Midwest

FOX Sports Midwest release

Cardinals Hot Stove returns to FOX Sports Midwest on Wednesday, Nov. 25, kicking off 15 weeks of Wednesday night St. Louis Cardinals programming on the network.

In this week’s show, Jim Hayes goes one on one with GM John Mozeliak and injured starter Lance Lynn. Pat Parris and Rick Horton host, and look back at the 2015 season and ahead at what to expect from some of the Cardinals young players in 2016.

FOX Sports Midwest’s offseason programming also includes Cardinals Hot Stove, new episodes of Cardinals Legends, a behind-the-scenes look at the Winter Meetings, coverage of the Winter Warm-Up and spring training specials leading up to a slate of Grapefruit League games.

Cardinals Hot Stove on FOX Sports Midwest – Episode 1 (times Central)

  • Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. and after Blues Live postgame
  • Thursday, Nov. 26 at 9 p.m.

Follow me on Twitter.

Grichuk Makes Topps MLB All-Star Rookie Team

Randal Grichuk of the St. Louis Cardinals is one of the three outfielders included among the 12-man Topps MLB All-Star Rookie Team for 2015.

Power is Grichuk’s forte. With over 13 percent of his hits going for extra bases, his slugging percentage (.548) and OPS (.877) not only topped the Cardinals rookie class, but were the highest on the entire St. Louis roster in 2015.

Despite being limited to 350 plate appearances due to injury, Grichuk’s 17 home runs tied him for second on the team with Jhonny Peralta, behind leader Matt Carpenter. The 23-year-old’s WAR was 3.2.

Eight of the 12 Topps MLB rookie all-stars are from the National League, including three Chicago Cubs – Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber and unanimous NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant. The shortstop is AL ROY Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros.

Here is the full list.

C – J.T. Realmuto, Miami Marlins
1B – Justin Bour, Miami Marlins
2B – Addison Russell, Chicago Cubs
3B – Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
SS – Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
OF – Kyle Schwarber, Chicago Cubs
OF – Randal Grichuk, St. Louis Cardinals
OF – Michael Conforto, New York Mets
LHP – Carlos Rodon, Chicago White Sox
RHP – Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets
RP – Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays
DH – Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins

Follow me on Twitter.

Who to Believe on the Freddie Freeman Rumors?

It seems that every winter, the heating up of internet baseball-related rumors lead to statements that stretch common sense to the maximum.

For example, on Friday, at least two non-credible web sources said that the Atlanta Braves were in discussions with the St. Louis Cardinals to trade their first baseman Freddie Freeman. One went as far as asserting the sides were “close” on a deal. This came on the heels of the Braves dealing away their shortstop, Andrelton Simmons, the day before.

On Friday, I checked with Georgia radio personality and my Scout.com Braves counterpart, Bill Shanks. His source was very clear.

“These rumors linking Freddie Freeman to St. Louis are not true.”

On Sunday, the rumor popped up again, but from a very well-known source this time. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted an article that included this statement.

“Officials from three different clubs told me that the Braves have indeed shopped first baseman Freddie Freeman, with one saying such a possibility was “the talk of the (Arizona) Fall League” among scouts about 10 days ago.”

That same evening, Braves beat writer David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution checked with his Braves sources.

“I asked again about Freeman and Teheran, was told no talks and no intentions to move either of them.”

Questioned on Twitter about the apparent conflict between his report and that of Rosenthal’s, O’Brien checked his hole card again, this time quoting Atlanta general manager John Coppolella directly.

“#Braves Coppolella when asked just now specifically about new Freeman rumor: ‘We have not had any trade discussions on Freddie Freeman.’”

Some skeptical Braves fans don’t know if they can believe their team executives. O’Brien replied to such a query while noting the GM did not deny when Simmons was on the block earlier.

“I can’t blame u. Can only tell u response when GM answers question directly.(He didn’t refute Simmons talks last wk)”

On Twitter, Rosenthal suggested both reporters’ accounts could somehow be right.

“@bradjohnson757 @DOBrienAJC We both could be accurate. Making him available and engaging in talks not the same thing.”

Say what?

Sorry, Ken. I am not questioning your original report, but I am definitely questioning your subsequent logic.

I get that officials sometimes play word games to avoid having to answer questions honestly, but there is no wiggle room here.

Rosenthal said Freeman had been “shopped”. Coppolella (through O’Brien) said, “We have not had any trade discussions on Freddie Freeman”. That covers the past and present.

Unless the shopping was completely ignored by the other 29 teams, those statements are in direct conflict.

“Shopped” by definition means the Braves made other clubs aware of Freeman’s potential availability.

What would be the next step?

Dialogue, of course.

There is no way if a player of Freeman’s quality has been thrown out that there would not have been any interest expressed by and information exchanged with at least one of the 29 other MLB teams.

To suggest there were no discussions about this player – if he was shopped – just stretches credulity.

Given Rosenthal’s reputation, I expect he will dig deeper and report further.

Follow me on Twitter.

Could Andrelton Simmons Become Another Ozzie Smith?

I don’t agree with former MLB general manager and current ESPN commentator Jim Bowden on many topics. However, I was with him on most of the following tweet, shared Thursday night.

Andrelton Simmons best defensive player in Major Leagues, best defensive shortstop in game. 26yrs old with up-side, attitude and pop.”

Baseball’s silly season, also known as the off-season rumor mill, is clearly upon us. The first name player to actually change homes for 2016 is the Atlanta Braves’ former shortstop Simmons, who had been widely rumored to be on the block for only about 24 hours.

The 26-year-old went to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for three prospects, plus shortstop Erick Aybar and $2.5 million to cover part of Aybar’s salary. The prospects include the Halos’ top two minor league pitchers. In return, the Angels receive Simmons’ services for the next five seasons for an already-committed total of $53 million.

The primary reason I disagree with Bowden’s tweet is the final two words – “with pop”. While Simmons launched 17 long balls as a rookie in 2013, he has just 11 over the last two years combined. His slugging percentage in 2014 and 2015 was .331 and .338, respectively.

To help put that into context for Cardinals fans, Peter Bourjos slugged .333 this season with Tony Cruz coming in at .310.

In fact, rumors from Atlanta indicate a key reason that Simmons was being made available was that his offense was a growing concern – in that it would continue to head south while his annual salary was locked in to move north.

But Bowden’s other points about Simmons made me think about another two-time National League Gold Glover who was the best defender in the game at shortstop when dealt away by his original team. He was also the age of 26 after his fourth season, traded in a package that included another major leaguer at the same position.

Of course, I am talking about Ozzie Smith, part of a five-man trade between San Diego and St. Louis following the 1981 season that also included Garry Templeton. It was a deal that I readily admit angered me at the time.

Like Simmons, Smith’s already meager offense had been trending downward – to the point his final season’s line as a Padre was a paltry .222/.294/.256/.549 (OPS+ 62). That slugging mark of .256 remained Ozzie’s career low until his injury-wrecked age 40 season.

Granted it was the same game, but in another time, though it makes Simmons’ 2015 line of .265/.321/.338/.659 (OPS+ 86) look spectacular in comparison.

The key point, however, is that Smith was not done getting better offensively, after all. Over his first four full seasons, Smith had seemingly cemented his reputation as an all-glove, no-bat shortstop, but once he got to St. Louis and was encouraged to hit ground balls and use his natural quickness, his offense improved markedly.

In his 15 years as a Cardinal, Smith’s line was .272/.350/.344/.694 (OPS+ 93) – more than enough offense to complete his Hall of Fame resume.

It is far, far too early to say, but I can’t help but wonder if the Angels will one day feel as fortunate about acquiring Simmons as the Cards did to enjoy the services of “The Wizard” for so long.

Follow me on Twitter.

Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix: 2015-2016 Off-Season

NOTE: As of 03/13/16, this version of the roster matrix is no longer current. It reflects the changes during the 2015-2016 off-season. It should now be considered a historical reference document. For the active roster matrix for 2016 spring training, click here.

With the official opening of free agency on November 6, it is time for another refresh of the Roster Matrix.

This reflects new free agents for 2015-2016 and season-ending 2015 rosters. The previous matrix reflects the rosters as they evolved during the 2015 short season through the playoffs.

If you are new to the blog and not familiar with the Cardinals organization roster matrix, here is quick summary:

As the 2015-2016 season play opened, the St. Louis Cardinals had 259 players under contract from top to bottom, including 33 players on the 40-man roster plus one suspended player. The 40-man members are called out in bold. Listed for reference but not included in the totals are both Major League and Minor League free agents.

The matrix places each of the 259 at his assigned level in the system as well as by position. It is kept updated daily or as transactions occur.

