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gscottar said:
Michael Wacha moved through the ranks pretty fast didn’t he?
Multiple pitchers did, but the original poster’s stated criterion was position players.
Brian, bc said high minors so I excluded Walker. Otherwise, I think Walker would be my pick for best pure hitter.
Nick Stavinoha, Shane Robinson, Allen Craig, Dan Descalso and Matt Carpenter are all hitters who made it to AAA in their 2nd full minor league season.
Forsch – how many pure hitters are there in the Cardinals system? And especially the upper levels of the system. Burleson really doesn’t have much competition for the title of best pure hitter. At the higher levels, Gorman would probably be his only competition. At the lower levels probably only Walker. It’s a judgement call. I like all 3 a lot. Nice to have all 3 in the system.
It’s really, tough for a player to shake a label once it gets hung on him. Cases in point …….There doesn’t seem to be a fair amount of love going around for Donovan, Yepez, and Plummer(I know Yepez is getting some ink. But it could be a lot more.) IMHO,
these three are proof that a player is not who their numbers say they are. A player is who the player says he is, at least, until he quits trying to get better.bc, mudville brought up an interesting, under-the-radar, name in Donovan. Taking a quick look at Prospects 1500, Prospects Live and MLB.com, Herrera and Nunez would also be included. There would be some others from those lists that are still in A+ or below.
Since I am not a scout and can’t follow the whole minors, I don’t know how many pure hitters there are in the system. I can only go on how they perform and what others have to say about the players.
Donovan is not under the radar to me. He has been on my radar for a couple of years and you will see him ranked very high on my list when we do our prospect rankings. He may be our next Tommy Edman.
Donovan’s had a really nice season, with .300+ batting averages at both Springfield and Memphis. .295 at Peoria. Must be some fine prospects in the 16 above him on Brian’s list. He’s probably more proven now than some very young guys in the 16.
AFL must have morphed somewhat unless I am imagining things. I am surprised a player as far along as Nootbaar would be going. Same for guys with a full season in AAA. Didn’t it used to be players not so advanced? Single A level fast risers, AA hotshots, maybe a taste of AAA, like that?
The AFL has always called itself the “finishing school” for those heading to the majors.
Way back when they had rough quotas by level to limit the number of A-ball players invited. But I think that is gone.
This Cardinals group is a bit more experienced perhaps, but not all that much. Put MLB players Hicks (who is a special case) and Nootbaar aside and most of the rest have little Triple-A time.
Noot (only 35 Triple-A games) was pushed ahead as others failed before he was perhaps ready and surprised, but clearly could benefit from more experience. Between Mem and StL, he has only 222 at-bats so far this season – about half a normal workload for a starter.
MLB.com has named it’s Milb players of the year for the Cardinals. The pitcher is Libby. The position player may surprise you. It’s Yepez.
I also like the group. Gorman going tells me that the Cards have plans for him in St Louis next year and want to see how he responds to what would be the near equivalent of a 162 game schedule. He’s scuffled a bit late this year but he may heat up back home and facing a little lighter competition. I could see the bash brothers Gorman and Yepez hitting 3-4 for the Desert Dogs and punishing opposing pitchers for a month.
The others are all defensible picks as they need some more work or are near ready for a shot in the majors.
MLB.com has named it’s Milb players of the year for the Cardinals. The pitcher is Libby. The position player may surprise you. It’s Yepez.
That’s not too surprising. Jordan Walker was probably the most impressive prospect this year but Yepez was incredible at the highest level of the minors. It’s sort of amazing that he didn’t get any shot in the majors this year given the team’s struggle to hit.
It’s going to be really interesting to see how Gorman, Libby, Yepez, Burleson, Donovan, and Herrera do at the MLB level. That’s a lot of talent at the doorstep.
Hope Thompson gets it going too.The lost 2020 season has things churned up I guess. I am a little more interested in the pitching side. We can get an idea what Hicks looks like and if he holds together OK. We can see how Thompson fares and I’m happy they threw him a bone after being cannon fodder all year. That was a stand up job he did. I am imagining Lester, Thompson and Liberatore giving us the three lefty amigos in the rotation at some point. And if Walsh goes well he could be a guy we see in St. Louis some time next year.
Stricter pitch timing, no defensive shifts, bigger bases and automated balls and strikes (in 1 of 6 parks) to be tested.
Here's a summary of those new rules being used in the Arizona Fall League: pic.twitter.com/z5GAZmV4c8
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 6, 2021
Still don’t understand why Burleson wasn’t selected. And another guy who had a fairly decent season who seems to be flying under the radar is Capel.
I tried to explain. The Cardinals can supply one outfielder. They picked Nootbaar. Why is that so difficult to accept?
(P.S. Capel already played in the AFL in 2019. It would be unusual to send him again with so many other good candidates.)
While the @MLBazFallLeague opener for the #stlcards players on the Glendale Desert Dogs is tonight, Jordan Hicks is making his first AFL start tomorrow, on Thursday afternoon. I'll be there to report on the action. https://t.co/teGorso2iA
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 13, 2021
Are they looking at trying Hicks out as a starter? It’s an interesting thought, but does he have a third pitch, and can he throw strikes.
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