Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Its not the numbers of wonks that makes the difference, its the more wonks you have, the better your chances of having some smart ones, which is what matters. It was probably the same with cigar chompers back then.
Cardinals are ready to contend they will increase their payroll higher than the other three teams mentioned. This will allow the Cards to retain some players that the other three would move on.
Looking to the future, it will be intetesting to see how they handle signing contracts. There is the liklihood they would accumulate some dead money on the books like everyone else that takes on very many contracts.
Thanks for the observations on Jesus Baez, Nigel. Players are more than a batting line. If a guy hits homers, nobody ever talks about anything else.
If nothing else, Crooks has a 40 man slot that might need to be freed up at some point, so that is a motivator to move him. They are probably going to have some non-tenders and I think just one 60IL guy to add, so maybe won’t need the slot early for R5 planning.
Liberatore definitely has value b/c of his versatility
Hopefully, at some point, whether Liberatore has more value than other guys will become the question. A lot of pitchers are moving upward in the system. It could get crowded.
Leahy strikes me as a guy who never looks scared.
I get that McGreevy is the type of pitcher we want, but the point is, so does everyone else, so he has real value. Depending on how things go, we could be in a position to move a starter sometime later next year. A young stud CF would work. I think trading an established rotation piece this winter or spring would be reckless.
I just realized I lost Eagen when I shuffled my list yesterday.
I still haven’t fit Curley in yet. I wonder if he will crack Springfield’s rotation. 3rd rounder with some tools sounds like. DBs moved him up aggressively.
I’m not ready to cast my vote yet.
My next five are Cijntje, Fajardo, Kuhns, Baez, Condon. I would be happy going with any of the three pitchers next. I wish I had a better feel for what Baez’s D might look like at the MLB level. Projecting somebody for the left side is iffy. Everybody has an opinion, but all seen through moonshot colored glasses. Condon is all draft cred. No idea what we’ll have when he grows up. He hit the ground running though, so it could be interesting. I do appreciate Bob Reed being the kindergarten cop talking up the young standouts because otherwise I would surely overlook them. I am considering moving Dos Santas in after the three pitchers on my list.
I wonder what kind of crowd the Rays will draw at home. I kind of favor Cleveland just because they have actual baseball fans there who have supported the team for a long time through good times and bad.
Liberatore is capable of looking good, so if they work him as a starter this spring he could make the rotation. But there is little reason to think his results would pan out any different from last year. I hope they go a different direction.
I haven’t seen where anyone has penciled Hjerpe into the 2027 rotation. It has been said he will be competing for a slot in the rotation this spring. If recency bias means Hjerpe was already called up and given a look then, yes, recency bias works in his favor competing this spring. The two year layoff for TJ really messed up his development path and he hasn’t had much time at AAA. But they didn’t all him up for no reason. It seems reasonable to guess that the reason is he is under consideration for the 2027 pitching staff.
Hjerpe, Fitts, Graceffo, and Roby would all be on an extreme innings limit
If you mean for the season, I do not disagree, but point out that we had starters wearing out and in some cases cutting back by late this past season, so no different. If you mean “extreme” game innings limit, I do disagree. With the possible exception of Fitts, they could all work up over the course of ST the same as anyone else. Hjerpe was throwing 70+ and Roby went 40 and then 47 his first two games back. Graceffo can work up as a starter. Its not like they are trying to break into a stable of horses.
I admit to not being as on top of Fajardo as I should be. My notes from earlier have that he is thought to need to add another pitch to is repertoire and probably a couple ticks to his FB to be successful in the highest levels. I did not make a note of where I saw or heard that. Can anyone speak to it?
Watching the rotation come together in ST will be great fun. The last piece or two will likely be unknown until they are ready to break camp and head north.
Well so far the pitchers the cardinals have used are at best number 2s, i havent seen a number one.
It would have been extraordinary for a potential #1 to emerge in year 1 of the rebuild.
The real losers through the years have been the fans and minor league players
Yet there is no shortage of either. Its complicated.
It seems like the thing that is in motion is the evolving revenue stream. Between broadcast/streaming changes and the emergence of gaming derived revenue, the pie seems like a moving target that they all want the biggest possible slice of.
These next several slots are going to be a free for all, there are so many players you can make an argument for. Its hard to argue with our top 6.
I’m probably not thinking about health enough.
Its going to be interesting to see where we end up putting Roby and Clarke. They are in the one thing after another injured pitcher category. But, man, they look fantastic when they are on the mound. Hjerpe, and I think Henderson, are in the guys who had TJ category, which is a different thing. Its too bad in both cases a one year lay up was turned into a two year lay up. Father time makes sure you don’t get that year back.
#7 Hjerpe. Hopefully his control will become more reliable as he continues working back from the elbow surgery. Proximity and short path to a rotation slot are factors.
wondering if Randall will be tried as a starter.
Randall came in without any useful secondary pitches. I don’t know how much of a repertoire he might have developed this past season once he got here.