Nowhere else will you find this current and comprehensive single-page view of the entire Cardinals organization plus multiple years of history.

Do not be concerned about the order of the players’ names within position. It has no relative significance.

Full team rosters and player profiles at The Cardinal Nation

Remember that to get detailed profile information on every single one of these 259 Cardinals players, simply check out their free player profiles freshly updated now at The Cardinal Nation.com / Scout.com. You can see bios, photos, videos, articles, news items, links to current season and career stats and much more – everything you need to know about a player in one place.

Click on the following links to be taken to one of the nine team pages at The Cardinal Nation. You can also see rosters and player profiles all the way back to 2004:

Full-season clubs

St. Louis Cardinals
Memphis Redbirds
Springfield Cardinals
Palm Beach Cardinals
Peoria Chiefs

Short-season clubs

State College Spikes
Johnson City Cardinals
Gulf Coast League Cardinals
Dominican Summer League Cardinals

Once on a team page, just click on a player’s name to be taken to his individual profile page for that year. For example, here is the link directly to Stephen Piscotty’s 2015 Memphis profile.

Looking ahead and back

Now that you’ve found this page once, remember one of three ways to get back here. Bookmark the page, type “Roster Matrix” in the dark blue search box at the upper right or use the dropdown menu at the top of the page: “Players/Staff” > “Depth Charts/Roster Matrix”.

For details behind past rosters and transactions, check out the earlier versions of the Cardinals organization roster matrix as follows.

Link to previous matrices

2009: Jan–March 2009, April 2009, May 2009, June 2009, July 2009-February 2010
2010: 2010 spring training, 2010 regular season, 2010 first half, 2010 short-season, 2010-11 off-season
2011: 2011 spring training, 2011 regular season, 2011 short-season, 2011-2012 off-season
2012: 2012 spring training, 2012 regular season, 2012 short season, 2012-2013 off-season
2013: 2013 spring training, 2013 regular season, 2013 short season, 2013-2014 off-season
2014: 2014 spring training, 2014 regular season, 2014 draft and short season, 2014-2015 off-season
2015: 2015 spring training, 2015 regular season, 2015 draft and short season

Transactions

11/6: New matrix. Organization total: 259 players.

11/12: Two minor league free agents signed with non-roster invitations to MLB camp – RHR Juan Gonzalez, C Eric Fryer. New organization total: 261 players.

11/19: Three to 40-man roster: Mem LHR Dean Kiekhefer, Mem SS Aledmys Diaz, Spr OF Charlie Tilson.

11/20: FA RHP Deck McGuire signed to minor league contract. New organization total: 262 players.

11/30: FA 1B Xavier Scruggs to Marlins on a minor league deal. FA C Brayan Pena signed to two-year contract. New organization total: 263 players.

12/1: FA OF Rafael Ortega to Angels on MLB contract.

12/2: StL C Tony Cruz traded to Kansas City for rookie-level SS Jose Martinez. OF Peter Bourjos claimed off waivers by Philadelphia. RHR Steve Cishek, suspended C Cody Stanley non-tendered. New organization total: 260 players.

12/4: FA SS Pete Kozma to Yankees on a minor league contract. FA RHS John Lackey to Cubs.

12/8: OF Jon Jay traded to San Diego for IF Jedd Gyorko.

12/9: 40-man LHP Jayson Aquino claimed off waivers from Cleveland. New organization total: 261 players.

12/10: Rule 5 Draft. MLB Phase: RHS Luis Perdomo to Colorado, RHS Matt Bowman from Mets, to 40-man roster. Minor league Phases: Spr RHR Jhonny Polanco to Boston, PB RHS Cory Jones to Baltimore, SC RHR Kender Villegas to Milwaukee, PB SS Robelys Reyes to Arizona, Spr OF Mike O’Neill to Cubs, Peo RHS Fernando Baez to Tampa Bay. RHR John Brebbia from Arizona, LHR Michael Heesch from Cubs. New organization total: 256 players.

12/10: FA IF Mark Reynolds signs with Colorado. FA RHR Jonathan Broxton re-signs with StL. New organization total: 257 players.

12/10: Minor league free agent signings: RHP J.C. Sulbaran (KC), OF Jeremy Hazelbaker. New organization total: 259 players.

12/11: FA OF Jason Heyward signs with Cubs.

12/12: FA RHR Steve Cishek signs with Seattle.

12/17: Contract of Mem RHS Zach Petrick sold to Yokohama of NPB. Three pitchers released: Peo LHR Steve Sabatino, JC RHS Juan Bautista, JC RHR Anderson Gerdel. New organization total: 255 players.

12/22: FA RHS Mike Leake signed. New organization total: 256 players.

12/26: FA 1B Chris Jacobs signed to minors contract. New organization total: 257 players.

12/28: FA RHS Jeremy Hefner signed to minors contract. JC LHR Ismael Brito released.

1/4: FA C Ed Easley to Pirates on minors deal.

1/11: FA RHR Seung-hwan Oh signed to MLB contract. New organization total: 258 players.

1/12: Mem LHS John Gast retired. Spr C Alberto Rosario re-signs (effective 12/12). Organization total: 258 players.

1/13: FA RHR Carlos Villanueva signs with San Diego.

1/20: NRIs (22): Ps: Silfredo Garcia, Austin Gomber, Juan Gonzalez, Jeremy Hefner, Corey Littrell, Deck McGuire, Trey Nielsen, Daniel Poncedeleon, Robby Rowland, J.C. Sulbaran, Tyler Waldron, Luke Weaver: Cs: Steve Bean, Luis Cruz, Eric Fryer, Carson Kelly, Alberto Rosario: IFs: Jonathan Rodriguez, David Washington, Jacob Wilson, Patrick Wisdom: OF: Jeremy Hazelbaker.

1/20: STEP Camp invitees (26): Ps: Sandy Alcantara, John Brebbia, Junior Fernandez, Jack Flaherty, Derian Gonzalez, Josh Lucas, Mike Mayers, Alex Reyes, Arturo Reyes, Rowan Wick, Jacob Woodford; Cs: Chris Chinea, Jose Godoy, Ryan McCarvel, Brian O’Keefe; IFs Eliezer Alvarez, Paul DeJong, Juan Herrera, Chris Jacobs, Oscar Mercado, Darren Serefina, Edmundo Sosa; OFs Harrison Bader, C.J. McElroy, Nick Plummer, Magneuris Sierra.

1/22: FA OF Carlos Peguero signed to minor league contract with MLB spring camp invitation. New organization total: 259 players.

1/27: FA LHP Nick Greenwood to Cubs on minor league contract.

2/2: FA LHR Bob Wheatley signed to minor league contract. New organization total: 260 players.

2/12: FA RHR John Church signed to minor league contract. New organization t0tal: 261 players.

2/17: FA RHR Matt Belisle signed a minor league contract with MLB spring training invitation with Washington.

2/27: Three DSL players signed: RHPs Jorge Rondon, Winston Nicacio and C Julio Rodriguez. LHR Jesus Narvaez released. New organization total: 263 players.

2/29: PB RHS Nick Petree retired. New organization total: 262 players.

3/2: DSL RHP Wilman Madera signed. New organization total: 263 players.

3/4: JC UT Luke Doyle suspended for 50 games.

3/5: FA 1B Dan Johnson signs minors deal with Tampa Bay as a pitcher.

3/10: Mem LHS Kyle Hald, SC IF Michael Massi retired. New organization total: 261 players

3/11: FA LHR Randy Choate to Toronto on minor league contract.

