- This topic has 48 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 3 months, 2 weeks ago by
.
-
Posts
-
It’s a small sample size, but Patrick Galle and Jack Martinez are way better than I expected as a return for a late player to named later and the lone return for Arenado. I heard reports that Galle hit 99 mph, and Martinez has had 2 very good outings. Martinez has struck out 10 in his 7 innings. Both seem about age correct. We’ll see how they progress.
Yes indeed, Cardinals27. Jack Martinez, throughout his collegiate and now professional career, plunks a batter in a little less than every 7 innings of work. What’s not to like about that stat? One needs only to glance over the all-time hit batsmen leaders to see the likes of Cy Young, Walter and Randy Johnson, Jim Bunning, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Bert Blyleven, Don Drysdale, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Chris Sale……the list is almost endless with quality pitchers whom weren’t afraid to intimidate batters with a healthy dose of chin music.
Pugs, the old HBP,brings back a Mike Shannon story. The Cardinals had a tall pitcher, I can’t remember his hame. I think it was in 50$ or 60s. He had no control. The Cards decided to fine him by how many walks he gave up. As Shannon tells the tale, if he got a 3 ball count on a batter he’d just plunk the batter. One of mt favorite MS story. The interview with Pete Rose about getting Japanese baseballs and having the National League take batting practice in our all star game. The Japanese baseball would fly further.
The Peoria Chiefs and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers scheduled game for Friday, April 17 at Neuroscience Group Field has been postponed due to forecasted severe weather. The game will be made up on a date to be announced.
The #stlcards system was 2-1 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Memphis 2B César Prieto, was 3-for-5 including a home run and three RBI. Other standouts include Jimmy Crooks, Jon Jon Gazdar, Travis Honeyman and Trey Paige. https://t.co/mQPBlb4TpR pic.twitter.com/IQR7CfKLLN
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) April 18, 2026
The #stlcards system was 0-4 on Saturday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Memphis LH Pete Hansen, threw four scoreless innings with three Ks in his Triple-A debut. Other standouts include Blaze Jordan, Graysen Tarlow, Ryan Campos, Brandt Thompson and Rainiel Rodriguez.… pic.twitter.com/VfUuhOiRz3
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) April 19, 2026
My hope for Hansen is that he can pitch well enough that the team feels comfortable with him as a depth starter and he can be the #7. At least comfortable enough they can then move Leahy back to the pen at some point so in case of an injury they have a guy ready to go. That probably would be at least a month away as Hansen needs to build up his own pitch counts. I wouldn’t expect Hansen to be good in the big leagues but him turning into a depth starter is at least something the org needs to develop.
Albert-
I was pleasantly surprised by Hansen’s turn at Memphis and had a similar thought. With Dobbins as 6th starter (perhaps soon higher than that), who is 7th. I’m guessing right now it is Zimmerman, but then it’s a race of Mautz and Hansen. I’d guess that if it’s a tie between the two, Mautz wins since he has the 40-man spot.
Torres has a .508 OBP at Memphis. Pozo has caught all of 6 innings so far this season. Is it time to swap them and see what Torres can bring to the big league team? Maybe give him a run in LF? Church has -0.1 fWAR.
It may also depend on the nature of the need. What I mean is this. Will they want a replacement starter for just one game or a couple of turns or will it be a longer stint?
For a short-term need, a guy already on the 40-man causes the least disruption to the rosters or a guy they could add to the 40-man, then outright right after (Zimmermann could follow Shuster in this scenario). But if the need is longer term, then the best arm should get the call even if it requires other moves.
I know Quinn Mathews has been inconsistent, but I don’t think Hansen is ahead of him yet.
Brian-
I agree the need will matter. My thought is that Mathews has the highest ceiling, so they’ll be less likely to send him up before they think he is ready, especially in light of what happened when Walker was sent up too early.
I agree on Hansen. Hopefully he gets a shot if/when the need arises in STL. I was one of the few that gave him much recognition in our prospect rankings. All he does is get the job done despite being frowned upon by most prospect experts.
