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Tonight's #STLCards Minor League Starters:
Memphis: LHP Zack Thompson (0-1, 11.05) vs Norfolk (BAL)
Springfield: LHP Kenny Hernandez (3-1, 5.81) vs Wichita (MIN)
Peoria: LHP Cooper Hjerpe (2-3, 4.32) vs Great Lakes (LAD)
Palm Beach: RHP Hunter Hayes (2-2, 4.61) vs Tampa (NYY) pic.twitter.com/nlJwx0yeoc
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) May 23, 2023
Some minors updates as it’s a significant night:
Hjerpe threw 6 no-hit innings before being removed.
Redmond has 2 homers already tonight to give him 16 already on the year.
Masyn Winn finally got his OPS to .700. At least for the moment.
Jordan Walker has been really coming around as a hitter lately. He has 2 hits so far tonight with one being the type that went over a wall.
Mike Antico has 2 hits tonight and has run his OPS up to .857 at the moment. I love Mike. Hard working old school baseball player.
Andre Granillo now has 31 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings.
Luken Baker is still a beast. Maybe my favorite Cardinal minor leaguer who doesn’t get enough credit outside of Granillo and the guy I’m mentioning next.
And although he didn’t pitch tonight, I want to put in a plug for PB starter Hancel Rincon who has thrown his last 20 innings without allowing an earned run. I tried to put him in our top 50 earlier this year, but I couldn’t convince anyone else to vote for him.
Oh, and 2 more I want to mention:
Herrera hit a homer tonight pushing his OPS to almost .900. I think he is trade bait.
And speaking both of catchers and under the radar prospects that I personally love, I want to also put in a plug for Pedro Pages who has a couple hits on the night and has run his OPS to around .800. Pages is the complete definition of a field general as a catcher. Plus, he seems to come through a lot with clutch hits. He’s not a good hitter per se, just a clutch hitter.
Herrera hit a homer tonight pushing his OPS to almost .900. I think he is trade bait.
It would have to be a very good trade for me to move him. He’s not yet 23 and is probably going to be needed for when Contreras is a <80 game catcher. It feels like they’d be throwing away a lot of potential there.
25 – I might think the same thing. But when I see what the Cards have done and are doing with him, I have my doubts that they intend to keep him. They have several really good catching prospects coming up that the timing may work out better. And Herrera may be more valuable as someone else’s starter vs our backup. Pages probably fits the backup role better for now. Or, Knizner.
Jordan Walker has been really coming around as a hitter lately. He has 2 hits so far tonight with one being the type that went over a wall.
Possibly of more importance than the homer is that he finally took a BB. That’s the first one since his bat came alive 10 days ago. Its been kind of a concerning familiar pattern. He is feasting on the minor league pitching but not showing the discerning eye that we all saw he sorely needed vs MLB level pitching. Hopefully the org will give him time to refine the hitting tool, and hopefully he has the ability to do so. There is the possibility he could veer toward being another Burleson.
I also wanted to mention that something has obviously gone wrong with Zack Thompson. He’s done nothing but get blown out since his last few appearances in STL and ever since he arrived in Memphis. He’s getting nowhere as far as stretching out, can’t throw strikes and can’t miss bats.
25 – I might think the same thing. But when I see what the Cards have done and are doing with him, I have my doubts that they intend to keep him. They have several really good catching prospects coming up that the timing may work out better. And Herrera may be more valuable as someone else’s starter vs our backup. Pages probably fits the backup role better for now. Or, Knizner.
I agree that their usage of him seems to indicate that they have no faith in him. That’s the exact reason I wouldn’t give up on him. Sadly, I’ve begun to lose faith in the organization’s ability to recognize talent. We’ve traded away a lot of stars in the last 5 years that would look awfully nice and held onto guys that have proven to be less than stellar. If Herrera is performing well and still can’t get any traction, then I think for him it’s best to go elsewhere. For us, I’m not sure the return would be good enough to justify what could be a big loss.
I also wanted to mention that something has obviously gone wrong with Zack Thompson. He’s done nothing but get blown out since his last few appearances in STL and ever since he arrived in Memphis. He’s getting nowhere as far as stretching out, can’t throw strikes and can’t miss bats.
I think it’s simply that he’s not a starter at the big league level and the team is panicking with all the bad starting pitching. They are going for a “need” rather than a “this is what’s best for this guy” system of development right now. That rarely works out well. In Thompson’s case, it could derail his entire career. I think he could be a very solid lefty reliever. As a starter, he’s an iffy #5. I get that guys want to throw the ball, but it seems that he’d make a lot more money by filling his best role, rather than being pigeonholed into a starting role that he has a good chance of failing at.
I’ll also add that I don’t think he’s as bad as his AAA stats suggest as a starter. Sometimes there’s a letdown in the transition that takes a bit to get over. I think we saw some of that with Jordan Walker, too. Hopefully Thompson gets his feet under him soon and starts to pitch like we know he can, starter or reliever.