The St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix (effective 3/11/16)

St. Louis (30) 40-man (39)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Wainwright Rosenthal Molina Adams Wong Peralta Carpenter Holliday
Lynn Maness Pena Moss
G Garcia

Piscotty
Ja Garcia (L) Siegrist (L)

Gyorko

Pham
Wacha Socolovich




Grichuk
C Martinez Walden




Lyons (L) Tuivailala





Leake Harris






Bowman






Broxton






Oh





MLB free agents (1+8)
(not included in totals)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Lackey (QO-ChC) Broxton (StL) Stanley (susp) Reynolds (Col) Heyward (QO-ChC)
Belisle (Was MiLB)
Choate (Tor MiLB)
Villanueva (SD)
Cishek (Sea)
Minors free agents (4+8)
(not included in totals)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Greenwood (L ChC) Hatley Easley (Pit) Johnson (TB-P) Kozma (NYY) Hazelbaker (StL)
Butler Tartamella Scruggs (MIA) Ortega (MLB-LAA)
Rosario (StL)
Jo Gonzalez
Memphis (23)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Gonzales (L) Heyer Fryer (NRI) J Wilson (NRI) Mejia An Garcia
Ar Reyes (STEP) Wyatt Anna A Diaz Hazelbaker (NRI)
Cooney (L) Waldron (NRI) Peguero (NRI)
Hefner (NRI) Kiekhefer (L)
McGuire (NRI) Wright (L)
Sulbaran (NRI) Sherriff (L)
Thomas
Ju Gonzalez (NRI)
Church
Springfield (23+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Al Reyes (RL STEP) Donofrio Ohlman Jon Rodriguez (NRI) B Valera M Williams Wisdom (NRI) Martini
Mayers (STEP) S Garcia (NRI) Rosario (NRI) Washington (NRI) Wiley Sohn Tilson
Reed (L) Baker Caldwell
T Lee Perry
Morales Shaban
R Rowland (NRI)
Melling (L)
Palm Beach (30)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Anderson Herget C Kelly (NRI) Voit Katz Herrera (STEP) Diekroeger Drake
Poncedeleon (NRI) Schumacher Jacobs (STEP) Turgeon Staton McElroy (STEP)
Nielsen (NRI) Lomascolo (L) Radack
Weaver (NRI) McKnight Aikin
Littrell (L NRI) Stoppelman (L)
Aquino (L) J Lucas (STEP)
Fernandez (STEP) Holt

Alexander
C Hawkins (L)
Brebbia (STEP)
Heesch (L)
Peoria (27)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Flaherty (STEP) Llorens Bean (NRI) A DeLeon Seferina (STEP) Mercado (STEP) Gronsky Bryan
Gomber (L NRI) Then O’Keefe (STEP) Swirchak DeJong (STEP) Thompson
McKinney (L) Bray L Cruz (NRI) Mi Reynolds Bader (STEP)
D Perez (L) Frey Peoples-Walls
Pearce Grana Gibson
Beck Kuebel (L)
State College (29)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Wirsu Echemendia Jenner R Garcia Martin Pina Lankford Acevedo
Jor Rodriguez S DeLaCruz Godoy (STEP) Grayson C Rowland Spitz
J Perez Velazco Chinea (STEP) E Rodriguez Pritchard
D Martinez Almonte Dennard Olivera
Cross Harrison
Evans (L) Tomchick
Oca (L) Wheatley (L)
Johnson City (20+2)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Dobzanski Yokley (ML) C Rivera Newman E Alvarez (STEP) Sosa (STEP) Asbury
R Williams Farinaro McCarvel (STEP) Doyle (RL) J Hawkins R Bautista
J Mateo Escudero J Martinez Sierra (STEP)
Parra Ray
R Santos
Helsley
Leitao
GCL (33)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
Alcantara (STEP) Gallardo J Lopez Brodbeck Cordoba Denton Bandes
Arias Higgins F Rodriguez Tice Becker Talavera
D Gonzalez (STEP) Y Medina Zavala J Rivera
Medrano Bohannan Drongesen Torres
Woodford (STEP) Ward E Garcia Franco
Hicks Bowen (L) Plummer (STEP)
Oxnevad (L) Wick (STEP)
DeLorenzo (L)
Salazar
Schlesener (L)
DSL (42+1)
SP RP C 1B 2B SS 3B OF
O Diaz Ramirez Melendez D Gomez L Flores Cotes E Montero Rosendo
Casadilla Changarotty Cedeno C Rodriguez Delgado Figuera B Sanchez
J Alvarez De Jesus D Ortega Linares A Luna
Jr Gonzalez Blanco (L) I Wilson Balbuena C Luis
Seijas Lugo Ju Rodriguez Ozuna Ynfante
Cordero (L)
Estevez
Rosales (L)
Trompiz
E Perez (L)
Nunez
Je Garcia
Geronimo
Tejada (RL)
Pirela
Nicacio
Rondon
Madera

Codes
(FA): recent free agent signee
(DL): injured – on the disabled list
(IA): inactive
(TI): temporarily inactive list
(PL): paternity leave
(SL): suspended list
(RL): restricted list
(QO): qualifying offer made to free agent
(NRI): non-roster invitee to MLB spring camp
(STEP): minor league Spring Training Early Program invitee
(L): left-handed pitcher
bold: on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster
(#+#): for teams, the number of active players on the roster plus number of inactive/not under contract (DL+IA+TI+SL+RL) players

Follow me on Twitter.

Talking Cardinals Prospects from Arizona Fall League

During Friday’s Arizona Fall League game, I went on Brian Stull’s St. Louis Baseball Weekly radio show. The subject was St. Louis Cardinals prospects competing in the AFL. Among those we discussed are Alex Reyes, Luke Weaver (pictured together), Patrick Wisdom and Aledmys Diaz.

The interview occurred before I learned the news of Reyes being taken out of the league.

You can listen to the radio segment here.

St. Louis Baseball Weekly airs Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on CBS Sports Radio 920am and also on Saturdays from 10-11 a.m. on KRAP 1350am in Washington, MO.

Follow me on Twitter.

Molina’s Mansions

Yadier Molina is a wealthy man, in the midst of a five-year, $75 million contract to be the catcher of the St. Louis Cardinals. It only makes sense that he and his family enjoy the fruits of his labor, including their residences.

Within six months of signing his current deal in 2012, Molina purchased a mansion and four-acre property in the Island Cove section of Jupiter, Florida for $7.15 million (above). It features six bedrooms, 8 1/2 bathrooms, a lit tennis court, movie theater, 300 feet of waterfront and more. Of course, Jupiter is the spring training home of the Cardinals.

Until 2015, the St. Louis base for the Puerto Rican native was located in Caseyville, Illinois (above).  Located adjacent to the first fairway of a golf club, the six bedroom, 6,442-square-foot home has many high-end features including a theater room, six-car garage and pool. In April, Realtor.com announced that Molina was selling that home for $1.5 million.

His new digs (above) are located in Creve Coeur. The 9,039-square-foot, six-bedroom home has seven full bathrooms and two half bathrooms. It sits on 1.08 acres on a gated street and includes an in-ground pool, private batting cages (below) and hot tub. Its’ purchase price was $2.23 million.

Not bad, eh?

Follow me on Twitter.

How the Cardinals Could Fix their Bench in 2016

Part 1 of this article looked in depth at the St. Louis Cardinals bench in 2015 and how its low usage seemed to have contributed to what manager Mike Matheny admitted may have been “overuse” of key players.

Here in Part 2, I offer my thoughts on how the Cardinals might build a stronger bench in 2016. In the recent past, the club has economized on reserve positions and the bullpen. That can change without breaking the bank. I offer several specific player acquisition suggestions below, but consider them examples, as I have not completed an exhaustive analysis of potential targets by position.

Reserve catcher

Let’s start with the reserve catcher. Starter Yadier Molina will turn 34 years of age next July and has missed significant time late in the last two seasons due to injury.

Back up Tony Cruz has become arbitration-eligible for the first time. As a result, his salary is expected to roughly double – from about half a million to around $1 million next season.

Though the Cardinals currently have five catchers on their 40-man roster, there is no heir apparent to Molina anywhere near St. Louis who is being blocked.

In 2014, when Molina was injured, the Cardinals added veteran A.J. Pierzynski down the stretch. I don’t know whether A.J. would not return to St. Louis in 2015 due to Molina’s presence or was not asked because the club was committed to Cruz. Either way, in hindsight, it was too bad.

Pierzynski, who signed with Atlanta for just $2 million, went on to hit .300 and draw rave reviews for his work.

Breves television analyst and Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine saw the team every day. He spoke to the Boston Globe about Pierzynski’s work behind the plate.

“He did a great job with the staff, the veterans that he caught and the younger pitchers he helped bring along,” said Glavine. “His experience back there really helped the younger pitchers out.”

Pierzynski is expected to return to Atlanta for 2016, but in hindsight, wouldn’t it have been better if the Cardinals had spent the extra $1.5 million to keep him in St. Louis?

Looking ahead, the Cardinals need to upgrade the position. They should bite the bullet and cut ties with Cruz, just as they did the year before in letting Daniel Descalso and Shane Robinson go. They need to find another A.J. out there so Mike Matheny can rest Molina more often in 2016.

What I mean in “another A.J.” is a later-in-career veteran with prior starting experience who can still swing the bat a bit. Before Cruz, the Cardinals attempted to follow this approach with Gary Bennett, then Jason LaRue and Gerald Laird.

I have not looked into the catching free agents in depth, but among the names expected to be on the market are Alex Avila, Chris Iannetta, Dioner Navarro, Brayan Pena, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Geovany Soto. Certainly there has to be a fit somewhere.

It will cost a few million more, and perhaps some kind of playing time assurance, but it will be worth it if the Cardinals can finally have a rested and healthy Molina in October. At age 34 next fall, he won’t have that many more chances.

