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Good points, 14NyquisT. On your final point, my impression of them physically is that Edman is slimmer and Seferina looks a bit sturdier. It would be great if physical stats are updated annually since we know the organization measures them, but usually, we get draft day stats year after year instead of current ones. I try hard to look for changes, sometimes shared by minor league affiliates.
I wish I had a dollar for every note I get telling me our height stats for Alvaro Seijas are “wrong”, coming from people who have never seen him in person, but assuming the national sites are always accurate. (sigh)…
I’d like to see a photo of Seijas next to a height chart. I assume he is somewhere between 5’10” and 6-4″.
The top-ranked 2017 draftee in The Cardinal Nation’s annual top 50 prospect countdown is third baseman Evan Mendoza, who dominated in short-season Class-A, earning a promotion into full-season ball in his first partial year of professional action. ($)
https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2018-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-26-evan-mendoza/
What’s not to like about Mendoza? Okay, maybe he needs to add some pop to his bat because the corner guys are the ones its expected from. I can see him having a solid season at Peoria in ’18, he has already gotten a look at low-A. I look at him as a pure hitter and a good defender at 3B.
The Community was slow to getting around to Mendoza at #31. In the 26-30 rankings he got just 3 hits, but took over in the next round getting 10 voters to acknowledge him and easily out-distanced O’Reilly and Danny Ponce. Maybe it was his lower draft round that made some hesitant, but his success at SC and then PEO, impressed others, including our own experts here. He seemed to have no problems entering his rookie pro season, even less than many ahead of him. Maybe it was the drafters that had the problems.
I had him toppings out on my own top-25, I think he earned that. I see that Derek thinks even higher of him (#24). Suffice to say Evan is in the right area, and ahead of some talented 1st year guys. Keep an eye on this one…. he could climb quickly through the 3B void in the organization.
Hey…
Wasn’t Mendoza in the 2016 draft? I seem to remember a 3B named Mendoza who was regarded as a possible 1st rounder. I don’t remember the first name.Given Mendoza was a Sr signing he would have been available in 2016 but pretty sure no one considered him a first rounder.
Would not be surprised to see Mendoza start at Palm Beach in 18. I think his slow start at Peoria was more out of the norm than his strong finish. And the college draftees have to move along quicker than the guys out of high school. Wisdom is about the only real third baseman ahead of Mendoza.
I didn’t intend to suggest that he was a 1st round prospect (just a potential late 1st round pick. But if I remember correctly, I think (or thought) he was ranked in the 30’s. I remember thinking that he was someone that the Cardinals should take with one of their early picks (I think they had #25 (they took Perez), #33 (Carlson), and #34 (Hudson).
Can someone tell me if this is the same guy I was thinking of. Maybe Mendoza was a sophomore eligible in 2016 AND either wasn’t drafted, or was drafted and not signed.
Hawkeye, my guess is that you are thinking of Drew Mendoza, who was a very highly-ranked HS 3bman eligible for the 2016 draft, but he committed to Florida State.
At #25 in The Cardinal Nation’s top 50 prospect countdown for 2018 is a teenaged outfielder from Cuba who may be ready to jump from the Gulf Coast League to Class-A, Jonatan Machado. FREE article!
https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2018-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-25-jonatan-machado/
Coming in at #24 in The Cardinal Nation’s annual top 50 prospect countdown for 2018 is a teen-aged pitcher from Cuba who experienced a slowdown in his velocity and his results, Johan Oviedo. ($)
https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2018-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-24-johan-oviedo/
I’m not saying that that Machado isn’t better than Hurst-Pinder or Ynfante or that he doesn’t project higher than his OF competition, but he’s still very young (youngest of the three others). The organization challenged Carlson (a bigger guy) last season putting him at Peoria, and he got off to a slow start but finally caught up to low-A pitching.
Hopefully, Machado may have one more growth spurt left in him which should help his arm strength and put some pop in his bat. Let him fill out more in height and body mass before sending him into the MWL (very few teenagers are placed there to start the season). Feed him some roast beef, mashed potatoes and corn-on-the-cob and see what happens. Because of his age, I would rather see him at JC or SC. A mid-season promotion might be in the cards for him.
I’ve been a fan of his since his DSL days in ’16. Although he didn’t hit for average there, things changed this past season and he exploded to a .323 BA. He hit .338 in Aug. and .424 against LHPs (Machado hits left-handed). That’s an impressive resume. I think he is a bit underrated at #25, I tend to think the Community’s pick is more accurate. In the 21-26 range he got 10 votes, easily winning that round.
The #23 prospect in The Cardinal Nation’s annual top 50 countdown is St. Louis’ 2016 second-rounder, a right-handed pitcher who should be ready for Double-A in 2018, Connor Jones. ($)
https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2018-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-23-connor-jones/
I’m actually surprised that Jonesy is ranked this high by all. I had him in the 30’s because of his ho-hum season at PB. Jones spent most of the ’17 (minus that 1 game at AA) at A-adv as a 22 y.o., and was placed as the sixth starter in their rotation. Okay it was his 1st season starting but he never pitched well enough to be considered as a possible rotation guy at SPFD. IMO, if needed Woodford would have been next up. How will Connor’s 76Ks/113IP – 1.49WHIP – .275BA in A ball convert to AA?
