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The Tommy Pham comparisons are interesting but I would like to see Randy become another Bernard Gilkey. Gilkey was one of the few bright spots for the Cards in the early 90’s, along with Lankford and Zeile.
He may end up being a 4th OF but I still think he has the potential to be a regular although I agree that Thomas has more upside.
I’d like to clarify. For those who are not members, the Tommy Pham comp came from a member of our message board community when voting, not from me or Derek. Derek offered two views. One scout called Arozarena a “lesser Marcell Ozuna” and another comp cited is Gerardo Parra. I feel the latter is the most realistic of the three names offered up.
I was the one who compared him to Tommy Pham, and I still think it rings true. Plus defense and speed with solid on base skills and decent power. Of course that’s an optimistic take but we’ve seen Randy blister the ball for long periods of time in the minors already.
I think at bats and innings pitched should be used as rookie status as have in the past. Days on the roster, but sitting on the bench shouldn’t be counted against them. Thomas is an unfortunate example of this.
Arozarena may be a comp offensively for Parra, who has a .277 career average over 11 mostly part-time seasons, but Parra has won 2 Gold Gloves and has been a Gold Glove-quality outfielder throughout his 11-year career. I’m not sure even Bader is quite that good. Has Arozarena shown that much prowess as a flycatcher?
Merry Christmas! The Cardinal Nation’s 2020 top 50 prospect countdown reaches no. 6 with the #stlcards' first-round draft pick from 2019, a LHP from the University of Kentucky, Zack Thompson. ($) https://t.co/B727mmLixH pic.twitter.com/OG9aANXM6D
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 25, 2019
The Cardinal Nation’s #stlcards 2020 top 50 prospect countdown reaches the top five with a new contender for the title of the team's “Catcher of the Future" – 19-year old Ivan Herrera. FREE article. https://t.co/sqJa4iRGEI pic.twitter.com/2VDEmBWaCC
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 26, 2019
The more I read about Herrera the more his offensive profile sounds like Molina.
Kinda seems it. Maybe a little better walk rate and a little more power than early career Yadi, but he should be a hitter. I’d like to see Knizner stick around at least a year and give Ivan a year to mature, and if he’s ready then maybe you can move Andrew in a trade.
Herrera is much more advanced as a hitter than Molina was at the same age. Molina, however, had the benefit of learning catching from his older brothers, which made him far more advanced defensively that most young catchers.
mud said:
It’s pretty rare that any team would have two catching prospect in their top 5.
But no pitchers in the top 5.
Last year, Knizner and Kelly were nos. 6 and 7 prior to the trade. They were nos. 8 and 3 the year before.
Herrera is much more advanced as a hitter than Molina was at the same age.
That is very true Paul. I was really referring to a more polished Molina. I should have clarified.
The lack of pitchers in the top doesn’t seem to be hurting the Cardinals, at least not this year, and possibly not in the foreseeable future. If CMart pitches up to his ability, the rotation is stacked. And then there’s Reyes, and Kim, and Ponce de Leon, and Gomber, Cabrera, Helsley. Then, there’s the bullpen, which looks just as stacked as the rotation except for the uncertainty around the closer role. Yikes! The St. Louis Cardinals must be the envy of a lot of organizations. Or, maybe I’m just overly optimistic.
The Cards certainly offer among the best pitching depth in the majors. While some technically not “prospect”, this depth offers insurance to the big club, flexibility to shuttle them back and forth to Memphis for years to come, and valuable trade chips. It also should allow them to restore minor league depth in the lower minors.
I’ve been hearing a lot about what a high-ceiling Roberts has and how Oviedo and Rondon have made great strides along with Woodford. They are the next wave of starters. Some familiar names will be passed over soon.
I am concerned about Brian’s report from the AFL that Roberts was maxing out in the upper 80’s. Hopefully that was an anomaly after his first pro season. We’ll know more in the spring.
As if on queue…
At no. 4 on The Cardinal Nation’s 2020 top 50 prospect list is the #stlcards’ top catching prospect, with his third straight top 10 placement. Will 2020 be Andrew Knizner's year to stick with St. Louis or will he eventually be traded like Carson Kelly? ($) https://t.co/4G42czZZdt pic.twitter.com/N1XRpAzAq9
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 27, 2019
The Cardinal Nation’s #stlcards 2020 top 50 prospect countdown reaches no. 3 with a talented third baseman who struggled with injury in 2019 but retains his top prospect status, Elehuris Montero. ($) https://t.co/v6XTiJzCd4 pic.twitter.com/kOJwRWlcAy
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 28, 2019
Just to be clear, for the site, we do not use rookie status. We use the same at-bats and innings pitched limits for obvious convenience. However, we do not use rookie days on the roster limits because those are not readily available. We have done it this same way for at least 15 years.
If I understand you correctly you are saying that for the site rankings you use the 130 AB cutoff for no longer ranking a player as a prospect (regardless of service time). If that is so, why is Lane Thomas not in your rankings?
Thomas was on the site monthly rankings throughout the entire season and Ryan Helsley was, too.
The criteria of 50 innings pitched and 130 at-bats has been and still is included in all of our prospect ranking lead articles – the ones that list the selections. Nothing has changed in that area for years.
If you go to the very first post of the 2020 community voting thread, it still shows both Thomas and Helsley as being eligible. However, there must have been a change made along the way.
As I already explained, I do not police the voters through your process, and no one asked me any eligibility questions. You all must not have followed the same criteria as we always had.
I did not do my own rankings until after I got back from the Arizona Fall League and did not look at the community list until I was already done and ready to combine the three lists. At that point, it seemed too late to make you all go back and re-rank the two prospects, as your voting for 75 prospects was about wrapping up.
Now, I have some questions for you, CC. Weren’t you participating in the voting? Why didn’t you say anything to me about this disconnect – back when it would have been easy to straighten out? You’ve been involved in this process for years, too, which is why I am confused that you are confused now, after the fact.
Perhaps 14NyquisT can shed some light on what happened. I do not have the time right now to read through all the pages of community discussion to try to reconstruct why you all decided to exclude the two after you already started voting.
At no. 2 in The Cardinal Nation’s #stlcards 2020 top 50 prospect countdown is power-hitting third baseman Nolan Gorman, who is already in the national spotlight and appears ready to tackle Double-A at 20 years of age. ($) https://t.co/Y8k9oiCiFN pic.twitter.com/2As7lsilwv
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 29, 2019
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