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Good point about Woodford. He’s kind of been lost in the crowd of Cardinal higher level pitching prospects – Liberatore, Thompson, Oviedo, etc. He had a 4.15 ERA last season, but that ranked #3 in the entire 16 team PCL. 26 starts. Seems like he’s major league ready.
I think he could be a #5 starter for the Cards. I know some think his stuff could play up in the bullpen. It’s a nice problem for the Cards to have so many potential starters.
I agree that Woodford deserves a shot. I just don’t see it coming before Gomber and Ponce de Leon get theirs. Also, Woodford was drafted out of hs and promoted pretty aggressively so he is still very young. It might take another year or two (much like it has for Gomber and Ponce de Leon, who were college draftees and much older) but I think he will get it eventually if he doesn’t get traded first. This will be his first option year and they will run out eventually.
Unfortunately for him, Gomber, and Ponce de Leon, but fortunate for fans, the Cards always have a steady stream of top of the rotation prospects ahead of the mid/back rotation ones. Or maybe you are saying Woodford belongs in the top rotation category?
As a side note, I remember falling in love with Tim Cooney as the next Cliff Lee before his career was derailed by an appendectomy then a shoulder injury. I really want Gomber to succeed so I can finally get over Cooney flaming out and my excitement about him. And Ponce de Leon was dominating in spring training from what I remember after working with Driveline over the winter.
We think we're going to win this one 😉#STLCards pic.twitter.com/fMTBg1SqBV
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 9, 2020
Kolten Wong said it is huge getting back, especially at Busch, getting uniform dirty.
Weird that no one is in stands, but they are paid to play baseball. Grew up playing with no fans.
Batting first, get timing down, hates to be rushed. Wants to make pitchers work. Good if top of lineup set.
Would be cool to say they won the COVID World Series.
2 weeks after spring training ended, he went to StL. Worked out M-F at SLU with Paul, Tommy, Bader. Got lots of at-bats.
In a good position now. Working on situations. Work to manufacture runs in intrasquads.
Robot ump called low balls waist high down the middle. Hitters also thought it was inaccurate.
Had good fastball. Got in trouble early. Worked through it by getting ground balls.
Other than no fans, atmosphere felt game like. About time!
Pitching to teammates – They know you from psychological standpoint. Good to experiment with having to face same guys over and over.
Shildt loved hitters approach. Lot of quality at-bats. Guys able to execute play. Paully on pace for about 480 RBI. Defense good, nice DP in first inning.
Flaherty was sharp. Got after it. Whole picture good – tempo, delivery in sync, quick adjustments. Had control on top of it. Good in all areas.
Ponce was good. Knows who he is. 1st time out was impressive. Good again tonight. Got the save for the home team. Impressed Shildt handing the situation.
Helsley got three quick outs at end, and kept him out there longer (to reach pitch count). Like Cecil, Helsley did not pitch in game.
Dakota was pretty good, but didn’t have secondary pitches going well. Key is getting ahead in count as it is for all.
Brad Miller and Matt Wieters were in original lineup, but did not play. Coach’s decision.
Schrock was traded to Blue team as Oquendo wanted him. (Also note that Brad Miller had been scratched from the Blue starting lineup.)
Was good to get lost in competition tonight.
Martinez looks good. Will start intrasquad on Saturday. In position he can ramp up.
General point on starters. Will have the ability to get innings from them when season starts. Won’t put inning targets on them, but may go deeper into games if efficient.
Cecil. Any time new adjustment especially a dramatic one, there will be an ebb and flow. Expecting feeling out process. Created experience for himself tonight.
6 innings live BP Friday. Intrasquads Saturday and Sunday. Monday off weather permitting. Waino, KK and relivers Friday. Carlos, Oviedo and relievers Saturday.
Spot in lineup does not have production expectations. Have quality ABs and offense will be healthy.