Reserve infielders

In Part 1, I went into detail about why Pete Kozma spent the entire 2015 season with St. Louis. Hint: It certainly was not his bat.

While Greg Garcia did ok late in the season, I don’t see the primary in-house solution as offering enough either offensively or defensively.

I believe the answer is to go out and get another starter-quality shortstop, someone who Matheny would feel as comfortable using as any of today’s starters.

When Jhonny Peralta was signed to a four-year deal two years ago, many expected he would not finish the contract as the starting shortstop. To his credit, the 33-year-old (he turns 34 in May), has been a solid defender, getting by with good positioning and steady play once he gets to the ball. Offensively, Peralta had a very strong first half in 2015 and a very rough second half.

Signed in the same off-season was Aledmys Diaz. At the time, some had hoped that after two years of minor-league grooming, the Cuban would be ready to step in at short, but that is not the case.

Second baseman Kolten Wong also struggled down the stretch in 2015, though his age is not a factor.

Third baseman Matt Carpenter has proven he can play an entire season at second base if need be, though he was rarely used there during 2015.

If the Cardinals add a starting-quality shortstop, it would free Peralta to back Carpenter up at third base, a position at which Peralta has over 200 games of MLB experience. He also could help fill in the corner outfield. Carpenter could move to second when Wong needs time off.

Essentially, there would be four starters for three positions – at least until the inevitable injuries hit.

Granted, this approach would cost more money, but could make the Cardinals a better team during the season and in the playoffs.

The trendy free agent choice among many Cardinals fans is Ben Zobrist of the Royals, a switch-hitter who can play all over – second, short and the outfield. Demand will be high with contract years for a 35-year-old potentially being an issue, though the Cardinals clearly look to be a great fit.

Another interesting free agent name is Ian Desmond. The Nationals shortstop had a dreadful first half, which knocked him down the free agent pecking order. Some have speculated that the 30-year-old might be interested in a one-year deal to re-establish his full market value. What better place to do that than in St. Louis?

The second reserve infield position could be the back-up first baseman, whether Brandon Moss or Matt Adams, both left-handed hitters. Moss adds the benefit of also being able to play in the outfield.

I sense that Adams’ days of starting could be over, as I think that position is the most likely one to be upgraded from the outside – if someone with more thump in his bat can be found as a free agent or in trade.

Mozeliak made what I believe was a very telling statement recently when he said on KMOX Radio that he wants a .900 OPS performer at first base, not a .750 one. Adams’ only season above .780 was .839 in 2013, far below the ideal. Moss reached it once, in a partial season of action back in 2012 (.954).

Though both are arbitration-eligible, Moss is two years ahead in the process, just one year from free agency. That makes his projected salary roughly $6 million more than Adams’ – pricey for a reserve. Of course, one could be included as part of a trade for a new starter at the position.

Either would be a nice late-game pinch-hitter, providing Matheny a left-handed power threat off the bench.

Reserve outfielders

Obviously, the re-signing of Jason Heyward is the pivotal decision for the Cardinals this off-season. If the 26-year-old returns, the five outfield spots would appear to be filled with Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty, leaving Tommy Pham back in Memphis initially.

If Heyward walks, the Cardinals would still have five outfielders, not to mention any reserve infielders who could play out there as well. This reinforces my suggestion that first base could be the focus of an upgrade to a better-quality starter. Of course, trades could affect the outfield returnees, too.

Bottom line, I don’t see an outfield reserve position being a primary off-season focus. In fact, I expect the Cards will divest here, finding a new home for Peter Bourjos at a minimum.

Middle relief

All we know for sure is that Trevor Rosenthal, Kevin Siegrist and Seth Maness will return. The other four bullpen spots appear to be up for grabs.

Getting back a healthy Jordan Walden would be huge, but the veteran set-up man has already missed five months of action with a lingering biceps injury. Hard-throwing rookie Sam Tuivailala may be ready to stick, but maybe not quite yet.

In the past, the Cards have used the bullpen as a way to work less-experienced starters onto the roster, such as with Carlos Martinez. Could they do the same thing with some combination of lefties Tyler Lyons, Tim Cooney and Marco Gonzales?

Could one of them become the long man, or will the Cards ask veteran Carlos Villanueva back for a second season?

Obviously, there are a lot of “ifs” there and not a lot of experience, meaning the club will almost certainly look for veteran relief help this winter. While the choices are too great to evaluate individually, here is hoping the Cardinals set the bar higher than in recent years.

In four of the last five seasons, a non-roster invitee made the bullpen out of spring training. With Villanueva and Pat Neshek (2014), it worked out. In the cases of Scott Linebrink (2012) and Miguel Batista (2011), the low-budget route failed miserably.

I just hope the criteria is to secure the best arms available, not get the lowest-budget deal.

Rotation

With John Lackey likely moving on, the question is whether or not the Cards will pursue a high-profile, big-money starter like David Price. That could free up pitching to be used to try to help shore up the offense in trade, as was done the year before in the Shelby Miller-Heyward deal.

Or will the club wait and make a trade deadline addition to give the club a second-half boost, as when they acquired Lackey in July 2014?

While I think the Cardinals will add a veteran arm somehow at some point, I am least worried about starting pitching depth because of the wealth of young arms in house. Wainwright essentially replaces Lackey in the rotation, joining the other four returnees, with the aforementioned three left-handers (Lyons, Cooney and Gonzales) in reserve.

Still, as we all saw, the last starter left standing this October was the “old man” Lackey. We should not forget why it occurred.

In conclusion

Despite returning starters locked in at every position other than the free agent Heyward in right field, the Cardinals need to enhance their depth. I believe a veteran catcher, a starting-quality shortstop, a couple of experienced bullpen arms and one starting pitcher now or later could be just what the doctor ordered. Finally, the bench could be strengthened further if they acquire a new starter at first base.

Doing this would cost some money, but not an exorbitant amount. The new local television contract is locked in with the revenue being built into the future plans, though in reality, most of these proposed moves could be short-term in nature.

Follow me on Twitter.

What Good is a Cardinals Bench that Isn’t Used?

Getting more rest for key players was a stated objective of the 2015 St. Louis Cardinals. Their inability to carry through became painfully evident in September and October.

I have been asked a number of times what I think the St. Louis Cardinals should do in preparation for the 2016 season.

I have distilled my answer down to this:

In 2016, they need to do what they said they should do in 2015, but didn’t.

While that sounds overly simplistic, there is plenty behind it.

As I wrote near the conclusion of my 2015 Cardinals season review posted on Friday at TheCardinalNation.com:

“Many, myself included, believe the Cardinals used so many bullets to ensure they won the division and avoided the Wild Card game and were so weakened by injuries that they did not have enough left in October.”

This idea of running out of gas late in the year is hardly new. In fact, it was a major theme one year ago, too.

St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said the following at the Winter Warm-Up fan event on January 17, 2015.

“As you watch how baseball is evolving, you’ve seen a lot less offense,” the GM said. “There are a lot of theories about why that is happening, but I think Mike Matheny and his staff this year have to really focus on keeping guys fresh, keeping guys where they are getting the rest they need, because we do have a few players who are getting a little older.

“We have to be smart about it, but I think we have protection from our roster to be able to do that.”

A month later, in a Wall Street Journal article focusing on fatigued players, Mozeliak noted challenges in getting coaches and players behind actually accepting and then implementing the idea of more rest.

“It’s a tough thing to sell, because a lot of times coaches want to show that they’re coaching and players want to show that they’re working,” Mozeliak said. “Finding that right balance is ultimately what we’re all sort of chasing.”

Even so, here is why Mozeliak may have felt the team’s plan for 2015 could work. Let’s look at roster depth coming into the season from a positional group perspective.

Rotation outlook

Even with the trade of Shelby Miller, the top four spots in the rotation looked set in Adam Wainwright, John Lackey, Lance Lynn and Michael Wacha. Carlos Martinez, Jaime Garcia and Marco Gonzales were lined up to battle for the fifth spot, with Tyler Lyons and later, Tim Cooney backing them up. That is nine potential starters.

Bullpen outlook

The ‘other’ player that came to St. Louis in the Miller-Jason Heyward trade, Jordan Walden, had the pedigree to step in as the eighth-inning man. That was an important opening after the Cardinals did not try to re-sign 2014 All-Star Pat Neshek.

Top lefty Kevin Siegrist had a rough 2014, but was said to be recovered from his injuries. Sam Freeman waited as a potential replacement if needed.

Other spots were filled with returnees with the exception being non-roster invitee Carlos Villanueva, who made the team as the long man.

Bench outlook

The five-man bench appeared to have the potential to be improved by subtraction. Outfielder Shane Robinson was released and infielder Daniel Descalso was non-tendered, not offered a contract – essentially released.