If they are waiting for Mathews to return to like he was before the shoulder issue they will be waiting forever. Last year after returning he had an occasional good outing like the one he just had. That pattern is likely to continue as his arm gradually takes on more wear and his performance eventually degrades, similar to the Dakota Hudson post shoulder trajectory. Unfortunately, that is just how it is, most likely. That being the case, there is little point holding off starting his service time clock. If winning is paramount, the question could be does he give us a better chance than those already in the rotation. Probably not, IMO, but if somebody gets hurt or traded, he might as well be brought up. He might fail horribly, which is why he makes less sense kept in AAA as depth than does Dobbins, whose performance seems more predictable.
bling, I don’t think Mathews should be ahead of Dobbins. Now that Fitts is out, the latter is the obvious next man up. My point was that Mathews would be ahead of Hansen on my rotation callup list (with Mautz and perhaps Zimmermann also ahead of Hansen). That would make Hansen my no. 10 starter right now.
I don’t disagree about Hansen. If Dobbins gets called up, hopefully whoever he replaces isn’t injured, and can be sent down to stay stretched out rather than move to the pen, which would leave us short of rotation depth.
Looking at Mason Burns numbers. Like many young relievers, posts a strong strikeout rate, along with a high walk rate. Those numbers coupled with batting average against of .185 makes him an interesting bullpen arm. Especially if he can have better control. Along with Love, Watson, and Gastelum this gives us some arms that could help the big league club as soon as this year.
Pitchers like Watson and Gastelum have always lived by throwing it past everyone. They often have trouble trying to do that as they reach the higher levels. Roycroft and Hence are the guys on the 40 man. The org needs to use them or get them out of the way.
Actually, Gastelum has a devastating change up. He tops out at 94-95. He throws the change up 70% of the time. But you do face more advanced hitters at each level.
The #stlcards system was 3-1 on Sunday. TCN’s Player of the Day, Memphis C Leo Bernal, was 3-for-3 including a game-tying HR plus a walk and three RBI. Other standouts: Blaze Jordan, Liam Doyle, Yhoiker Fajardo, Won-Bin Cho, Rainiel Rodriguez, Ryan Mitchell and Ryan Weingartner.… pic.twitter.com/fMDr0MQ0dc
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) April 20, 2026
Refreshing seeing Whiny (Ryan William Weingartner) get off the proverbial schneid to finally get himself north of the Mendoza Line. And his 3 stolen bases yesterday were sweet too. Hopefully he’s offensively turned the corner.
The affiliates so far. Reader’s Digest edition.
AAA Memphis 14-7 BTorres, Jordan, Prieto and Crooks are carrying the 1st place Redbirds.
The rotation has been better than fine. Some good dominating pitching. BP a little shaky but coming around.AA Springfield 5-10 Just the opposite of MEM. Is Jon Jon Gazdar the best they have? Could be.
A+ Peoria 5-9 Same as SPR…. rotation not keeping them in games. RaRodriguez and Franklin can’t carry this team but they are fun to follow.A Palm Beach 11-4 The beach bums are in the unfamiliar spot of 1st place. The pitching has given up more than 5 runs in only four games. The rotation has been very good… GS average =55.3. The FSL is dedicated towards pitching so the offense is weak for all the teams.
BTorres, Jordan, Prieto and Crooks are carrying the 1st place Redbirds.
Lets say we want to call them up. We need 2 40 man slots and 4 active roster slot. What are the moves?
Torres for Saggese or Fermin. If it’s Saggese, he still has options. No 40 man impact.
Prieto would also be for one of the same two. At this point, you would gain a 40-man spot with Fermin leaving.
Crooks is easy. He takes Pozo’s spot and Pozo is optioned.
Jordan is more difficult to fit if you’ve already swapped out the other 2 infielder/outfiielders mentioned above. Either he would have to take Pages place or replace one of our 2 CFers.
My guess is they would not do all these moves. Certainly not at once. Jordan, Crooks, and Torres might all be upgrades to what we have today. Torres would be far more fun offensively in CF than Scott. Crooks is an upgrade offensively to Pages and probably an upgrade defensively depending on his pitch calling skills. Jordan is a perfect platoon split for Gorman or Burleson or a great pinch hitter off the bench. That’s potentially a lot of positives if it works. However, I’d give them all another couple months of development time. There’s no rush.
The only way to get all four up would be to clear either DH or 1B for Jordan. So either Herrera or Burly would be moved for something we need. Trading what you can replace to get what you don’t have is part of a rebuild. Not that Jordan is good enough necessarily, i don’t know, but i was betting nobody would mention trades. We love our guys and want to keep them all.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.