For those looking for detailed info from the intrasquad game…
DeJong homers, drives in four runs in Cardinals first intrasquad game Thursday. More on his day and other relevant details from the evening at Busch @KMOV: https://t.co/afJ0qa6Ucu
— Brenden Schaeffer🎳 (@bschaeffer12) July 10, 2020
Shorthand version of game highlights.
Huge credit goes to the #stlcards PR staff for assembling this in addition to a box score for the intrasquad. Surreal to actually be looking at these again. pic.twitter.com/SWH5kslX7F
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) July 10, 2020
Blue (visitor) 1-2-0
Red (home) 4-6-1Blue strugglers
O’Neill 0-2 both Ks
Ravelo, Schrock 0-2 each
Bader 0-1, BB, thrown out trying to stealRed strugglers
Carpenter 0-2
Molina 0-2, GIDP
Nogowski GIDPFriday news.
Wainwright made many adjustments during off time. Maddux says to be the “lead adjuster”. Great time to experiment. Fun to compete against big league hitters.
Being honest, the jump in intensity level in last years playoffs made him realize he had lost some in last few years. Focus needs to be a 10. Needs to kick it up a bit.
Thinking pitch to pitch now. Feeling pretty confident.
Threw 75 pitches today. Stayed out a little longer in fifth to get to it. Could have gone 85. In good spot now. Could go 100 in five days. Last time, five days ago, went 59 pitches.
60 game sprint is like nothing they have ever seen. Saw prediction of Central Division separated by just one game. Will be real battle. Cardinals are set up well. If pitching dominates for a month, that team will win.
Almost like Sept. baseball right away. May make mistakes, but will not say that they wished they would have gone harder. Put all chips on table. No matter what happens, can hold heads high.
Today went through regular pitching routine at house, same pregame, arrived later because no film.
Winning any World Series is so special. Nothing can mean more. Will argue against asterisk all day long. All 30 teams have same chance over three months.
Other than wearing mask, which is weird, John Gant has not changed his routine.
Being used in different ways is kind of exciting. Coming to park every day thinking he may pitch.
Closer would be cool, but they aren’t talking roles yet. Opening, middle or end of game would be great.
Junior Fernandez is excited to be back. Has been waiting a long time.
Little frustrated by testing delay. Waited at hotel and talked to family.
Learned so much last year. Changed way to prepare. Now has plan with pitching coach on how to attack each hitter. Pitch to his strengths.
Never stopped training in down time. Every day, the call (to resume) could come. Worked out and threw pens twice per week in Jupiter with Yadi and Jose Godoy. Lost no time. Molina always watching, like if he moved his glove. He is amazing person and teammate.
Mike Shildt says the pitchers not there are compromised in their ability to start the season with the team, but not saying they can’t.
On 17/13 pitcher/hitter mix. More inclined to have it with DH. Still to have conversations to decide. If 16, could go with two pitchers on taxi squad.
60-game schedule will test pitching. Have guys who can get outs. Good defense, so play neat and quick. Hitters play long and fast and they win games.
Brad Miller has a “little thing” with his heel. Day to day. Will be somewhat limited Saturday. Not serious. Will miss a couple of days.
Molina drill sliding on balls in dirt. Working hard.
Wainwright was as good as he looked. He was sharp. Changeup good. Curveball good as always. Fastball good pace. Wainwright taking input from Wong even with 15 years of experience shows he is hungry for growth for greater good.
KK was really sharp. In attack mode. Fastball command best they have seen. Breaking pitch sharp. Goldy took a good swing (for a HR), but it was on a good pitch. Good day for KK.
Different pitchers with different pitches and different looks offers real advantage. Could have followed Ponce (4 seam up) after Dak (sinker) the other day.
Fernandez showed last year he is hungry for competition. Wanted ball in big situations. Appreciate the way he bounced back from setbacks. Takes serious to get better each day.
