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McGreevy got really roughed up last night. In his defense, it was his first experience in AA and he was up against a good team. It will be really interesting to see how Graceffo fairs against the same opponent tonight. Thus far he’s definitely been better than McGreevy both in the brief preview last year and their time at Peoria this year. We are probably likely to see some hits/runs against him. But if he continues to dominate like he did at Peoria, he may be in the St Louis bullpen by September.
The top 12 are definitely the guys I’m excited about who are more proven entities in MiLB. The 2 others that are above the Complex level (and have more that 10 AB’s or innings pitched above that level) that I’m also excited about are Austin Love and Andre Granillo. I know Love has had a tough introduction but his stuff looks really good and he’s had some amount of bad luck. I also certainly like Connor Thomas and think he could be an average player at MLB. And Pages is going to make a really good backup catcher or maybe even an average starting catcher. Everyone else feels like they are packed all together as potentially fringe to average-ish someday MLB talent. That’s still a good place to be in. Especially since we still have those Rookies like Baez or Cho or Mejia or Hence or Willis that very well could be stars someday if things go well for them.
Whether Nootbaar is eligible or not doesn’t really matter since he’s not going to be eligible by week’s end. Donavan and Yepez will be out very soon too at the rate they are batting. This is a prospect list, intended on learning more about who is up and coming so I think Brian has the right intentions with leaving guys like Nootbaar off even if by a technicality he still qualifies.
This is a very good group of 50 players. Throw in the honorable mentions and maybe a few other relief-only guys that are pretty good and this essentially represents everyone we have in the minors with really a chance to make MLB. And the good news is that quite a few of these guys really does have a chance to make it. The Cardinals are just so good at churning out at least mediocre MLB fill-ins.
Brian,
I love the new list. Thanks for including Granillo! I am so impressed with how he handles certain situations. I think he’ll be a fast moving guy. I can’t argue with the list at all. Maybe Trent Baker seems about 8-10 places too high. And, I’d have moved Graceffo up even a little further (even though that’s hard to do given who he is up against).
Also one note. It was mentioned in the article that Beller is at Low A but he is at High A.
Thanks for the great insight on these guys. I appreciate these lists, the daily articles, and the constant roster matrix updates.
Just thinking about the upcoming new list. A lot of guys are probably in similar places, but maybe more solidly so. Plus, we are getting a little nearer to seeing some graduate with big league service time.
I think the risers will be Graceffo and Pages. Graceffo has been absolutely consistently incredible. Pages has just hit so well that he looks like a shoe-in to replace Herrera next year at AAA and make the 40 man roster due to his rule 5 eligibility. And, maybe Moises Gomez, but I’m still not sold on him. But still a tremendous signing as a Minor League free agent nonetheless.
A few guys are probably heading down on the list and some off the list entirely. I think Romeri, Lott, Prater, Edwin Nunez, and Fletcher all should be off and perhaps Pachecho, although that last one is still close. Luken Baker, Holgate, Delvin Perez, and Chandler Redmond all should see solid drops and perhaps Ali Sanchez too as I don’t really think he fits in the future picture anymore.
But what I’m really interested in is who comes on because there is a lot of fairly interesting talent swirling behind the main group. I think Paniagua is a definite top 50. But the others that I’m interested in include quite a few relief-only guys. I totally understand why they are seen as less valuable and volatile, but we have some tremendous ones this season. Those are Granillo (a personal favorite of mine), Dalatri, Beller (my other favorite here), Pope, Loutos, Jose Moreno, and Packy Naughton (if he’s still eligible). Plus, Trent Baker has been a solid starter and probably deserves a spot on the list. And last up, I’d consider Osvaldo Tovalin given where he’s trying to hit at in Florida and his thus far solid results with quite a few big hits. Curious where they all might land.
I’m curious Brian. Did you ever find out why the Cardinals chose to invite Trent Baker to the major league camp this year. It seemed like such a weird move given all the pitchers he leapfrogged. Plus, he really hasn’t seemed like he’s had any real special results.
I agree with a great deal of the list. I think you had to drop Rondon and Prater given the circumstances and lack of any exciting performance. I’m surprised that Fletcher is even still on the list at all (albeit at 50). My only real differences would be that Paniguia should still be on and maybe even as high as the upper 30’s and that I still really like Ralston but I’m not sure what all of his injuries are currently. He has the look/feel of a dominating reliever long-term. I’m also curious what you think about Andre Granillo. Yes, he’s relief-only. But to my eye he looks like a fast moving potentially really good MLB reliever one day. To me, I’d put him in with the HM category as someone to keep an eye on that may really surprise people quickly.
