Home › The Cardinal Nation Forums › Open Forum › 2018 Projections thread
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March 26, 2018 at 10:13 am #46405
The idea of shuffling relievers and the reality are going to be two different things, I think. The Cards spin this kind of narrative to calm fans who want them to sign Holland and to show they will showcase the promising young arms. Most do not understand the roster and accept it at face value.
The reality is that the roster is constricted. The only relievers with options are Bowman, Brebbia and Mayers. One is sure to be sent down as soon as Gregerson is ready – likely Mayers. Bowman surely isn’t going to Memphis. That leaves one spot – that of Brebbia – that could be used for this shuffling or shuttling or whatever they call it.
And unless Brebbia is shaky (which he was in spring training), even his spot would not be up for grabs. Let’s not forget that by May 1, Reyes will need a spot. So Brebbia could be at risk then.
Assuming all of that, then the only real reliever movement would be to cover for injuries. Same as any other year.
March 26, 2018 at 10:38 am #46406I do not see Bowman as safe from being sent to Memphis. If Mayers and Brebbia outperform him until Gregerson gets back, I certainly see it as a possibility.
March 26, 2018 at 10:44 am #46408This Cardinals team is one of the hardest to make a prediction on. I could see the team winning anywhere from 80 games to 100 games.
The starting pitching could be real good when looking at the positive side. Martinez could be an ace. Wacha could be close to an ace. Weaver looks good. Wainwright looks like he has enough left in the tank to make a big difference. Mikolas has looked like a decent starter in the last few starts. There is depth in Flaherty, Gomber, Gant, Hudson, Poncedeleon, etc.
If the bullpen gets everything to click, it could be very good. It is definitely improved from opening day of 2017.
There is a lot to like about the offense. Ozuna adds that middle of the order threat that has been missing. There is depth in the minors to step into any position except replacing Ozuna’s bat.
Defense and fundamentals look to be improved. There is enough depth to be able to make an impact trade at the trade deadline, if needed.
I am not saying that everything will be the best it possibly could be. However, if things roll the correct way, it could be a great year.
My prediction is 89 wins.
March 26, 2018 at 11:01 am #46409Could Bowman become ineffective? Of course. Could he be sent down? Of course. Are both likely to occur any time soon? I see no indication of it whatsoever.
Take this spring. While Lucas and Mayers received all the attention, Bowman quietly posted a 2.61 ERA. 11 Ks and just two walks in 10 1/3 innings. Opponents batted .147 against him. He won both decisions and converted his only save opportunity.
After his two full seasons in the majors, during which he has been used heavily, often in tough situations, I remain surprised that Bowman gets such little credit. He has been an unsung positive contributor for a long time and though fans may not see it, he has likely built up goodwill with the coaches and front office.
The Cards usually respect veterans like him – until they are injured or liable to make too much money via arbitration, perhaps. That comes next year. From this view, Bowman is the pitching equivalent of Greg Garcia on this roster.
March 26, 2018 at 12:26 pm #46414Doesn’t Leone still have options? Or has he accumulated enough service time it doesn’t matter?
March 26, 2018 at 1:09 pm #46416Doesn’t Leone still have options? Yes, one.
Or has he accumulated enough service time it doesn’t matter? I figured it would not matter because he will be too valuable to send down. But is it a low odds possibility.
For members, I recently went through the options situation for the entire 40-man roster. Notice how, in the photo, Bowman is almost begging Maddux to look him in the eye! 😉
March 26, 2018 at 4:51 pm #46435Just keeping you on your toes Brian.
You said “The only relievers with options are Bowman, Brebbia and Mayers.” You technically should have included Leone. 😉
March 26, 2018 at 5:09 pm #46437Well, since we are going to get nit picky, I am pretty sure Carlos Martinez has an option left!
March 26, 2018 at 5:21 pm #46438As does Wacha.
March 26, 2018 at 5:56 pm #46439Just based on each of our relievers “stuff”, I think Leone is the best candidate for closer.He has 2 quality pitches and velocity. Tui, Brebbia, and Mayers have velocity but sometimes iffy second pitches. And I wish they would employ Bowman in a Maness type role, Cecil the early lefty, and Lyons the late inning lefty, possibly closing in some games. But it appears to be a closer by committee, until someone emerges.