Intrasquad pitching Saturday for 3 innings. Carlos, Oviedo starting (2 IP each), Whitley and Webb 1 IP of relief each. Sunday will be 5 inning intrasquad. 5-6 pitchers will throw. Names coming.
“Fernandez showed last year he is hungry for competition. Wanted ball in big situations. Appreciate the way he bounced back from setbacks. Takes serious to get better each day”.
“Never stopped training in down time. Every day, the call (to resume) could come. Worked out and threw pens twice per week in Jupiter with Yadi and Jose Godoy. Lost no time. Molina always watching, like if he moved his glove. He is amazing person and teammate”.
These two comments stand out to me. Junior is up for a breakout season. He could be a major plus.
Fernandez also looked bigger to me. Wondering if he put on some muscle. (Should have asked him but I had already asked his downtime workout question and trying to be courteous to the other media folks.)
With Brebbia out and with question marks surrounding Hicks, Reyes, and Gallegos it would seem the logical move would be to have CMart in the pen and Kim in the rotation.
These two comments stand out to me. Junior is up for a breakout season. He could be a major plus.
I’ve felt that Fernandez was destined for late game work from the point at which he took that role and ran with it last year. I think he’ll be a real asset to this year’s club and beyond.
With Brebbia out and with question marks surrounding Hicks, Reyes, and Gallegos it would seem the logical move would be to have CMart in the pen and Kim in the rotation.
Maybe the need will be too great to overcome, but I just don’t see the value in taking a potential top 20 MLB starter and putting him in the bullpen. It’s one thing if his body can’t handle it like last year, and a totally different issue if they just think he’s the best closer. I personally don’t think he is, and I think he’s a well above average starter who gives you a chance to win a lot of games.
I suspect some people default to Martinez as closer because he has done it before. Some in the media seem to be pushing it, even though Shildt has repeated that Martinez deserves to start. His outing tonight will be very interesting.
I haven’t noticed Tyler Webb’s name come up, unless I overlooked it. I assume he is somewhere doing something.
Personally, I didn’t like CMart in the closer role last year. He gave me ulcers. However, with our bullpen options dropping like flies it wouldn’t surprise me if the team inserted him back into the position. I would understand that decision even if far from ideal.
Andrew Miller has the salary of a closer. How nice would it be to see him take charge of the role? He likely has more career saves than the other candidates combined.
Good point on Miller. Question has been durability, but this is only 60 games and could be the end of his contract.
Let's go team!#STLCards pic.twitter.com/mEo1ItLarx
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 11, 2020
Kodi Whitley is on the mound in relief of Oviedo for Cardinals Red.
Oviedo's line: 2 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 34 pitches (23 strikes).
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) July 11, 2020
Bader doubles off Whitley pic.twitter.com/Y9F6gjKmjq
— Charlie Marlow (@CharlieMarlow_) July 12, 2020
Harrison Bader is 2-for-2, and those are the only two hits in this game thus far.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) July 11, 2020
Carlos fanned Carp, Goldy, Thomas and Ravelo. He did walk at least one.
Carlos K’s Ravelo swinging … and talks a little smack pic.twitter.com/NSf7B9fGUM
— Charlie Marlow (@CharlieMarlow_) July 11, 2020
Blue wins 1-0 on a wild pitch.
Game-ending 4-6-3 double play. Tyler Webb records the save, locks up the combined no-hitter.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) July 12, 2020
Astute observation.
Don’t look now, but if the #stlcards do indeed have Miles Mikolas start for one of the intrasquad teams in tomorrow’s matinee and take their off day on Monday, they’ll have a Flaherty-Wainwright-Martínez-Mikolas-Hudson shuffle that just so happens to line up with opening day.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) July 12, 2020
Official lines are
Blue 1-2-0
Red 0-1-0 (Single by Carlson)Martinez: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 28 pitches/18 strikes
Oviedo: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 34 P/23 strikesWebb: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K (Got Wong GIDP), 10 P/7 strikes
Whitley: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 25 P/14 strikesBader: 2-for-2 with a single in the 1st inning and a two-out double to left-center in the 3rd inning.