The #STLCards system was 2-2 on Tuesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, LH Cooper Hjerpe, pitched a no-hitter for six innings with 5 Ks in Peoria’s win. Other standouts include Luken Baker, Ivan Herrera, Chandler Redmond and Hunter Hayes. (free) https://t.co/2Q28URwCwU pic.twitter.com/E00Gc0sqlz
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 24, 2023
The #STLCards system was 0-3 on Wednesday as the pitching allowed 27 runs. Palm Beach was postponed. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Memphis CF Moises Gomez, hit two solo home runs. Other standouts include Taylor Motter, Nick Dunn and Edgar Manzo. https://t.co/1ZfQznJPaY pic.twitter.com/UZcPGjs3jZ
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 25, 2023
Thursday’s #stlcards minors probables:
Mem (25-22) vs Nfk: RH Michael McGreevy (2-0, 3.07 at AAA)
Sgf (18-23) vs Wch: RH Brandon Komar (1-4, 6.43)
Peo (21-20) vs GL: RH Dionys Rodriguez (1-2, 3.71)
PB vs. Tampa (2): LH Pete Hansen (2-1, 3.34)/RH Hancel Rincon (5-1, 2.41) (p) pic.twitter.com/cCnJmvPIeP
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 25, 2023
If you mean before minor league free agency, no. You can read more details here if interested. Scroll to the last section.
Yeah, that’s what I meant. We’ve got some time then to see what his bat keeps doing or doesn’t keep doing. Given the lineup lunacy we’ve seen in STL, the chance of seeing a big bat that’s limited to 1B, DH, PH doesn’t seem so remote. Obviously, AAA success doesn’t transfer at par, but you never know.
The #STLCards system went 3-1 on Thursday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Moisés Gómez, went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Memphis’ win. Other standouts include Iván Herrera, Noah Mendlinger, Roy Garcia and Won-Bin Cho. (free) https://t.co/NbcJHN1wPT pic.twitter.com/7G8kCLJrZG
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 26, 2023
Friday’s #stlcards minors probables:
Mem (26-22) vs Nfk: RH Dakota Hudson (1-2, 5.31)
Sgf (19-23) vs Wch: RH Wilfredo Pereira (2-2, 3.18) (p)
Peo (21-21) vs GL: LH Alex Cornwell (4-2, 3.24)
PB (25-16) vs. Tampa (2): RH Hancel Rincon (5-1, 2.41)/LH Brycen Mautz (2-2, 3.38) pic.twitter.com/Ldpd7Halx3
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 26, 2023
I would rather have Baker on the STL roster than Barrera. Since Ollie loves giving Goldy days off I think Baker could get adequate AB’s at 1B and DH. I would rather have Baker at 1B than Donovan. Donovan needs to be in LF at the present time.
Checking the boxes from yesterday was pretty bleak. Among the starters, the only one who didn’t pretty much stink was Wilfredo Pereira, who I swear I never heard of until recently even though this is his 8th year in the system. He popped up on the recap article recently as a standout having pitched a gem for Springfield, so at least I recognized the name. He was signed at age 16 which explains why he is still here in year 8.
But its year 8 and its his first year in AA, and he is rather recently just emerging as a full time starter. So I’m not sure where it goes from here. Low velo pitchability types don’t light up the computer normally but he just struck out 10 in 5.1 IP. It took him 106 pitches to do it though.
He was in the 2022 start of year top 50, so there is an article on him for TCN members. https://thecardinalnation.com/tcn-2022-st-louis-cardinals-prospect-43-wilfredo-pereira/
The #stlcards system was 1-4 on Friday with Palm Beach dropping a doubleheader. The Cardinal Nation Player of the Day, RH Wilfredo Pereira, went 5 1/3 scoreless IP on four hits and 10 Ks in Springfield’s win. Other standouts: Jimmy Crooks and Victor Scott. https://t.co/hLq2z9iyGJ pic.twitter.com/biiSHz6fyv
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 27, 2023
Saturday’s #stlcards minors probables:
Memphis (26-23) vs Norfolk: RHP Tommy Parsons (0-1, 5.00)
Springfield (20-23) vs Wichita: RH Connor Lunn (1-3, 6.46)
Peoria (21-22) vs Great Lakes: RH Ian Bedell (2-1, 1.32) (p)
Palm Beach (25-18) vs. Tampa: RH Cade Winquest (2-2, 3.54) pic.twitter.com/g6WILpvR51
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 27, 2023
The #STLCards system went 1-3 on Saturday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Lizandro Espinoza, had a walk-off single for Palm Beach. Other standouts include Masyn Winn, Mike Antico, Nathan Church and Chris Rotondo. (free) https://t.co/5QqIAk86yV pic.twitter.com/rfzLjOMWte
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) May 28, 2023
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