This story should be an eye-opener to Cards-only fans. The followers of the entire system saw this coming a few years ago and since little has been done to change the course, it has grown worse in leaps and bounds. To demonstrate the severity, after Hudson, Ponce, Helsley and I’ll throw in Woodford, is there any other starting pitcher among the affiliates that projects into MLB? SPFD… maybe one with some hard work and luck, PB… mostly unknowns but possibility of an unforeseen surprise, PEO…. SC…. JC…. GCL…. kind of early to tell, but it doesn’t look promising at all. There is a lot of no-names with very little positive projection. Realistically, none at this point.
To make matters worse, of all the pitchers in the TCN #25 to #50 (9) ranked pitchers, not one has provided any improvement this season. That once promising group in the next wave has fizzled down to MiLB lifers and they will merely be that because there will be a need for any kind of arms.
At first look, I thought this piece would be opinionated. It isn’t at all, its objective and true to the title.
There is little that can be done to salvage this tailspin. There is the possibility of not trading prospects to get MLB players, (something the Cards-only fans were clamoring for, with little knowledge of what they were asking for – which drove me crazy) but actually trading the MLB players for top-notch prospects, a possible re-boot. Nothing else seems possible at this point except perhaps 3or4 for 1 trading of prospects… we have some positional prospect players with potential and value.
I knew that the Cardinals would have to hold on to their top high-level prospects and hope to keep them as part of our rotation for five or six years,(the time needed to refurbish) and stated so often. It was laughable to hear some suggest trading those guys for a power hitter. And this after the FO went 4 for 1 to get our cleanup hitter that isn’t one. Two of those 4 will be sorely missed.
I was hoping that there would be a more pointed explanation(blame) within this piece. I knew the ’17 draft was problematic, as there would be no top of the rotation pitchers added to the system. Yes, the international pitchers signed are generally very disappointing, very. These failures are traced back to the FO, which oversees the draft committee. THE FRONT OFFICE.
Simply stated the continued disappointment of the StL Cardinals will become exponentially worse going forward. Instead of looking to acquire position players to satisfy the only-St.Louis fan base, the Cardinals will need to be trading for any kind of MLB starters with a heartbeat. The MLB Cards will be sinking in the quicksand that they’ve been marched into by the front office.
I’m not even going to mention the imprudent signing of no-star players and paying them the gigantic sums that could have at least put off the foreseeable decline of the Cards for a season or two by investing wisely.
What we are seeing is the signs of a subtle, forced rebuild due to the errors of the front office. How else can it be explained?
I’m terribly sorry that this comment is so negative, but the road ahead is bleak. Cards-only fans are in for a rude awakening when they find the cupboard empty.