Edman: Beat out a fielder’s choice double play ball on the shift. Came around to score on a wild pitch.
O’Neill: Drew a walk after falling behind 0-2 and then stole second base and advanced to third base on Schrock’s fly out to left field.
DeJong and Sosa: Also walked.
During the down time, Dylan Carlson worked out, hit and lifted with his brother, who plays at Long Beach State. Continued work from spring in cage, reads in OF, stayed in routine.
About the talk of his debut, it is out of his control. Trying to do everything in his power to get better.
Working out at every OF position at Busch. Getting feel for the OF. Getting reps helps a lot.
On his hit vs. error tonight, he was running hard so did not see. Save hits for season, he guesses.
DH will change how game is played. For him personally, he has no control. Wherever manager plays him, he will go.
Matt Wieters caught Carlos Martinez tonight. His off-speed stuff was especially sharp. Usually takes a while to come around, so that it was there already is a good sign.
Being on the field is the most normal part. No adrenaline from fans, though. Routine is different, hanging out in clubhouse before, arrival time, talk on training table, likes to take it nice and easy.
Need to ensure they keep adrenaline and intensity up during the season.
Vision as hitter was not great with 6 pm start, but good to do especially because playoff game times can be in late aftenroon. Good experience.
Much can be communicated via sign language and motion. Now can hear guys in other dugout. Will they relay info?
Caught Oviedo once before at Ft. Myers in spring. He has a special fastball. Offspeed tonight was better than in spring. 2 off-speed pitchers for strikes when he wanted – curve and changeup. Taller and with reach, releases ball closer to plate.
Johan Oviedo went back to Havana during downtime to be with family. Stayed with Mom and Dad. Didn’t know how long it would be. First month or month and a half was tough. Couldn’t go out. Then started going to field with friend. Dad made strike zone on roof level of house so he could throw.
Was good with being ball boy and handling rosin bag duties yesterday.
When he starting pitching at age 12, he was the first baseman so pitched last inning. Later moved to starting when he became a regular pitcher.
Knew this would be a big year for him. Worked hard in off-season. Always expects more than he can do. In his mind, he was expecting to make his MLB debut this year. Don’t know if he will make it but wants to be ready.
Worked on slider vs. LH batters in Springfield last season. In spring, focused on FB, CB, C/up, but now including slider vs. LHB.
Mike Shildt said Ovi and Carlos were sharp. Specifically mentioned Oviedo’s change-up and Carlos’ slider.
Oviedo should have expectation to make debut. Good to see he thinks he fits and belongs. Has really impressive changeup and secondary pitches. He is always paying attention and studying. Ask questions, listens. That is how you grow quickly – like Jack and Dak. Oviedo has done all needed to be with them at some point. Very conscientious.
Choice of ball guy/rosin bag decided by Maddux. Gant was good teammate today (to do it). Haven’t thought about how it will be done during season.
O’Neill tagged up to advance and had a good jump though there were not a lot of tells from Ovi. Took a bag on a breaking ball. Looking to be a good player. “That guy can run. He is an athlete. He picks up speed as he goes.”
On Carlson’s debut timing, “I think he gets it”. Have had some honest conversations with him. Carlson wants to help StL win games. Told him, “Just be you.” The roster is not in a vacuum. Lane and O’Neill also took good at-bats. They are doing right things, too.
Dexter Fowler started workout yesterday, but felt back tightness from day before. Will give him a blow Sunday. Day to day. Same with Brad Miller.
Moving start time for Sunday intrasquad up to 1 pm. Five innings. Mikolas and Woodford starting. Miller, Cecil, Helsley and Fernandez in relief.
Pretty good chance there will be one external game vs. KC, but cannot say it is a done deal yet. (Rumor is July 22.)
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