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I think the plan coming into the day was to have all the lefties pitch that game. In spring training, there aren’t many pitching decisions made during the game that were not preset and communicated. It may have worked out well, though.
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— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 18, 2023
I guess O’Neill gets a day off, he’s not on the Also Eligible list either.
I’m assuming some more guys will head for MiLB camp tomorrow, maybe we’ll see some of the out there.
Motter looked good grabbing one near the bag and starting a DP. My impression is he’s impressed some folks. Can’t see him fitting into the active roster though.
Now Motter smokes one over the LF wall. But he’s got the Bader hair thing going on. Too bad, he’s pretty good.
Motter is 33 and had a .619 OPS going into today. Career .572 OPS in MLB. Seems like a good guy to have in AAA as a Crash Davis type veteran, and can be the guy called up for 2 or 3 games in a particular injury situation.
If they stay healthy and Walker goes north with the big league club, I’m wondering who the 13th position player is. Figure Contreras and Knizner at catcher, and Contreras sometimes at DH. Arenado, Goldie, Edman, Gorman and Donovan get most of the IF time and some DH time. O’Neill, Nootbaar, Walker, and Carlson playing the OF and some DH. DeJong is backup on the infield and doesn’t see much time.
That’s 12. Is the 13th a young guy like Yepez or Burleson who might benefit from playing everyday at AAA, or is it someone like Mercado, who could pinch run, play some late OF in D, and the like? One of the main 9 who are not catcher is on the bench each night, and two if Contreras is DH. Hard to see DeJong or the 13th guy seeing much playing time, barring injuries. And if there’s a serious injury, youcall up from AAA.
Not that it means anything, but the other day when I checked, it looked like Yepez was having a pretty good ST’ing. He’s strikes me as a decent RH’ed bat, but I shudder every time he puts on a fielding mitt. He needs to hit because I’m guessing he’s going to see the majority of PA’s from a RH’ed DH.
Libby went 5 strong, that’s probably the big takeaway. When he walked that guy early, I had the feeling he was feeling rushed by the pitch clock. Something to get used to.
Carlson needed a good game and he had one. Loutos did a nice job. Have to pull for the D3 guy.
Winn is not new to second base. He many need to be a utility guy initially so good to ensure he is ready.
He many need to be a utility guy initially
Maybe getting overexcited about Gorman jinxed him, so yeah, maybe not do that with Winn. And leave him with uni #80. A low number hasn’t done Carlson any good.
1. Brendan Donovan (L) 2B
2. Jordan Walker (R) LF
3. Nolan Gorman (L) 3B
4. Taylor Motter (R) SS
5. Alec Burleson (L) 1B
6. Andrew Knizner (R) DH
7. Tres Barrera (R) C
8. Oscar Mercado (R) CF
9. Scott Hurst (L) RF
HudsonFans seem to overhype prospects that rank high up on the players considered to have high ceilings in the organization… at least I know Cardinal fans do. Then there are the “underhyped” prospects that have played their way onto the team. You all know the guys in both categories.
If Tres Barrera is gonna be the backup catcher, then why are they sinking around with Knizner?
I rather have Yepez get some work in at DHA lot of times spring training stats for veterans who have nothing to prove can be meaningless because they are probably just trying to get into shape or perhaps tinkering with a new approach, but for players trying to make the team or earn a starting spot, spring training is a big deal.
A guy that has kind of flown under the radar is Gorman. With Walker and Winn making a big splash we forget that Gorman’s line this spring is .314/.415/.514/.929. As stl25 has pointed out in the past if you look at Gorman’s history in the minors he almost always has a period of adjustment at a new level before really flourishing his second year at that level. With this being his second year at the MLB level I think we could see a breakout year from him and I am so glad he hasn’t been traded.
Gorman had the chance to play everyday last year. It doesn’t seem like he will have that chance this year. Not unless he’s hot and somebody else is cold.
Gorman appeared in 89 games in his first season in which he collected 313 PA’s, so yeah, he got a fair shake concerning playing time, but I’m going to guess he gets plenty of looks again in ’23 and will surpass both his game appearances and PA total for last season. I hope so anyway…Haha!
When he came up he was an every day player from late May until some point after the break. It was more than a fair shake. I remember the talk that spring quite well. “When he comes up he will play every day.” I always am cautious about noobs but there was no getting front of that tidal wave. Carlson was handled the same way. I hope they take a more rational approach with Walker and Winn and give them a good period to acclimate to the show, figure out what kind of holes they need to shore up, before the pressure of being the everyday this or that.
Oliver, I am not saying he won’t play, just that he won’t start the season as the everyday second baseman, or be in the lineup every day even. That would mean somebody else would be on the bench, and I don’t know who that should be. Not Edman or Donovan anyway.
Checking the box score so far, Hudson went 3.2 IP, 10 hits, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Yikes. Batting practice.
Gorman tatered.
As I stated before the book on Gorman is that he does better in his second year at the new level. I think last year was his first year at the big league level so there is reason to believe he will do much better this year. If he hits he will be in the lineup whether it be DH or 2B.
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