March 26, 2018 at 6:03 pm #46441Correction CC, we were specifically talking about the bullpen, not starting pitchers.
March 26, 2018 at 6:20 pm #46445My bad. But if you are going to shuttle people based on options….
March 26, 2018 at 6:24 pm #46447Mo stated yesterday that Leone and Lyons will get the 9th inning opportunities.
March 27, 2018 at 9:14 am #4647314NyquisTParticipantThis is the when MLB predictions are made. This is off topic if you are a Cards fan because they aren’t mentioned for any of the awards or play-off teams. As a kid this is the kind of stuff I loved to read in magazines and newspapers. So if you have 5 minutes or 2 minutes to skip over the commentary, its a fun thing to peruse through. If you are a die-hard Cards fan and believe any of this malarky, you best skip this piece.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766546-bleacher-reports-2018-mlb-season-preview-and-predictions
March 27, 2018 at 9:19 am #46475Oh, the good ol’ days. Going to the drug store everyday to see if Street and Smith’s had arrived.
March 27, 2018 at 9:24 am #46478I remember waiting for the mailman each Monday for The Sporting News to arrive. That kept me busy for the next three or four hours. Homework had to wait.
March 27, 2018 at 9:39 am #46489Me too Brian. The Sporting News was the absolute baseball bible.
I would read it cover to cover in between playing strat-o-matic.
March 27, 2018 at 9:46 am #46493Me too Brian. The Sporting News was the absolute baseball bible.
I would read it cover to cover in between playing strat-o-matic.
————————————————————————Speaking of Strat-O-Matic there gscottar, the ’68 Reds scored 7 runs in the last of the 8th yesterday to hand ’68 Bob Gibson a 7-3 loss. The killer was when Maxvill threw away a DP ball into rightcenter. From then on out the hits just kept falling. After Gibson was yanked Ron Willis came in and promptly gave up a three run homer to Bench.
March 27, 2018 at 9:50 am #46496Sounds like a heck of a game Rat. In real life Gibby would have plunked someone in the ribs.
My first year of strat-o-matic was 1979. Good times.
March 27, 2018 at 10:01 am #46500The only thing that really enticed me about the Sporting News baseball coverage was that they had minor league stats and almost no one else did (maybe baseball digest did).
Of course even the die hard fans like us knew anything about being age appropriate or a batter’s k rate or how hard a pitcher threw. Heck, they didnt even publish OBP for major leaguers at that point.
On second thought, maybe those were not the good old days.
March 27, 2018 at 10:02 am #46501Anybody remember ‘The Redbird Review’? It was a monthly magazine with glossy color pictures of Cardinals’ prospects that was published in the early eighties. I subscribed to it for a year, and received maybe two or three issues, but no more. I read somewhere after that that the place that was producing it burned down. Needless to say, I never got any of my money back.
March 27, 2018 at 10:02 am #46502We were yet to know what we didn’t know, CC.
March 27, 2018 at 10:06 am #46503In the lat eighties I started buying the team media guide. Until the late 90’s it had more Cardinal prospect (and other info) by far than any other source.
March 27, 2018 at 10:39 am #46507Right. Around the time Walt took over, the minor leagues were moved to the very back of the media guides and a lot of the historical info was no longer maintained – or at least not shared publicly. There has been a partial rebound since, but not nearly enough, IMO.
I put some historical info that I had gathered and maintained into our Prospect Guide, such as international signing history, draft history, and award history, but nowhere near all of it. I wish there was a market for it, but there is likely not.
March 27, 2018 at 10:42 am #46508I am intrigued by the catching in the minors. This is the way I’d like to see things, as I like Rodriguez and Lopez to get playing time, and feel they should get full season duty and priority playing time. I have probably missed some catchers, and cannot remember seeing this many with potential. Usually, the lack of catching prospects is one thing outside scouts have noted about our organization.
AAA- Kelly
BaronAA- Knizner
O’KeefePB A- Ortega
LopezPeoria A- Rodriguez
???JC- Herrara
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