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Do the Cardinals have too many prospects? That’s position players and pitchers. I don’t know where they’re going to put the ones they have. If Walker is going to fizzle out, they need a star player to replace him. The only way get a star player is through free agency, and that will cost big money. Then, what would they do with Walker? Trade him for prospects? Jesus Baez looks like he’s going to claim third base. It’s too early to give up on Josh Baez for left field. And ,then, there’s Raniel Rodriguez, reportedly, the best prospect in the game.
Too much talent does not appear to be a good problem to have.
I like Oli and how he managed all the young players trying to break into the big leagues. But he failed at managing Arenado, Gray, Contreras, Nootbaar, and maybe, Goldschmidt. And Bloom has got the Cardinals organization paying well over 50M$ for these players to play for other teams.
CC – Add Quinn Mathews to your list as well.
I think Franklin should probably be moved to your maybe list. He has a long time before he’s rule 5 eligible so there’s little reason to rush him. I agree on everyone else.
Too many prospects? I see how one might worry about that, but does it matter?
Too many standout Major Leaguers? That is another question entirely and has yet to be proven. The talent pyramid continues to narrow, even at the very top. The challenge shifts to sorting through and finding the keepers. With a new regime, hopefully they won’t be scared to make mistakes.
With a new regime, hopefully they won’t be scared to make mistakes
Someone around here used to call prize prospects Faberge Eggs. I guess that is so if you only have one come along now and then.
Bernie Miklasz coined the phrase with regard to the Cardinals, as I recall. In that context, both he and the late Joe Strauss wanted the Cardinals to trade prospects for proven veterans, as Walt Jocketty had done very successfully.
Where do we put the prospects we have?
As it stands now…..C – There’s a strong consensus that
Bernal will remain at catcher.
1B – Do we really want to start all over
with Burleson doing so well?
2B – Wetherholt for years to come come.
SS – Winn lacks offense. He says he’s
a pitcher at heart.
3B – Jesus Baez is looking like heir
apparent for now.
LF – With the kind of success he had at
AA and AAA, it’s too early to say
he can’t hit.
CF – Church is way better defensively
than most centerfielders. And he still
hasn’t hit his ceiling.
RF – Walker would be very hard to replace,
or very expensive to replace.So, where do we put the AA and AAA prospects?`
3B is the clear problem area that could easily be upgraded through a trade or FA. Baez is not ready yet and may never get there, but there is a decent chance he could make it there. If the team doesn’t go to the outside, then I’d just put Blaze Jordan there and hope he can find his plus bat again. Saggese can play there some too.
CF is also a problem area. I’m not ready to give up on Church because he’s shown such a great ability to grow and adapt, but right now he’s a below average player.
Josh Baez should get a chance to perform in LF for the whole season. He could be bad. He could be a superstar. It’s so hard to guess with him given all the different ranges of his successes and failures throughout the Minors.
I don’t know what to do with Walker. He has the same problem he’s always had. He does not seem to have any kind of pitch recognition. He swings hard with quick hands. If he guesses right, he can do lots of damage. If he guesses wrong, he looks silly. The latter tends to happen more often than the former.
I think the other positions are set including Bernal at catcher. Speaking of catcher, I’d prefer Herrera not do it anymore. I’m fine with Crooks or even Pages as the number 2. Bernal should get 65% of starts plus a few starts at 1B or DH.
I’m not sure what I’m missing with regard to Nathan Church. I see a player that has excellent speed, gets very good reads, and then goes and catches the ball. Arm looks very good, also. I see a player who’s gradually improving, both defensively, and offensively, which is to say that he hasn’t reached his ceiling yet. It’s going to take a big bat to move him out of CF in the foreseeable future, IMO.
Defensively, Church is fine. Offensively, though, he was 11% below league average. That is a major improvement over Scott, but wouldn’t be starting numbers on a playoff club. Church deserves to be on the team, but seems like a good fourth or fifth outfielder, IMO.
Church deserves to be on the team, but seems like a good fourth or fifth outfielder, IMO.
How do we upgrade Center for a few years until Condon gets here? This might be a place Bill could throw us a bone.
Defensively, Church is fine. Offensively, though, he was 11% below league average. That is a major improvement over Scott, but wouldn’t be starting numbers on a playoff club. Church deserves to be on the team, but seems like a good fourth or fifth outfielder
I don’t know why people on this board are so up-in-arms over Church’s offensive production. It was his first season in the league, and he posted a .664 OPS.
Burleson’s first season? A .690 OPS.
Sagasse the last month I am pretty sure was above league average at 3rd base. Still wasn’t enough for them to win.
I think Church has been fine, with a 1.9 WAR in under 500 ABs. The problem though is he is 26, so a bit on the older side to have a pretty good rookie season. Still he is servicable and could see his production rise over the next couple of years.
I like what Sagesse has done the last month or so. Also watching him in person in San Francicso a couple of weeks ago, I like his approach and “look” on the field. He would get a good opportunity next Spring to take hold of a roster spot, possibly even a starting slot at third if I was in charge.
In summation, even at 26, Church is going to be in this league for a very long time……just not as a starter.
I get attached to guys too. But this time next year it all has to be straightened out. Church and Saggesse have to have third and center locked down or it’s time to move on if they’re bats arent progressing.
We have a lot of good players
We don’t have enough really good or great playersWe also had players who didn’t stay healthy. Whether that will be an ongoing issue with any of them we don’t know. But we can’t win playing too many UTs and backfills all the time.
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