photo: Conner Capel (Springfield Cardinals FANatic Photos)
As many St. Louis Cardinals fans already know, the organization decided to pull top prospect Dylan Carlson from participating in the Arizona Fall League prospect showcase. Coming off his Texas League Player of the Year honors, the 20-year old had a relatively short, but very successful Triple-A debut with the Memphis Redbirds to close the regular season.
With Carlson logging over 550 plate appearances between the two stops, a very busy year, coupled with the aforementioned success, the Cardinals decided that he would be better served by working out at home in California rather than playing six more weeks in the desert this fall.
As a result, St. Louis needed a replacement outfielder for the AFL’s Glendale Desert Dogs. That selection is Springfield’s Conner Capel.
The Cardinals also had a player to be named, not made in the initial announcement, a third relief pitcher, increasing their total AFL participation to eight. The choice, joining bullpenners Seth Elledge and Kodi Whitley, is another Double-A Cardinal, Roel Ramirez.
Capel
Capel, 22, was the Cleveland Indians’ 2016 fifth-round pick and was acquired by the Cardinals in the Oscar Mercado trade at the 2018 trade deadline. The Texan, a son of former major league pitcher Mike Capel, finished that season at Palm Beach before spending most of 2019 with Springfield.
With Springfield, Capel encountered peaks and valleys, posting a .232/.283/.352/.635 slash line with 12 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 98 games in the Texas League.
As organizational injuries mounted, Capel received a mid-June introduction to Triple-A Memphis. In eight games for the Redbirds, he put up strong numbers for a week, hitting .433 (13-for-30), including seven extra-base hits.
Capel is The Cardinal Nation’s number 35th prospect in our August rankings.
TCN Springfield reporter Derek Shore profiled Capel in August.
Ramirez
Ramirez was also a July 2018 trade acquisition by St. Louis. The 24-year old was picked up from Tampa Bay in the Tommy Pham deal.
Repeating Double-A in 2019, the right-hander was a workhorse for manager Joe Kruzel. Ramirez made 36 relief appearances and five spot starts, logging a 4.98 ERA. He fanned 80 and walked 29 as Texas League batters hit a collective .276 against him.
To finish the year, Ramirez was moved up to Memphis. In his two-game Triple-A introduction, he tossed three hitless, scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks.
Fernandez released
No, it is not Junior.
In other minor league news, the St. Louis Cardinals have released minor league pitcher Ramon Fernandez off the Dominican Summer League Red roster. The 20-year old right-hander, a native of the Dominican Republic, was signed by the organization in July 2018.
Fernandez competed the last two seasons in the DSL, on the Cardinals Blue in 2018 and the Red this past summer. The reliever struggled both years, with a 6.07 ERA following a 7.27 mark his rookie year. Fernandez’ glaring issue was walks, as he issued 34 in his 38 1/3 career innings. He had a 4-3 record overall, but blew three of four career save opportunities to go with his 6.34 ERA.
What is Next
We will have all the details and analysis from the 2019 Arizona Fall League campaign here at The Cardinal Nation.
That includes our free Desert Dogs game recaps, starting with the opener on Wednesday, September 18, and running daily through the final games on October 26.
Others may talk about it, but we have been on the ground in the AFL every year for each of the last 15 years and will again bring you our exclusive members coverage directly from Glendale in October.
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com or for fastest turnaround, pose your questions on The Cardinal Nation’s members-only forum. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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