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Edmundo Sosa has been under-the-radar. A big season at Memphis next year and he’s on the Memphis shuttle regularly from then on. Plus DeJong and Wong are injured somewhat frequently.
16-Adolis Garcia, OF. He’s a bit of an old prospect, but he’s been to the majors and that’s enough to keep him high enough on this list. Good power, strong arm, not great plate discipline and probably average-ish in the field overall. Might be a .250/.300/.450 guy who could slide into a 4th OF role.
17-Evan Mendoza, 3B. He didn’t fare so well at Springfield with the bat, but this was still his age 21 season. He did hit very well at Palm Beach before his callup and has had two dominant stints so far in his minor league career. He’s a plus defender and that could get him to the Show if the bat can be average or above.
18-Tommy Edman, 2B/SS/3B. This kid can hit from both sides (better from the right side than left, but switch hitters are valuable), play defense at multiple positions and generally just looks like a future Cardinal. He’s my prediction to become the next Greg Garcia/David Eckstein/future plucky Redbird who drives opponents nuts and becomes password fodder for GMs everywhere.
19-Justin Williams, OF. I’m willing to give him a little time to grow into the power he supposedly has in him, as I’m sure the Cards are working to give him a little better swing plane. He could be a 20-25 HR guy with a strong arm in RF. Obviously this system has a lot of those types already so maybe he’s not long term helpful, but the LH bat gives him a shot.
20-Luken Baker, 1B. A mountain of a man who slings bats around like they’re toothpicks, Luken is coming to a town near you next summer. He’s got that power profile you’d want in a first baseman, but I’m not sure how the defense rates yet. Still, it’s good to have guys in the system like he, Gorman, O’Neill, etc with 30+ HR potential.
16. A Garcia
17. Woodford
18. Baker
19. Herrera
20. Oviedo – overall numbers were not eye popping but he seemed to really hit a nice grove for a large part of the 2nd half. Hopefully we continue to see that emergence in 2019.I’m close on voting Oviedo too, vegasjim. From June 8 to the end of the season, Johan went 9-5 with a 3.10 ERA. The walks were still too high (45 in 81.1 IP) but he also struck out 79 in that stretch.
16. Adolis Garcia – Already talked about him, but frankly the abs alone should get him in at 16.
17. Evan Mendoza – Doesn’t fit the mold of a power hitting third baseman yet. If the power comes though, he would shoot way up the list as the first guy on the list who can really pick it at 3B. Even played a little SS along the way. In my opinion has the best hit tool at his position in the system.
18. Evan Kruczynski – Another lefty starter who doesn’t seem to have the stuff that Cabrera has, but has all the pitchability you like to see in a back end starter. I’ll be interested to see how he handles the more hitter friendly leagues of the upper minors. Could move way up by mid-season.
19. Luken Baker – This guy can hit. Maybe the NL will have a DH by the time he makes it to the majors, because he screams DH to me. But man, he can hit.
20. Jhon Torres – I have about 3 guys I want to put here (Woodford, Young, Edman) because I feel like they should be in the top 20, but I’m going out on a limb. This guy has the room to grow into a physical specimen, in my opinion, has as much potential as Nunez and Gorman. He may not put it all together, but if he does he reminds of a Giancarlo Stanton type. Maybe that’s hyperbole…but maybe it isn’t. Time will tell.
16) Ramon Urias
17) Ivan Herrera
18) Edmundo Sosa
19) Randy Arozarena
20) Jhon Torres
I agree with Grenadier that this big, slim 18-year-old has huuuge potential. The Cards appear to have unlocked additional power after acquiring him from the Injuns — and he was already hitting very well for the Cleveland farm, distinctly above average for his leagues in both the DSL and Arizona. Destroyed the Gulf Coast League in his brief time there, and B-Pro says his defense went from poor in 2017 to outstanding in 2018. This illustrates two facts, I think. (1)Players can change dramatically in a short time, at that young age. And (2)you really need a large sample size to feel that defensive numbers are reliable.Every year the system seems to get deeper. Not more superstar talent but basic depth. I look at my list and I can probably make a case for 30 guys at 15-20. At 15-20 I think you are talking about a good 30% chance of playing in the majors. So that would be 30 guys with a 30% chance and another 15 (1-15) with a much higher chance. I easily see 20-25 guys who are in our system now being major leaguers at some point.