Coming off a team-leading .408 spring batting average, Pete Kozma took Descalso’s opening. The team’s starting shortstop in 2013 returned to St. Louis after spending almost all of 2014 at Triple-A Memphis.

Robinson’s fifth outfielder spot (after the three starters and returning reserve Peter Bourjos) was claimed by rookie Randal Grichuk, who offered a very interesting power profile.

Veteran slugger Mark Reynolds was signed as a free agent to back up first base and third base.

The fifth and final bench player was returning catcher Tony Cruz as veteran A.J. Pierzynski departed as a free agent.

So, how did it play out?

Rotation actual

Every one of the aforementioned nine made at least one start during the season. The reason was that of the nine, only three – Lackey, Wacha and Lyons – went the entire season without spending time on the disabled list. Several – Wainwright, Garcia, Gonzales and Cooney – sat out for major chunks of the season.

Martinez did not miss a lot of time, but it was when the team needed him the most – in the post-season. Wainwright made it back in late September, but only as a reliever, and by then, Lynn and Wacha appeared to be gassed.

Though Lyons was toggled back and forth between Memphis and St. Louis once each month in May, June, July and August before being re-added to the roster for a fifth time in September, the lefty may have been underutilized – making just eight starts for the Cards all season long.

I am not saying Lyons could have been a savior. Only that he was the guy always available to step in and do a credible job if needed. In hindsight, maybe Lynn, Wacha and Martinez could be been better rested through the season with more aggressive usage of Lyons.

Ironically, Lyons’ best outing was the team’s most important. Stepping in for the injured Martinez, the 27-year-old tossed seven innings of four-hit shutout ball at the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The win in Game 159 clinched the Central Division title for St. Louis.

Bullpen actual

After heavy early use (starting with nine of the team’s first 12 games), Walden suffered a biceps injury that ended his season after just one month of play. The disruptive impact of that loss was felt all season long. Another veteran reliever, Matt Belisle, also missed considerable time and 39-year-old lefty Randy Choate struggled.

Matheny strongly relied on Siegrist and Seth Maness to help fill the void. The former ended up leading the National League with 81 appearances and the latter also set a new career high at 76 games pitched. Neither was impressive in the NLDS.

At the July deadline, Mozeliak added two veteran relievers in Steve Cishek and Jonathan Broxton, but they did not provide a significant impact. Cishek did not even make the post-season roster and likely neither will be back in 2016.

All told, MLB’s best pitching staff statistically since 1988 was that for the first five months, but not in September (4.15 ERA) and certainly not in the playoffs, as the Cubs launched 10 home runs in four games, just one short of the all-time Division Series record.

Bench actual

Amazingly, though there were injuries all around them, four of the Cardinals’ five bench positions remained static all season long – the spots filled by Reynolds, Bourjos, Kozma and Cruz.

(The fifth spot was opened up while Grichuk spent two stints on the disabled list. Of course, many others also came and went, but they were injury replacements.)

From a stability perspective, this would seem to be good, but overall, it really wasn’t. The Cardinals kept at least three of the five bench spots filled with players the manager did not seem to want to use – Bourjos, Kozma and Cruz.

Reynolds did what was expected of him, though many probably did not anticipate he would receive 432 plate appearances. While his power was down, his .230 batting average exactly matched his career mark.

Bourjos was never able to gain any traction as a fill-in starter, or even as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. Though he received 225 plate appearances, only 34 of them occurred after July 31, during which time he went 2-for-30 at the dish (.067). Despite his quickness, he was awful on the bases, stealing just five in 13 attempts for the season. Not surprisingly, Bourjos was left off the post-season roster and seems destined to play elsewhere in 2016.

Kozma provided yet another reminder that spring training results are worth nothing. In the regular season, his .152 batting average ranked 224th of all 225 NL players with at least 100 plate appearances.

Kozma’s situation was complicated by the fact he is out of minor league options. The Cardinals were clearly reluctant to risk losing him on waivers by attempting to send him down to Memphis, and he remained with St. Louis for the entire season.

Like Bourjos, Kozma spent more and more time on the bench as the season continued. Though middle infield starters Jhonny Peralta and Kolten Wong were backsliding in the second half, Kozma’s mediocre offense was even worse.

As a result, we saw even less of Kozma than Bourjos down the stretch. After July 31, Pete had just 27 plate appearances, during which he batted .167 (4-for-24). A bad as it was, it was actually an improvement over his earlier season results.

Once Greg Garcia returned from Memphis, he ate into Kozma’s playing time, but he is not Kozma’s equal defensively. Still, like Bourjos, Kozma was not active in the NLDS.

While the Cardinals had other outfield options than Bourjos, especially as rookies Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty arrived on the scene, behind Peralta they had no other true shortstop on the roster besides Kozma.

Though Matt Carpenter could at least cover second base for Wong, with Reynolds taking over at third, it happened rarely. Specifically, Carpenter made just nine starts at second and played just one entire game there all season long.

As a result, Peralta led the Cardinals with 155 games played and Wong appeared in 150 contests. Their slow second halves continued in October. The two up-the-middle infield starters batted an identical .143 in the NLDS, combining for just four hits versus 11 strikeouts in 28 combined at-bats.

In fact, in his two years with St. Louis, the 33-year-old Peralta has logged the two busiest seasons of his entire 13-year MLB career at 157 and 155 games played, respectively. This season, Peralta was voted a starter on the NL All-Star team after leading the Cardinals in home runs (13) and RBI (46) while batting .298 in the first half, before dropping to just 4/25/.243 afterward.

Despite missing four games and taking five days off in May due to ‘extreme fatigue,’ Carpenter still played in 154 games. With the same number of appearances as Carpenter, Heyward is the fifth member of the Cardinals’ ‘150 Games Club.’

That leaves us with Cruz.

Cruz is well-liked, but let’s face reality. There is a huge drop off in skill both offensively and defensively from starter Yadier Molina. Coupling that with the manager’s apparent fear of getting caught with no reserve catcher on the bench means that Cruz takes the field even less often than most MLB backups. And when he did, he did not hit.

Cruz did show better results in late September playing every day after Molina was injured, raising his season average from .173 to .204. Yet like we saw with Kozma this spring and in his magical September of 2012, any player can play above his norm for a short spell.

Here is an indicator of the confidence level in Cruz. At the time of his injury, Molina had appeared in 136 of St. Louis’ 149 games, putting him on pace for a career-high 148 games played. Even without the 13 games lost, Molina still finished just 17 at-bats short of his busiest-ever season hitting – all at the age of 33.

Though it was noble for Molina to come back and try to play injured in the NLDS, it was not successful. He went just 1-for-8 before aggravating his torn thumb ligament, leaving Game 3 and sitting out Game 4 before undergoing surgery. It was the second straight year that Molina was injured and unable to play as the Cardinals were eliminated from the post-season.

In conclusion

The Cardinals came into the 2015 season thinking they had enough depth to provide adequate rest to their key players, unlike in 2014.

One reason it did not work was that the big drop off in performance – or at least the perceived gap – between the starters and the reserves led to the former being used too much and the latter not enough.

Matheny acknowledged the impact on the roster in his season-recap press briefing, as reported by the Post-Dispatch.

“Does this come down to us possibly overworking guys? Possibly. Yeah,” Matheny said. “We have to go when we can go. Most of these guys want to play. This is an everyday game. This is what they want to do. They want to play. They want to push. …”

Part of being a players’ manager is the trust Matheny places in his key veterans. If they want to play, he seems to let them. As a result, this ‘win today’ mindset continually overrules the greater long-term need.

While the manager seems to understand the impact, it doesn’t sound like a change in course is ahead.

“We have been trying to overthink how to save up so we can save later,” Matheny said. “It’s actually much simpler than that. We have to win every day. And it doesn’t matter if it’s in October, our philosophy is the same.”

The problem is that putting the very best lineup on the field every single day for six months and having fresh front-line players in October are by definition mutually exclusive.

For 2016, the Cardinals must figure out how to actually get their key players more rest instead of just talking about it.

In Part 2, I will offer up my thoughts on how the Cardinals might do so by improving their roster depth.

Follow me on Twitter.

Randal Grichuk’s Powerful 2015 in a Historical View

Being a part of the fantasy baseball community often leads to inquiries from peers interested in insight on St. Louis Cardinals roster and playing time considerations. Other times, players just come up in discussions among friends.

Coincidentally, on Friday, as I was finishing up with my article announcing outfielder Randal Grichuk as The Cardinal Nation’s St. Louis Rookie of the Year, I heard from my pal Trace Wood, a man with a very sharp baseball mind.

Wood, proprietor of The Long Gandhi, started asking me questions about Grichuk, but it took me awhile to understand exactly where he was coming from.