He and Woodford spent the season at PB right through August, but the younger Woodford was more effective. So were does that leave him going into ’18? Springfield is loaded with starting candidates and will go with a five man rotation. Hicks-Fernandez-DGonzalez-Tewes are most likely to be included and several others to be in the mix Guillory-O’Reilly-Santos will be considered and could out-do Jones. PLUS there’s a glut at Memphis that will contest for those 5 spots and I wouldn’t be surprised if Poncedeleon started the season at AA. So that fifth spot is very much up in the air. Could Jones be headed back to the bullpen? For those reasons I think that Mr. Jones is very overrated at #23.
Thanks CC, but they are not highly analytical. Just how I remember last season and a few #s to back it up. As you may know I am gaga with the prospect rankings, and I try to pick up as much info that I can how the process is formulated. You and the rest of the Community, plus our homies BW and DS, help out.
I should have included that Brian Walton and Derek Shore analyze each selection which are loaded with solid data and sound opinions… I read both of them twice. That’s really the good work around these parts.
Thank you, 14NyquisT. We work very hard on these. To be completely honest, the quantity and quality Derek provides forces me to up my game for every player – and that is a good thing for the readers. I used to write my sections independently, but found out I had too much overlap, leading to a lot of burned time for re-writes, not to mention that his scouting sense is superior to mine. Because Derek completes his work ahead of deadline, I then have time to prepare my section, focusing more on analysis and filling in the blanks. It is working very well, in my obviously biased opinion.
To the original point, your opinions are always interesting to read. Definitely keep them coming – and others, you are encouraged to join in the discussion whether or not you agree. There are no absolutes in any of this – except that Alvaro Seijas is not 5-foot-8! 😉
At #22 in The Cardinal Nation’s annual top 50 prospect countdown is a 40-man roster shortstop whose prospect momentum had slowed, but is now poised for it to go back on the rise, Edmundo Sosa. ($)
https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2018-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-22-edmundo-sosa/
The 21st-ranked prospect in The Cardinal Nation’s annual top 50 countdown is a teenage Venezuelan right-hander ready for full-season ball and with the potential to make St. Louis Cardinals history one day, Alvaro Seijas. ($)
https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2018-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-21-alvaro-seijas/
Sammy… Sammy… Sammy, when are you going to show up for your own surprise party? You’re going to be 22 in March, so what have you been up to? Yeah, I see baggage stickers for almost all of our affiliates and Arizona, you must have made a lot of friends.
I like BW’s term “prospect fatigue”, because it seems like Sammy has been around for a long time now. I can remember thinking that he would soon pass Juan Herrera and Mercado in the organization’s depth chart SS race (hasn’t Herrera been gone a few years?). Well so far he has but while he has been nursing a bunch of injuries, a lot of prospects have been pushing him down rung by rung.
Actually, Sosa is still highly regarded in the organization (still on the 40-man roster and all). Still highly regarded by MLB who have him at #12 on their list dated 8-7-17.
Sosa’s pro career BA is .285, the exact same figure of his BA with Palm Beach in ’17. He lead the Beach Cards in hitting with that, but I think it’s been his OBP that needs some work on.(.329 in ’17 and .341 career the same number as his second season for the GCL-Cards). There’s not too much else you can criticize, but his numbers don’t jump out at you either.
Everyone is waiting to jump up and say “Congratulations” but Sammy keeps us waiting. Sosa is just one solid injury-free season away from having us recalculate his value… he’s one solid season from climbing back of the prospect scale. He might be one good season away from Busch. Sammy we’re waiting.
At #20 in The Cardinal Nation’s top 50 prospect countdown for 2018 is a teenage outfielder who held his own in the Midwest League against much older players, Dylan Carlson. FREE article!
https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2018-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-20-dylan-carlson/
Okay, the top 20 prospects. I think we know just about who the top 10 will be, +/- one or two, so this 11-20 will be a top 10 honorable mention.
I’m going with BW on where to place Carlson for ’18, his 19 y.o season and his 3rd as a pro. My feeling is that he will still be younger than most of the MWL players and it will be like taking his driving test for the second time. He didn’t fail at his first test but his numbers weren’t terrific, who expected a big season from him at Peoria? Let him face pitchers closer to his age group, let him get some confidence back, then send him to Palm Beach. That would put him on track for Springfield in his 20 y.o season. He would be entering that 2 year organizational void of OF star prospects.
As for what that may mean for for the system is a couple of OF spots at Palm Beach that will need to be filled. Back to Dylan, ’18 in Peoria might get him some playing time at 1B and extra ABs. He is built like a corner player and his skill set might make 1B to his liking.
Some might have forgotten that he was a 1st round H.S. pick in ’16.
Derek and Brian, one question and one request. I would like to know where you have Jeremy Martinez on your own lists. And would it be possible for you to put down what your feelings are concerning JM.
I haven’t given up on the younger catcher. He did get that one start at Memphis on Sept 3rd in which he walked, singled, walked, grounded out and reached on an error. 1 for 3 with 4 runs scored. I just get the feeling that he is in for a big ’18. Playing the entire season (he sat out so many games for lack of hitting), may have caused some tension and frustration. I get a gut feeling that playing at Springfield will wake him up and get him going.
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