16.Luken Grosvenor Baker
17.Alexander “The Great” Glenn Fagalde
18.Max “The Rock” W. Schrock
19.Christopher “The Pelican” John Ellis
20.Ramon Francisco UriasWith regard to Urias, I like him but he will be free agent unless Cards add him to 40 man and I don’t see how there’s room. I also question whether they protect Schrock or Ellis. The HAVE to add Cabrera, Thomas, and Helsley.
#16 Adolis Garcia. Athletic…good power…good arm. Don’t punish him for his late start as a professional.
#17 Tommy Edman Switch hitter, good defense at multiple positions, hits for average. Maybe another Daniel Descalso (or better.)
#18 Giovanny Gallegos Mid 90s fastball and a good curve. Success in limited major league action. Lights out at Memphis. A good spring may land him a permanent job in the bullpen.
#19 Evan Kruczynski Big lefthander stands 6-5. Has not failed at any level and did his best work at AA, his highest level yet. Throws strikes with good control.
#20 Luken Baker Our scouts liked him. I want to see more. I put him herer mainly because of his draft position.
Thanks for the heads up on Ramon Urias and the 40-man roster necessity, DJ. I had no idea that the years in Mexico, being un-affiliated baseball, would count against him, so to speak.
I agree there’ll be a squeeze this winter. But I see plenty of candidates for dropping off the 40-man.
Start with Fowler, Cecil, and Gregerson. Ahh, to dream the impossible dream: a merit-based roster, not money-based.
More realistically there’s Tyson Ross, Dom Leone, Bud Norris, Chasen Shreve, Ty Webb (not the Caddyshack one), Francisco Pena, Patrick Wisdom, Conner Greene who throws hard but isn’t actually good, and a pair of sentimental favorites, Greg Garcia & Matt Bowman.
And I would hope the club will trade Jose Martinez to the DH league, and get a very good reliever back in the deal. It’s time to stop saying that Martinez is a “great hitter” or “outstanding bat.” Because he is not. He’s a very good hitter who pretty much kills you in the field and on the bases. That makes him a fine bench piece, but he should not be taking AB’s away from Tyler O’Neill.
That .300 average of Jose Martinez is pretty, and I like it too, I swear I do. But it makes people drunk, like the 103 MPH fastballs of Jordan Hicks. Folks see those numbers and they stop thinking straight. Tyler O’Neill has only 1/4 of the trips to the plate that Martinez does this season, and yet Tiny Kingman has generated 75-80% as much value as Martinez. And this, even though Martinez has indeed been the better hitter by a bit. But I digress. Really digress.
Anyway, Urias. Here’s what he hit in 2017 in the Mexican League:
.340/.433/.577
And here’s what he hit in AA for the Cards in 2018, his first shot at U.S. pro ball:
.333/.406/.589
Those slashlines that would make a corner outfielder blush. And the strikezone control was better than okay, with no signs he was sacrificing contact for power; whiffed 16% in Mexico, just 15% in the Texas League. Plus, the guy is a solid second base gloveman, and adequate baserunner. In other words, there’s no compelling reason to think he’ll have to move off the position.
So I think he’s a guy to be prioritized, at least ahead of many of those 2018 failed relief arms. I hope the front office feels the same. But based on the backward events of the past two years, I don’t trust Mo & Co. with any decision unless it involves a pitcher from the Japanese leagues.
Robert Reed
19) Randy Arozarena
Need another pick here Bob if you see this. Arozarena was the #13 prospect.
I believe (not sure) that Urias needs to be put on the 40 man roster not because his time in the Mexican league counts but because since he was technically a minor league FA having been previously released by the Rangers. I believe minor league FA’s become automatic minor league FA’s at the end of the year. If a potential FA, he will have to be put on the 40 man roster 6 days after the World Series to avoid his free agency. If it is a service time isse because of the Mexican League they can wait until late November to make the roster decision.
Sorry, guys. Missed Arozarena.
I’ll move Torres up one slot to #19, and make Leandro Cedeno #20.
Thanks for catching that.
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