In his independent analysis, Wood suspected Grichuk has considerable potential in the power department despite his propensity for the strikeout. Trace then quantified it and put it into a historical perspective that really grabbed my attention.

He looked for the best single seasons of all age 17-23 MLB players since 1901, those with at least 300 plate appearances, isolated power (ISO) of .250 or more and a slugging percentage of at least .525. To cover the high-strikeout population, Wood only chose those with an at-bat to strikeout ratio of four or less (in other words, a strikeout rate of 25 percent or higher). The list is sorted by ISO.

Hitter ISO AB/SO G PA Year Age Tm AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Reggie Jackson 0.333 3.87 152 678 1969 23 OAK 549 123 151 36 3 47 118 114 142 0.275 0.410 0.608 1.018
Troy Glaus 0.320 3.45 159 678 2000 23 ANA 563 120 160 37 1 47 102 112 163 0.284 0.404 0.604 1.008
Bryce Harper 0.319 3.98 153 654 2015 22 WSN 521 118 172 38 1 42 99 124 131 0.330 0.460 0.649 1.109
Giancarlo Stanton 0.318 3.14 123 501 2012 22 MIA 449 75 130 30 1 37 86 46 143 0.290 0.361 0.608 0.969
Mike Trout 0.290 3.64 159 682 2015 23 LAA 575 104 172 32 6 41 90 92 158 0.299 0.402 0.590 0.991
Bob Robertson 0.277 3.98 117 451 1970 23 PIT 390 69 112 19 4 27 82 51 98 0.287 0.367 0.564 0.931
Giancarlo Stanton 0.275 3.11 150 601 2011 21 FLA 516 79 135 30 5 34 87 70 166 0.262 0.356 0.537 0.893
Mike Trout 0.274 3.27 157 705 2014 22 LAA 602 115 173 39 9 36 111 83 184 0.287 0.377 0.561 0.939
Randal Grichuk 0.272 2.94 103 350 2015 23 STL 323 49 89 23 7 17 47 22 110 0.276 0.329 0.548 0.877
Wily Mo Pena 0.268 3.11 110 364 2004 22 CIN 336 45 87 10 1 26 66 22 108 0.259 0.316 0.527 0.843
Chris Davis 0.264 3.35 80 317 2008 22 TEX 295 51 84 23 2 17 55 20 88 0.285 0.331 0.549 0.880
Miguel Sano 0.262 2.34 80 335 2015 22 MIN 279 46 75 17 1 18 52 53 119 0.269 0.385 0.530 0.916
Wilin Rosario 0.260 4.00 117 426 2012 23 COL 396 67 107 19 0 28 71 25 99 0.270 0.312 0.530 0.843
Evan Longoria 0.259 3.67 122 508 2008 22 TBR 448 67 122 31 2 27 85 46 122 0.272 0.343 0.531 0.874

From 115 years of potential qualifiers, just 12 players made the grade, including two twice – Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout. Of the 14 instances since 1901, four occurred during 2015. They were accomplished this season by Trout, Bryce Harper and two rookies – Minnesota’s Miguel Sano and Grichuk.

This high-K, high power list is headed by a Hall-of-Famer in Reggie Jackson and includes three players on an early path toward Cooperstown in Trout, Stanton and Harper. At the other end are less notable players Wily Mo Pena and Wilin Rosario.

But hey, wouldn’t a career from Grichuk like Troy Glaus, Bob Robertson, Chris Davis or Evan Longoria – the four remaining names on the list – still be pretty good?

Sure, it is very early, but all things considered, what Grichuk was able to accomplish in his age 23 season stacks up quite nicely – even better than I had imagined.

Special thanks to Trace Wood for sharing the above table and his thought process.

Follow me on Twitter.

Ex-Cardinals Still Coaching for Houston in 2016

On Thursday, the Houston Astros got a jump on the other 29 Major League Baseball clubs by announcing their minor league coaching assignments for 2016.

With success comes greater continuity. In its press release, the organization boasts of 45 staffers returning from 2015.

As you might expect, the reason I am commenting here is the number of former St. Louis Cardinals coaches who remain in Houston’s system – six of the 45 returnees, including several key leaders. They do not include the Astros major league pitching coach Brent Strom, who was St. Louis’ minor league pitching coordinator immediately prior.

Two other ex-Cardinals are Houston’s minor league hitting and pitching coordinators, Jeff Albert and Doug White. Albert will be in his third year in the role, but White is being promoted from roving pitching instructor for 2016.

Interestingly, White replaces another former Cardinal, Dyar Miller, who is being shifted to pitching coach for Houston’s Triple-A club in Fresno. Before moving to the Astros, Miller was released as St. Louis’ bullpen coach. Prior to that, he was the long-time pitching coach at Memphis.

Dan Radison returns as Houston’s Double-A Corpus Christi hitting coach. St. Louis’ former minor league hitting coordinator had been on the major league staff of Jim Riggleman (another former Cardinal) in Washington after leaving the Cardinals.

Ace Adams is being moved down to pitching coach for Tri-City in the New York-Penn League. In his first season in Houston’s system, the former Palm Beach (and other Cardinals affiliates, including Batavia of the NYPL) pitching coach was at Triple-A, where he is now being replaced by Miller.

Two other ex-Cardinals were fired by Houston last month, starting with 2014 Astros interim manager Tom Lawless (pictured above), who took over for the final month after Bo Porter was fired and then moved to infield coach at Corpus Christi this season. Minor league catching instructor Jeff Murphy, a former St. Louis bullpen catcher, was also let go.

Follow me on Twitter.

Disconnecting Pete Kozma and Aledmys Diaz

I engaged in a civil, but limited to 140-character Twitter discussion Monday afternoon with @stlcardscards. His initial post, which drew my attention, was the following (“him” refers to Aledmys Diaz).

“The Cardinals risked losing him through the DFA process so that they wouldn’t have to put Kozma in AAA.”

@stlcardscards wanted Greg Garcia in St. Louis during the season and he felt that the team should have designated Cardinals reserve infielder Pete Kozma for assignment instead of Diaz. (Kozma is out of minor league options, so could not be sent down without being exposed to irrevocable waivers.)

After a number of exchanges between us, in a later Tweet, @stlcardscards stepped back from what appeared to be the initial “either-or” implication. His clarification was that he felt that Kozma should have been first on the club’s DFA list, but that the Cardinals did not expose him for fear of losing him.

“correct. Not either-or, but at the time Kozma was, to me, the most obvious pick off the 40 man. They had 40 options, Koz best.”

I disagree with the linking of the two – Kozma and Diaz. I also highly question that Kozma was the best DFA choice at the time.

However, I do agree that the Cardinals appeared to be averse to the risk of losing Kozma via waivers. Had @stlcardscards stopped there, there would have been no debate – at least with me.

As an aside, whether or not I agreed with the team on their Kozma stance is irrelevant. Though especially with the benefit of Garcia’s good play in September and the subsequent decision to leave Kozma off the Division Series roster, going back and wondering why the change was not made sooner than the final month is understandable.

One thing seems clear. Neither infielder would have been a factor in the NLDS loss to the Chicago Cubs, but maybe the damage was done earlier.

Perhaps an emergence of Garcia as a viable reserve option during the summer could have led to more rest for Jhonny Peralta and Kolten Wong down the stretch. Yet I wonder whether Mike Matheny would have used Garcia much more than he used Kozma before September, anyway. It wasn’t just a fear of using Kozma. The manager certainly did not often put Mark Reynolds at third, shifting Matt Carpenter to second to relieve Wong, either. In addition, Garcia is not nearly as good of a defender at short as Kozma, which may limit his future.

Let’s now drill into the Diaz-related points.

The Cardinals exposed Diaz to waivers on July 8th to make room on the 40-man roster for first baseman Dan Johnson. What I felt was the real mistake is that the organization earlier specifically decided not to work Stephen Piscotty out at first base this spring since they had signed Reynolds as a free agent.

When Matt Adams was hurt, the Cardinals still did not try Piscotty at first with Memphis until after Johnson was in St. Louis. They wasted over three weeks on Johnson, who was DFAed himself at the end of July for the next interim first baseman tried, Brandon Moss. Piscotty had been called up to St. Louis for the first time a week earlier, but had not yet earned regular at-bats. His MLB debut at first base was on July 26th.

Wouldn’t it have been better if Piscotty was ready to be promoted as a first baseman on July 8th (or even better, earlier) and the Cardinals skipped the Johnson trial entirely?

Back to Diaz. When the then-Springfield shortstop was DFAed, he was batting just .236 and then (and still) carried a Major League contract that had two and a half years remaining. It was not a great surprise he went unclaimed by the other 29 organizations. At that point, it would have been laughable to suggest Diaz could move up to Memphis to backfill for the proposed loss of Kozma on waivers.

