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Burleson is a special case for several reasons.
First, he was drafted in 2020 and missed out on a whole summer of development. Then in 2022, he was promoted from high A to AA to AAA in his first professional season. In 2022, he was allowed to settle in at AAA and slashed a strong .331/.372/.532/.905 in 109 games. He smashed 20 home runs and drove in 87. So the Cardinals know he can hit and hit with some power.
Secondly, the Cards have had guys also with strong AAA numbers, like Arozarena and Garcia, go on to highly productive major league careers. Mo has taken heat over that and it has probably increased his patience quotient. He might not want to be criticized for another mistake in talent assessment.Will always remember him marching out to the mound with resolve to make a pitching change. There was never a doubt who was in charge.
The player who can make a big difference in this Cardinal season is Carlson. He has All Star potential. Nootbaar too. The two of them are potentially much more complete all around players than Burleson.
I’m following all the younger Cardinal players – Walker, Winn, Burleson,
Herrera, Nootbaar, Gorman, Donovan, Carlson, etc. Rooting equally for all of them.For years, baseball talk has involved statistics. Musial lifetime average of .331. Aaron’s 715. It has now evolved into fairly sophisticated measurements that are used by fans to evaluate players. It’s a world now where fans back up their thoughts about a player with facts. For instance, Scott’s slash line right now of .083/.154/.139/.233 can be used to suggest that he probably should spend some time at AAA. The same thing goes for Burleson. His slash line is .172/.200/.297/.407. That means he’s not pulling his weight and probably needs to be replaced for now.
BDW, Jr. wants to win a WS as much as any fan. 2 reasons.
1.) His legacy as an owner (with the long legacy of the DeWitt family in MLB) is measured by success on the field.
2.) The further the team goes into October, the more revenue is generated.
He’s overmatched right now. He’s exciting in CF and on the base paths,
but his bat needs more development. He’s hitting weakly.Right now, there’s no place for him
when Noot, Carlson, and Edman come back. And if they all stay healthy, Burleson will probably spend the remainder of 2024 at Memphis.Gorman led the team in home runs last year, and Nootbaar brings nice energy plus an OPS of .780 in 2023. There’s some potential there for long term production.
For some time now, fans have been hoping for a good LH bat. We now have Nootbaar, Gorman, and Burleson as possibles. Wouldn’t it be great if they all came through and were consistent threats for years to come.
When Noot comes up, the last to come up will probably be the first to go down. But if they want to keep Scott’s speed on the roster, Burleson could very well be the one to go down.
Thanks, 1TD. Isn’t there still a good role for a loogy if several left handed hitters in a row are coming up for the other team in a tight game?
I may be wrong, but I always thought lefties (loogies) in the pen were brought in to get out lefty batters in high leverage situations. Hopefully getting the K(s). In 5 major league seasons, King has been in 108 major league games, pitched 145 2/3 innings, given up 161 hits, and only struck out 101. His career WHIP is 1.38. When I looked up those numbers after the Monty trade, I viewed him as more of a throw in. He turns 30 this Fall, didn’t make the 26 coming out of ST last month, and I just don’t see him remaining in the organization much longer. The Cards can do a lot better.
Brian – In 2022 for the Rangers, King gave up 61 hits in 51 1/3 innings and had a WHIP of 1.461. Only struck out 30 in those 51 1/3 innings. Last season, before the trade, he had an ERA of 5.79 for the Rangers. Gave up 26 hits in 18 2/3 innings and had a WHIP of 1.607. Only stuck out 10. Granted, when he came over to the Cards he had a 1.45 ERA in 18 2/3 innings, but he gave up 19 hits and struck out only 10. I just don’t think he’s a very gifted relief pitcher. Especially for an organization that’s trying to miss more bats with their pitching.
King didn’t make the 26 man out of ST. He’s got some experience, but the results haven’t been there recently. As soon as Middleton and O’Brien come back, he’ll be sent back to Memphis. And then perhaps released if he’s ineffective again there.
Yes, Brian, I prefer both Prieto and Saggese over Fermin, at least offensively. I have to go on their stat slash lines at various levels. What else is there to go on? We can discount minor league stats to a certain extent, but I remember what Gary L.
said at WWU one year – “when a prospect reaches AA and AAA it’s time for him to perform and put some members up.” I have to agree with Gary.
And Saggese and Prieto have surely done that. Fermin has not.And as far as infielder vs. outfielder, I wouldn’t call up Prieto and send down Burleson until Noot comes back. Sorry I wasn’t clear about that.
40 man roster? IMHO there are several guys on the 40 man that could be dropped to make room for Prieto.
How about Rivas and King.Prieto last season at AA and AAA –
.323/.367/.446/.813 in 123 games.Fermin last season at various minor league levels .214/.333/.427/.761 in 30 games.
Fermin may be hot after several games at Memphis this season, but Prieto is by far the superior hitter by 2023 and career stats.
Thanks very much for these weekly podcasts, Brian. As a former college and semi-pro pitcher, I’m especially impressed by Blake’s knowledge of pitching. The details of individual pitches – depth of curves, movement of two and four seam fastballs, sweepers, sliders, and changeups, etc. is great. I wonder where he gained this knowledge. Again, thanks for providing these podcasts.
