photo: Andres Luna (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The Cardinal Nation’s 10th year of providing results and much more from St. Louis Cardinals minor league spring training games continues. Again this year, I am joined in these recaps by TCN analyst Derek Shore.
Following are the highlights from the Cardinals minor league action held on Wednesday, March 21. The Astros were the opponents. Memphis and Springfield traveled to West Palm Beach while Palm Beach and Peoria remained home at the George Kissell Quad in Jupiter.
The Cardinals’ upper-level clubs split their road contests, with Memphis winning. Palm Beach also claimed a victory, while Peoria fought to an 11-11 deadlock.
Overall on the spring, the Cardinals are a collective 10-8-6, including a 9-7-4 mark versus external competition.
Once again this spring, Cardinals Baseball Operations Coordinator for Player Development Tony Ferreira is sharing highlights from minor league spring training contests.
The raw data is his, but the comments and awards are mine. However, be aware that only minimal pitching and hitting results are being shared – what you see here. So to find those struggling, you will have to look for names missing or make some guesses.
Remember these working team assignments are fluid by the day. In addition, another 15 players have yet to be cut from Major League camp.
When players are members of The Cardinal Nation Top 50 Prospect List for 2018, their rankings are noted.
Wednesday’s Hitter of the Day: Andres Luna, Peoria
Two extra-base hits (a double and triple) in two at-bats, two RBI and three runs scored makes for about a perfect of a day as Luna could have. This comes on the heels of his two-run triple on Tuesday.
Signed late in 2013, the native of Venezuela has logged four seasons in the system and has yet to play above the Gulf Coast League, where he slashed .288/.364/.407/.771 in 2017. Needless to say, at 20 years of age, the right-handed hitter has to get his career moving in a hurry. This spring is a good start to date.
Honorable mention for the second consecutive day goes to Memphis’ Victor Roache, with a three-run bomb.
Wednesday’s Pitcher of the Day: Jake Walsh, Palm Beach
Just one baserunner (via a hit) in three scoreless innings to go with three strikeouts is Wednesday’s best pitching performance, in our assessment.
Walsh, St. Louis’ 16th round draft pick in 2017, was nothing short of exceptional last season at Johnson City. In a relief role, the right-hander posted a 0.95 ERA with 39 strikeouts against just 10 walks and 12 hits allowed in 28 1/3 innings. As a result, the 22-year old from Florida Southern collected two awards here at The Cardinal Nation – our Johnson City Relief Pitcher of the Year and system-wide Rookie Reliever of the Year for 2017.
Honorable mentions go to all three of the other pitchers cited. Ryan Helsley’s scoreless four innings with a normally stellar 1.00 WHIP fell slightly short. Mike O’Reilly threw three hitless innings, but had two fewer strikeouts than Walsh. Jason Zgardowski deserves note as likely the only Peoria pitcher not scored upon in a rough day otherwise for the Chiefs’ hurlers.
In addition, St. Louis pitcher Bud Norris threw an inning in one of these contests. The result was a single on a wind-blown pop up, a ground-ball double play and a strikeout, according to a Post-Dispatch report.
For more, The Cardinal Nation members can check out the full list of minor league spring training attendees and minor league spring training game schedules.
Ahead – exclusively for TCN members – is my annual pre-Opening Day series in which I predict the opening rosters for all four full-season minor league affiliates and explain why. St. Louis was posted previously, with the others to follow. The St. Louis roster prediction article is free for all readers.
If you are not yet a member of The Cardinal Nation, join now and order our first-ever Prospect Guide at less than half price.
The entire system view by level and position as last season ended with every transaction all year long is available via the Roster Matrix, always free, right here at The Cardinal Nation.
Memphis (3-2-1) 5 at Fresno 2
| Memphis pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Ryan Helsley | #9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | At 3 levels in 2017, 4th wins, 7th IP, 3rd Ks across system. |
| Memphis hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Victor Roache | LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Ex-MIL 1st-rounder has 5 multi-HR games in 5-year career. |
Corpus Christi 5, Springfield (3-2-1) 4
| Springfield pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Mike O’Reilly | #33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2017 MWL All-Star 3rd in system with 12 wins bet. PB/Peo. |
| Springfield hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Danny Hudzina | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3Bman slashed .252/.310/.385/.695 at Peoria in 2017. |
Palm Beach (2-2-2) 3, Buies Creek 1
| Palm Beach pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Jake Walsh | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Pitcher of the Day – see above |
| Palm Beach hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Delvin Perez | #16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Batted just .184 at JC in 2017. Will play this season at 19. |
Peoria (2-2-2) 11, Quad Cities 1
| Peoria pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Jason Zgardowski | 1 | 2 | Plucked out of indy ball last August. Silent “Z” in last name. |
| Peoria hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Andres Luna | CF | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Player of the Day – see above | |||||
| Jonatan Machado | CF | #25 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Rated by BA as best hitter for average in the entire system. | ||||||
| Yariel Gonzalez | 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | .305 BA at SC was 5th-best in the system in 2017. |
Late results from Tuesday – Palm Beach (1-2-2) 1 vs. St. Lucie 1
| Palm Beach pitching | TCN | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Anthony Shew | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .234 BAA 7th in system. 6.4 BB/K ratio #3 in system in 2017. |
| Palm Beach hitting | Pos | TCN | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | BB | K | Notes |
| Wood Myers | SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29th rdr from Coastal Car. opened hot at JC, cooled at SC |
Thursday’s games: The Nationals will be the Thursday opponent, with Memphis and Springfield games to be held back in West Palm Beach. The Class-A games will be played at the George Kissell Quad in Jupiter, Fields 2-5.
With Miles Mikolas scheduled to start for St. Louis, Luke Weaver will get his Thursday work in against minor leaguers. At this point, it is not known if he will travel to face the more advanced hitters or remain in Jupiter to pitch.
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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