Since then, Diaz is a changed man, not only hitting amazingly well at Springfield in August, but also keeping it up in a brief season-ending trial at Memphis. In addition, the Cuban earned a spot in the Arizona Fall League, where he is currently competing. With the late-season improvement, Diaz probably would not clear waivers today, but even so, he remains months off from demonstrating the consistency and readiness to help in St. Louis, in my assessment.

Specifically to my main point of contention with @stlcardscards, if the Cardinals wanted to demote Kozma at any time in 2015, they had plenty of other 40-man roster options than just Diaz.

Specifically, here are the six other Cardinals who were DFAed this season, five of them occurring after Diaz. Any one of them could have been scuttled for Kozma, instead, if the club wanted to do it. It is pretty clear none of them has a future in St. Louis.

My bottom line is that there is no more a tie between Kozma and Diaz than between Kozma and Kelly or Kozma and Johnson or Kozma and Hatley, etc…

The Cardinals may soon have a real chance to link the two, however. Kozma is a candidate to be non-tendered for 2016. Perhaps his spot could be used to return Diaz to the 40-man roster and protect him from December’s Rule 5 Draft.

The identity of the Cardinals’ reserve middle infielder next season is anyone’s guess at this time.

Follow me on Twitter.

Cardinals Yearbook Digs into Uniform Numbers

As regular readers know, St. Louis Cardinals uniform numbers – whether worn by past or current players – continues to be a subject of great interest to me.

As a result, I was delighted when I learned it was to be the subject of the 2015 Cardinals Yearbook. Its formal title is “Cardinal Numbers: The History of Cardinals Uniform Numbers, from 0-99”.

The 224-page glossy magazine is full of features and color photos of 2015 Cardinals as well as the 1,300 players who preceded them. It begins with a look back at the history of when and how uniform numbers first appeared until they went mainstream in 1932. Next is a 10-point primer on how the team assigns numbers today.

The primary focus of the Yearbook is a two-page write up on every number from 1 through 50. This includes the all-time roster of those who wore the digit(s) during the regular season (spring trainings are excluded) as well as highlighting the accomplishments of several of the very best to have sported it. Ample use of photos set off these sections even more.

For the appropriate numbers of 51 through 99 (as well as 0 and 00), the all-time rosters are listed with scattered highlights included. Interestingly, only 75 numbers have actually been used in regular season games. For example, I remembered Omar Olivares wore 00 for obvious reasons, but I had forgotten that Bobby Bonds preceded him (in 1980).

There are alphabetic and numeric indices for every player, manager and coach in team history, making the Yearbook a valuable reference document.

The Cardinals Yearbook concludes with two full-page photos (an action photo and studio shot) and stats for the team’s entire 2015 roster.

To order your copy, which costs just $15 in hardcopy format and $10 for the digital version, click here. Also included are instructions for gifting, what I believe is an excellent idea with the holidays rapidly approaching.

Follow me on Twitter.

Cardinals Ratings on FOX Sports Midwest at All-time High

FOX Sports Midwest release

Viewership for St. Louis Cardinals telecasts on FOX Sports Midwest reached an all-time high in 2015, according to Nielsen Media Research. The National League Central Champions averaged a 10.0 household rating/123,000 households on FOX Sports Midwest, up 29 percent from last season.

Cardinals local-market ratings ranked second in MLB, behind only the Kansas City Royals, marking the 16th consecutive season the Cardinals finished in MLB’s top three. It’s the first time two teams from the same state finished first and second in MLB local-market ratings.

Cardinals telecasts on FOX Sports Midwest were the highest-rated, most-watched programming in prime time in St. Louis during baseball season again in 2015, outdistancing the nearest competitor by 95 percent.

FOX Sports Midwest televised 145 regular season games. Its coverage continues with postgame shows after Cardinals playoff games.

Facts and figures

  • Cardinals telecasts averaged a 10.0 rating/123,000 households in 2015, the highest season average ever in FOX Sports Midwest’s 22 seasons as the team’s TV home. The previous high was a 9.4 in 2010.
  • Ratings increased 29 percent from a 7.9 last season.
  • Cardinals local-market ratings ranked second in MLB, behind the Royals. It’s the 16th consecutive year the Cardinals finished in MLB’s top three and first time two teams from the same state ranked 1 and 2.
  • Toyota Cardinals Live pregame show ratings rose 22 percent and Missouri Lottery Cardinals Live postgame increased 42 percent over 2014.
  • Cardinals telecasts on FOX Sports Midwest are the highest-rated, most-watched programming in prime time in St. Louis during baseball season.

Data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research, April 4-Oct. 4, 2015; household ratings for the St. Louis DMA.

Follow me on Twitter.

Cardinals New NL Favorite as Jays Lead in World Series Odds

As the 2015 Major League Baseball regular season ended Sunday, the 10 playoff teams and matchups are set. In the newest report from oddsmaker bovada.lv, a leader in the odds to win each of the two pennants has emerged.

Based on betting levels, the St. Louis Cardinals, with MLB’s best record, has slipped ahead of the other division winners, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. The Cards improved from 5/2 to 2/1 over the last two weeks after a three-way tie last time. The wild card Pirates and Cubs are both at 5/1 to win the NL.

To take it all, the Cards have shortened their odds to 5/1, best in the NL, but still behind American League favorite Toronto at 3/1. Kansas City is the same as St. Louis at 5/1.

Of the 10 playoff teams, these top three clubs have shortened their World Series odds since September 24, along with the Houston Astros. The Mets’, Pirates’ and Rangers’ odds have lengthened since last report.

Following shows how odds have evolved this season. NL Central clubs are listed in bold.

Odds to win NL 3/4/15 4/1/15 5/6/15 6/3/15 7/1/15 8/1/15 9/24/15 10/5/15
St. Louis Cardinals 6/1 6/1 7/2 4/1 7/2 13/4 5/2 2/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 9/2 9/2 3/1 7/2 4/1 3/1 5/2 3/1
New York Mets 14/1 14/1 15/2 9/1 11/1 7/1 5/2 13/4
Pittsburgh Pirates 14/1 14/1 14/1 11/1 13/2 8/1 5/1 5/1
Chicago Cubs 15/2 7/1 8/1 7/1 15/2 8/1 6/1 5/1

American League odds.

Odds to win AL 3/4/15 4/1/15 5/6/15 6/3/15 7/1/15 8/1/15 9/24/15 10/5/15
Toronto Blue Jays 10/1 12/1 16/1 22/1 10/1 11/2 2/1 3/2
Kansas City Royals 14/1 14/1 15/4 13/4 15/4 2/1 2/1 2/1
Texas Rangers 22/1 22/1 25/1 28/1 12/1 33/1 5/1 11/2
New York Yankees 14/1 14/1 7/1 10/1 10/1 11/2 7/1 7/1
Houston Astros 28/1 28/1 9/1 7/1 15/2 13/2 10/1 7/1

Following are World Series odds. Notice that Toronto was at 50/1 to win the Series as recently as June.

Odds to win 2015 World Series 10/30/14 12/15/14 3/4/15 4/1/15 5/6/15 6/3/15 7/1/15 8/1/15 9/24/15 10/5/15
Toronto Blue Jays 33/1 18/1 25/1 25/1 33/1 50/1 20/1 10/1 4/1 3/1
Kansas City Royals 16/1 20/1 28/1 33/1 9/1 15/2 8/1 9/2 11/2 5/1
St. Louis Cardinals 12/1 14/1 12/1 12/1 7/1 15/2 7/1 8/1 6/1 5/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 15/2 15/2 17/2 17/2 6/1 13/2 8/1 7/1 6/1 6/1
New York Mets 40/1 25/1 28/1 33/1 14/1 18/1 25/1 14/1 6/1 7/1
Chicago Cubs 50/1 12/1 14/1 16/1 16/1 12/1 16/1 16/1 10/1 10/1
Pittsburgh Pirates 20/1 33/1 28/1 25/1 33/1 20/1 14/1 16/1 10/1 11/1
Texas Rangers 33/1 40/1 50/1 50/1 250/1 66/1 25/1 66/1 9/1 12/1
Houston Astros 100/1 150/1 50/1 50/1 20/1 18/1 16/1 12/1 25/1 14/1
New York Yankees 22/1 25/1 33/1 33/1 16/1 22/1 20/1 10/1 14/1 14/1

As the 2015 odds shift again. I will continue to present periodic updates as warranted.

Follow me on Twitter.

2015 National League Post-Season Schedule

Dates, times, locations, television coverage plans for all National League playoff clubs through the 2015 World Series.

