Cardinals minor league spring training notebook: 03/29/14

Following are the highlights from the St. Louis Cardinals final minor league games of the spring against external competition, on Saturday, March 29. The Cardinals took on their local neighbors, the Marlins, in five contests.

St. Louis’ teams won four of five, with only Peoria2 going down in defeat. After the 4-1 day, the Cardinals’ clubs collective spring mark overall is 32-20-15 and versus external competition is 24-12-5.

When players are members of The Cardinal Nation Top 40 for 2014, their rankings are noted (TCN).

Saturday’s hitter of the day: 13 players had a multiple hit day on Saturday, but only two, including Mason Katz (pictured), had a pair of extra-base raps. The second baseman, who has been hot late in camp, doubled, homered and plated a pair for Peoria1.

Saturday’s pitcher of the day: Major Leaguer Shelby Miller started for Springfield and set the bar high. Justin Wright followed and was even better, with two perfect innings that included three strikeouts. Last summer, the 24-year-old left-hander fanned 9.8 batters per nine innings and was third in the Texas League with 50 appearances.

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The entire system view by level and position as last season ended is available via the Roster Matrix, free, right here at The Cardinal Nation Blog.

Springfield (9-3-3) 2, New Orleans 1

Springfield pitching TCN IP H ER BB K Notes Springfield hitting Pos TCN AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K Notes
Shelby Miller inelig. 4 6 1 1 2 Stayed behind to get in work Matt Williams SS 3 2 1 1 Aledmys who?
Justin Wright 2 3 Pitcher of the Day
Joe Donofrio 1 11.2 K / 9 IP last season
Iden Nazario 1 1 .188 OBA #1 among FSL RPs
Danny Miranda 1 Great at PB, less so at Sprf

Palm Beach (6-6-3) 2, Jacksonville 1

Palm Beach pitching TCN IP H ER BB K Notes Palm Beach hitting Pos TCN AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K Notes
Joe Cuda 5 3 1 3 Top10 in system in W, ERA, K Breyvic Valera 2B #31 4 3 4th in system in BA at .309 last summer
Aidan Lucas 2 2 1 Only 7.2 IP last season Anthony Garcia LF 3 1 2 2 Power threat before injury-plagued 2013
Thomas Lee 1 Identical low BB rate as Wacha Starlin Rodriguez RF 3 1 2 1 1 Was in 2013 MLB spring camp as 2B
Sam Tuivailala #36 1 2 2 Typical Tui outing

Peoria1 (8-5-2) 6, Jupiter 4

Peoria 1 pitching TCN IP H ER BB K Notes Peoria 1 hitting Pos TCN AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K Notes
Mike Mayers #21 4 6 3 1 2 3rd rdr in 2013 ended w/Peoria Mason Katz 2B 5 1 2 2 1 1 2 extra-base hits good for top player award
Jhonny Polanco 1 2 1 T5th in ’13 NYPL w/22 GP Kenny Peoples-Walls LF #33 4 1 2 1 5th in system in SLG at .468 in 2013
Joe Scanio 1 2 2 2 40 GP in relief for Peoria in 2013 Jake Stone 1B 4 2 2 2 1 27th rounder hit .298 in 2013 GCL
Kyle Barraclough 1 1 1 Missed most of 2013 (shoulder)
Zach Loraine 1 Saved eight games in 2013

Greensboro 6, Peoria2 (3-2-3) 2

Peoria 2 pitching TCN IP H ER BB K Notes Peoria 2 hitting Pos TCN AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K Notes
Silfredo Garcia 5 6 4 2 4 18 starts/3.82 ERA at Peoria Vaughn Bryan CF 4 2 A stretch top 10 player in BP’s rankings
Steven Farinaro 2 11th rdr in ’13 skipped UCLA Oscar Mercado SS #22 4 2 12 steals in 2013 GCL
Nick Lomascolo 1 1 1 44K/23BB in 31 Appy Lg IP
Norge Paredes 1 1 1 1 Tied Appy lead w/10 wild pitches

Extended1 (2-0) 6, Batavia 1

Extended1 pitching TCN IP H ER BB K Notes Extended 1 hitting Pos TCN AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K Notes
Ian McKinney #25 3 1 1 25 inn scoreless streak in ’13 Rowan Wick RF 4 2 2 3 1 7th in system in SLG at .464 in 2013
Dailyn Martinez 3 2 2 1 2.70 ERA 8th in 2013 Appy Lg. Justin Ringo 1B 4 3 1 3rd in org in OBP at .387 last season
Jonathan Escudero 1 1 1 2 2nd in ’13 GCL with 5 holds Ronnierd Garcia 3B 4 2 In top 2 in ’13 Appy Lg – R, 2B, RBI
Steve Sabatino 1 1 1 2 12.7 K / 9 IP last season Leobaldo Pina SS 4 1 2 Career .281 avg. in three seasons
Anderson Gerdel 1 3rd in Appy League w/21 apps

Sunday’s games: There will be three intersquad contests on Sunday before players prepare for their next assignments, whether full-season clubs or remaining in Florida for extended spring training.

Special thanks are offered to Cardinals baseball operations assistant Tony Ferreira who provided highlights from minor league spring training contests all spring long. As always, the raw data is his, but the comments and awards are mine.

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