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3 #STLCards in tonight's starting lineup for Glendale at Scottsdale. RF Lars Nootbaar batting 2nd, 2B Nolan Gorman cleaning up and 1B Juan Yepez hitting 5th. @MLBazFallLeague
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 13, 2021
Hicks has an enormous gap in his development. He needs innings, and perhaps just as importantly, he needs some low stress innings mixed in. Closers get very few of those.
If you have been on the fence about subscribing, now might be a good time to pull the trigger. Great new content now with a lot more coming soon…
Why is #stlcards no. 1 prospect Nolan Gorman so happy? It wasn't his 3-run HR, nor was it his 8-minute interview posted for members of The Cardinal Nation. Topics include adjusting at the plate, move to 2B, competition with Matthew Liberatore and more! ($) https://t.co/PHwMt5Qyss pic.twitter.com/7CTOTQ52lX
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 14, 2021
The #stlcards have half of the Glendale lineup today in the @MLBazFallLeague. First 4 spots in the lineup: RF Lars Nootbaar, 2B Brendan Donovan, 1B Juan Yepez, DH Nolan Gorman. SP is Jordan Hicks.
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 14, 2021
I can’t find a box score the AFL league game last night. Did Yepez or any other prospect do anything?
#stlcards OF Lars Nootbaar drove in four on two home runs as Glendale took its second consecutive road game to start the Arizona Fall League campaign. (free) https://t.co/vUDbxcXILm pic.twitter.com/MMZencPN8M
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 15, 2021
c27….this will get you to the AFL box scores. https://www.mlb.com/arizona-fall-league/schedule
Nootbaar-Yepez-Gorman very impressive so far. Should be fun to follow this team.
In Glendale's first home game in the AFL season today, Juan Yepez @Little_Juan07 is the only #stlcards player in the lineup, batting cleanup. It will be his first action here playing in right field. pic.twitter.com/KnCPgGcAhL
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 15, 2021
On Friday, #stlcards’ prospect slugger Juan Yepez played right field, and from the cleanup spot, drove in one of Glendale’s three runs in the Desert Dogs’ first loss of the young AFL season. (free) https://t.co/No3nah2QgF pic.twitter.com/DdWbO7D45L
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 16, 2021
There is the chance they are showcasing some of these guys for trade bait.
They have certainly done that in the past, though I would like to see them keep all these guys.
A good AFL certainly would not hurt a prospect, but these guys are already well scouted in the regular season.
Yeah I don’t think there is “showcasing” anymore, unless it is trying to show a guy is healthy enough to trade before the deadline. There are too many scouts and videos now not to be able to get a look at a guy. His AFL to me is just more AB and more time and work as a corner OF. They know he can play 1B, but AB’s aren’t there. He’s serviceable back-up at 3B, but again AB’s aren’t really there either. But if he can add serviceable corner OF then between the 4 spots and probability of DH then AB’s should be there. His corner OF play didn’t start until 2019 and has been pretty limited.
The Glendale Desert Dogs prevailed over the Surprise Saguaros 6-4 in a Saturday night contest at Surprise Stadium. Three #stlcards were in the starting lineup for Glendale. 3B Brendan Donovan had three hits and drove in a run. (free) https://t.co/6149ZRvKuS pic.twitter.com/fYNAnPrHG1
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) October 17, 2021
How are they going to fit Sosa, DeJong, Edman, Gorman, and Donovan into that middle infield? Donovan looks an ideal leadoff man.
I see Nooty went Ofer 5 leading off yesterday.
cranny maybe no DeJong if they want to beam Donovan up. Maybe that doesn’t happen until after the season starts and Donovan starts in Memphis. On the other hand, maybe Shildt’s giving up on DeJong was an aspect of the philosophical differences. We did earlier see a quote from DeJong where he was spewing a load of analytics and biomechanical gibberish. He sounded like a true believer.
Donovan has less than 100 career games above A-ball, less than three dozen at Triple-A. There is no hurry to rush him to St. Louis. He isn’t Rule 5 eligible and doesn’t have to be added to the roster. An injury or trade will eventually create an opening – and if he keeps progressing, his time will come soon enough.
Guys who play well enough always get their chance.
P.S. Members can look forward to my interview with Donovan to be posted Monday. Gorman and Nootbaar are already available, with the rest coming soon!
Lars Nootbaar had 68 games above A ball.
A- 57 games
A 29 games
A+ 39 games
AA 33 games
AAA 35 gamesIf Donovan is ready, then he’s ready.
If DeJong is traded, you still have Sosa, Edman, Gorman, and Donovan competing for 2 middle infield spots, with Rondon, Moroff, and Robertson as backups.
Here were Wacha’s total minor league starts after he was drafted –
Rookie – 2
A+ – 2
AA – 2
AAA – 15Some guys are ready faster than others, Brian. Donovan may fall into that category.
If Nootbaar was ready, he wouldn’t be playing in the AFL right now. They only pushed him ahead after Thomas, Williams, Dean and Hurst all failed and/or were hurt. Somebody had to be the 4th OF. Wacha is a first round pick pitcher. Anecdotal apples don’t equal oranges.
Simple fact. Nootbaar was promoted to the major leagues after only 68 games combined at AA and AAA. Wacha had only 17 starts between AA and AAA before becoming a major leaguer. How many innings did Hicks pitch at AA and AAA before joining the big league club? None. Generalizations stated and used to predict that Donovan is probably not ready after less than 100 games combined at the AA and AAA levels may be simply inapplicable specifically to him.
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