Date Time (ET)
Game Teams TV
Wednesday, October 7 8:00 pm NLWC Cubs 4 @ Pirates 0 (Pirates eliminated) TBS
Friday, October 9 9:45 pm NLDS Gm 1 Mets 3 @ Dodgers 1 TBS
6:35 pm NLDS Gm 1 Cardinals 4, Cubs 0 TBS
Saturday, October 10 9:07 pm NLDS Gm 2 Dodgers 5, Mets 2 TBS
5:37 pm NLDS Gm 2 Cubs 6 @ Cardinals 3 TBS
Monday, October 12 8:37 pm NLDS Gm 3 Mets 13, Dodgers 7 TBS
6:07 pm NLDS Gm 3 Cubs 8, Cardinals 6 TBS
Tuesday, October 13 8:07 pm NLDS Gm 4 Dodgers 3 @ Mets 1 TBS
4:37 pm NLDS Gm 4 Cubs 6, Cardinals 4 (Cardinals eliminated) TBS
Thursday, October 15 8:07 pm NLDS Gm 5 Mets 3 @ Dodgers 2 (Dodgers eliminated) TBS
Saturday, October 17 8:07 pm NLCS Gm 1 Mets 4, Cubs 2 TBS
Sunday, October 18 8:07 pm NLCS Gm 2 Mets 4, Cubs 1 TBS
Tuesday, October 20 8:07 pm NLCS Gm 3 Mets 5 @ Cubs 2 TBS
Wednesday, October 21 8:07 pm NLCS Gm 4 Mets 8 @ Cubs 3 (Cubs eliminated) TBS
Thursday, October 22 NLCS Gm 5 (if necessary) TBS
Saturday, October 24 NLCS Gm 6 (if necessary) TBS
Sunday, October 25 NLCS Gm 7 (if necessary) TBS
Tuesday, October 27 8:07 pm WS Gm 1 NL Champion @ AL Champion FOX
Wednesday, October 28 8:07 pm WS Gm 2 NL Champion @ AL Champion FOX
Friday, October 30 8:07 pm WS Gm 3 AL Champion @ NL Champion FOX
Saturday, October 31 8:07 pm WS Gm 4 AL Champion @ NL Champion FOX
Sunday, November 1 8:15 pm WS Gm 5 (if necessary) AL Champion @ NL Champion FOX
Tuesday, November 3 8:07 pm WS Gm 6 (if necessary) NL Champion @ AL Champion FOX
Wednesday, November 4 8:07 pm WS Gm 7 (if necessary) NL Champion @ AL Champion FOX

Follow me on Twitter.

Cardinals Pitching Sets MLB Single-Game Stinginess Record

Everyone who follows the 2015 St. Louis Cardinals knows by now that the club’s success is rooted in its pitching. One measure is the team ERA of 2.89, a third of a run per game better than the next-closest of the 29 other staffs. Another is 105 quality starts, again tops in the game this season.

Researcher Tom Orf came up with what I believe is an even better measure of just how good St. Louis’ pitching – starting plus relieving – has been in 2015. With five contests still remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals have already registered the most games in MLB history in which a team allowed one or no runs, 70.

The prior record holder at 67 was the 2011 Phillies of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, which then fell to the Cardinals in a hard-fought NLDS. Next was the 2002 Braves at 66. Everyone knows about that Hall of Fame rotation that included Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine plus temporary closer John Smoltz. That club also lost in the first-round of the post-season.

Two teams from the “Year of the Pitcher,” 1968, each had 65 contests in which they allowed one or no runs. One was the Cleveland Indians, led by Sam McDowell and Luis Tiant. The other was none other than the St. Louis Cardinals. The 2013 Cardinals are also tied for sixth all-time.

Most games with one or no runs allowed, team, season, MLB history

Tm Year G
STL 2015 70
PHI 2011 67
ATL 2002 66
STL 1968 65
CLE 1968 65
STL 2013 64
CHW 1966 64
TBR 2014 63
CHW 1963 63
TBR 2015 62
NYM 2010 62
NYG 1917 62
CHW 1964 62

As the team totals are broken down into individual pitcher complete games with no or one run allowed, Bob Gibson set a record in 1968 that given today’s relief specialization is very likely to remain forever – 24 such outings.

Most complete games with one or no runs allowed, individual, season, MLB history

Bob Gibson 1968 24
Sandy Koufax 1963 23
Dean Chance 1964 22
Pete Alexander 1916 22
Babe Ruth 1916 21

Follow me on Twitter.

Piscotty’s First 60 Games Among Best in Cardinals History

Saturday night’€™s 98th win of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals, over the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium, was also Stephen Piscotty‘s 60th contest as a Major Leaguer.

The 24-year-old marked the occasion with what seemed like a typical outing for him. Piscotty played the entire game in right field, and at the plate, went 2-for-4 including a double and two runs scored.

Back when Piscotty was 30 games into his career, we took a look at his stats compared to the very best starts in Cardinals history. At that point, Piscotty’s 15 extra-base hits were a major differentiator, ranking him fourth all-time compared to other new Cardinals hitters.

Here at 60 games, his extra-base pace has fallen off a bit, with 10 more for a total of 25. That places Piscotty for a tie for 10th all-time among new Cardinals. His RBI count of 38 ties him for ninth.

His best showing is 15 doubles, including a two-base hit in Saturday night’s second inning, which places Piscotty in a tie for sixth-most in team history through 60 contests. It is not really surprising, as he led the Cardinals minor league system in doubles for two consecutive seasons. That includes 2015, despite Piscotty having joined St. Louis in July.

It is some rarefied air, with Piscotty settled in behind Hall of Famers Joe Medwick and Stan Musial, tied with Enos Slaughter and Terry Moore and just ahead of Jim Bottomley and Johnny Mize. Number one all-time is George Watkins with 19 two-base hits through 60 games.

St. Louis Cardinals, first 60 career games, sorted by doubles

Player G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR XBH RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
George Watkins 60 208 185 50 67 19 3 10 32 43 16 27 .362 .422 .659 1.081
Joe Medwick 60 242 231 31 74 18 4 4 26 26 9 19 .320 .349 .485 .833
Stu Martin 60 246 218 51 76 16 3 6 25 35 23 18 .349 .413 .532 .945
Stan Musial 60 230 203 45 68 16 5 7 28 27 23 11 .335 .408 .567 .974
Jon Jay 60 175 156 31 57 16 1 3 20 16 14 23 .365 .415 .538 .954
Ripper Collins 60 210 197 27 65 15 8 2 25 45 10 13 .330 .371 .518 .889
Enos Slaughter 60 274 252 42 77 15 4 7 26 38 21 22 .306 .359 .480 .839
Stephen Piscotty 60 244 222 28 70 15 4 6 25 38 19 54 .315 .369 .500 .869
Terry Pendleton 60 257 238 35 80 15 3 1 19 31 15 29 .336 .370 .437 .807
Colby Rasmus 60 214 195 28 53 15 1 7 23 26 12 38 .272 .322 .467 .789
Del Rice 60 197 180 23 49 15 2 0 17 24 10 22 .272 .325 .378 .703
Terry Moore 60 242 231 25 60 15 2 2 19 22 9 19 .260 .288 .368 .655
Jim Bottomley 60 264 240 50 85 14 9 8 31 61 16 19 .354 .402 .588 .989
Wally Roettger 60 231 215 22 75 14 3 6 23 35 7 19 .349 .375 .526 .901
J.D. Drew 60 224 196 37 56 14 4 12 30 34 22 51 .286 .360 .582 .942
Ernie Orsatti 60 205 175 27 54 14 4 3 21 29 23 25 .309 .392 .486 .878
Lou Klein 60 261 233 36 62 14 4 4 22 22 21 27 .266 .332 .412 .744
Ray Jablonski 60 246 236 26 68 13 1 8 22 46 10 23 .288 .317 .453 .770
Johnny Mize 60 190 172 31 55 13 4 9 26 44 15 13 .320 .374 .599 .973
Tom Alston 60 249 223 25 54 13 1 4 18 30 23 39 .242 .317 .363 .680
Ray Sanders 60 220 189 26 48 13 1 5 19 29 30 22 .254 .356 .413 .769
Steve Bilko 60 231 205 17 47 13 1 3 17 23 23 44 .229 .307 .346 .653
Curt Flood 52 182 165 23 55 13 2 5 20 22 13 14 .333 .389 .527 .916
Curt Ford 60 175 154 22 45 13 1 1 15 22 19 17 .292 .368 .409 .777
Daniel Descalso 60 193 169 21 40 13 1 1 15 21 14 29 .237 .299 .343 .643

Special thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above table.

Follow me on Twitter.