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Jesus Cruz is making a name for himself. Been very effective despite a high amount of walks. But his low batting average against, and a high amount of strikeouts, along with the failure of many relief candidates at AA and AAA have him climbing, while many others are descending.
I have to think Jake Woodford’s prospect status is getting higher after a tremendous start to the season. After some 2018 growing pains he’s been super effective for the Redbirds rotation. The only concern is his 1.67 K/BB rate.
In the only game on Sunday’s very light holiday schedule across the #stlcards system, Memphis came out on top behind Player of the Day Jake Woodford’s strong mound effort and Edmundo Sosa’s timely hitting. https://t.co/aCb6p5KiDT pic.twitter.com/vRoQ01IoO2
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) April 22, 2019
The Sod Poodles are a coming. Yep, the Amarillo Sod Poodles, new to the Texas League this season, are coming to Springfield today so maybe the Cardinals get get back to winning ways. That Sod Poodle nickname must have quite a story behind it. Sounds like something voted on by the public.
I am curious to see the monthly updated prospect list. Seems like we have had more dissapointments than those exceeding expectations.
The monthly prospect list is updated around the 15th. Here is the link to the April installment.
TCN’s Monthly Cardinals Top 50 Prospect Rankings – April 2019
Given Woodford’s youth, I would imagine the Cards will keep him in the minors for the year. Ponce and Gomber make for much easier call ups thanks to their 40 man status.
You can’t get off the topic without giving accolades to Sosa for going 2-4 including the 2-run walk-off in the tenth. Eduardo has his AVR. up to .354 and is the hottest he’s been in years. Along with Robinson and Urias the Cards have a group to choose from as next-up. Edman is also having a very good start but with the 40-man jammed up with infielders he may have to wait until ’20 to join the big team. And that waiting time would need to coupled with him continuing to progress.
Indeed, Sosa is having a good season so far. He was solid in ’18, and if the glove is as good as advertised, he could be the guy if they need a SS for a stint (hopefully not, as Dejong has been great!)
I would think that Edman would be a near lock for 2020 unless he really tails off. He performed in camp, so far this year at AAA, and his switch hitting and capability to play 3B-SS-2B adequately would be very valuable to a team looking for versatility. In fact, Robinson might need to look over his shoulder at Edman by late summer if he doesn’t get his act together.
Out of the group of utility infielders at Memphis, who projects to be big leaguers next year? I really like Edman for his versatility in the field and at the plate. But is that versatility more valuable to a bench than Urias’s hitting or Sosa’s fielding? Munoz has already demonstrated he can take good at bats against big league pitching but leaves a lot to be desired defensively. Robinson is pretty much the inverse of Munoz. Frankly, with the exception of Edman who seems to be solid all around, every other player from this group has pretty defined strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, the one who makes it next year may be chosen based in part on what the team wants most from a bench player and what the weaknesses of the roster are. I think Edman likely gets the job because he can do pretty much everything fairly well and doesn’t have any glaring problems in his game, though the fact he is a switch hitter may be his biggest asset.
“Indeed, Sosa is having a good season so far. He was solid in ’18…”
A very good season so far, and maybe better even than it looks at first glance. Like last year, Edmundo’s numbers appear to be suppressed at least a bit by the pitcher’s park in Memphis.
Sosa’s road game slashline in AAA, combining last year and this: .328/.375/.560
It’s only 136 plate appearances, and I certainly don’t think that a .935 Triple-A OPS is Edmundo’s true talent level right now. But maybe .840 to .860, something of that nature. And that would make him an overall top 150 prospect and keep him ahead of Tommy Edman on my personal list. (Edmundo just turned 23 last month, making him nearly a full year younger than Tommy.)
It’s that power increase that’s kind of exciting with Sosa — recall that he had more extra base hits than strikeouts + singles in Spring Training. Okay, it was a minimicro sample. But it may have foreshadowed a real step forward.
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