Photo: Inohan Paniagua (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Monday was a camp day for the St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers as Memphis played Springfield and Peoria squared off with Palm Beach. Both of the more senior squads were the home teams but the junior teams were victorious in both games with Springfield beating Memphis and Palm Beach gaining the upper hand on Peoria in a seven inning game.
The Palm Beach pitching staff combined for a shutout, with Inohan Paniagua leading the way, while Springfield won due to excellent pitching and timely hitting.
Pitcher of the Day – Inohan Paniagua
Inohan Paniagua only threw 46 ⅓ innings in 2021, but he pitched well when he was on the mound. The now-22-year-old tallied a 3.88 ERA and 3.65 FIP while striking out 31.5% of the batters he faced. The season represented a quiet breakout for Paniagua who established himself at the full season level for the first time after struggling in rookie and short-season ball in 2019.
The right-hander made just five starts in 16 appearances, but I would not be surprised to see the Cardinals give him a chance at being a starter long-term. In fact, he started the game for Palm Beach on Monday and cruised through the first four innings.
His walk rate is a bit high (9.6%), but not as high as some other young, strikeout-heavy arms in the system. This gives him plenty of promise and in a year’s time, it is entirely possible that he will jump up our rankings. Our 2021 Emerging Pitcher of the Year has a big season ahead of him since he is eligible for the Rule V Draft in December.
On Monday, Paniagua allowed just one base runner (via hit) in four innings while fanning four.
The honorable mention goes to Gordon Graceffo, who fanned six in four innings for Springfield but also yielded a trio of hits.
Hitter of the Day – Tommy Jew
Despite being drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round in 2019, Tommy Jew had to wait until 2021 to make his professional debut. It didn’t exactly go well. He was a below average hitter at both the Single-A and High-A level while striking out in over 35% of his plate appearances at each stop.
Jew did show decent speed as he stole 14 bases in 19 attempts. This speed helped him play all three outfield positions, but he is going to struggle to advance in the organization if he doesn’t learn to make more contact and hit the ball with more authority.
The outfielder had only one hit on Monday but not only did it clear the fence, it brought in three runs. Jew didn’t show much power last year but his home run helped Springfield top Memphis, the more advanced affiliate, in a 4-1 victory.
Honorable mentions go to Chase Pinder and Irving Lopez, who each had two hits with Pinder totaling three bases and Lopez adding an RBI.
Memphis (1) vs Springfield (4)
| Memphis Pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Logan Gragg | 39 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Threw 99 innings for Peoria last season and earned a 4.45 ERA while seeing a decrease in both strikeouts and walks |
| Memphis Hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Evan Mendoza | INF | 3 | 1 | 1 | Another extra base hit for Mendoza, which is important considering how little power he has shown in his career | ||||||||
| Irving Lopez | INF | 3 | 2 | 1 | One of two players to record two hits on the day | ||||||||
| Matt Koperniak | OF | 2 | 1 | 1 | Left-handed hitter began 2021 in Single-A and ended it in Double-A | ||||||||
| Wade Stauss | C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Moved to the Memphis spring roster after an injury to Nick Raposo |
Springfield (4) at Memphis (1)
| Springfield Pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Gordon Graceffo | 17 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2021 Rookie Pitcher of the Year should move into a rotation, likely Peoria’s, in 2022 |
| Springfield Hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Tommy Jew | OF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2019 13th round pick struggled at the plate in Palm Beach and Peoria | ||||||
| Roberto Baldoquin | INF | 4 | 1 | 1 | Minor league free agent signing can play across the infield | ||||||||
| Chase Pinder | OF | 3 | 2 | 1 | Still looking to make Triple-A debut despite playing in Double-A for the last three seasons |
Peoria (0) vs Palm Beach (1) – 7 Innings
| Peoria Pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Edwin Nunez | 44 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Lots of velocity and not a lot of control, his outing on Monday was pretty typical |
| Peoria Hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Masyn Winn | SS | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | TCN’s 5th ranked prospect led the organization in SBs last year with 32 in 37 attempts | |||||||
| Osvaldo Tovalin | 3B | 3 | 1 | Hit 15 home runs in his final season at Azusa Pacific University |
Palm Beach (1) at Peoria (0) – 7 Innings
| Palm Beach Pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Inohan Paniagua | 48 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | TCN’s system-wide Emerging Pitcher of the Year in 2021 made his top-50 debut at #48 this offseason |
| Nick Trogrlic-Iverson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | Split time between the rotation and bullpen after a quick promotion to Peoria |
| Palm Beach Hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Won-Bin Cho | OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | The Cardinals’ first amateur prospect signed from Korea received a bonus close to $500,000 | |||||||
| Jeremy Rivas | SS | 46 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Had a .345 OBP in the Florida Complex League in 2021 after signing for a $600,000 bonus |
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