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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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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