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Just checking out pitchers that were left unprotected for the Rule 5 draft. A couple guys seem interesting to me that could be used in the bullpen and work toward developing them further. In no certain order…
Victor Vodnik – Braves Throws up to 3 digits and a good change, but is wild.
Thad Ward – Red Sox Disable list casualty with good control and solid sinker slider mix
Austin Bergner Tigers – Hard thrower w/ 3 solid pitches
Jayden Murray Astros – Hard thrower great slider w/ 2-1/2 pitches and good control
Mason Englert -Rangers Disable list casualty Hard thrower w/ a good changeup and improving sliderMejia-Bonus baby Switch hitter w/ some pop where on the infield does he end up? Lots of years to figure it out.
Mautz-This was such a solid draft pick. Worse case he will be your bullpen lefty and bring a solid two and a half pitch arsenal. Best case he can improve his change up and be a solid starter option.“I like Pete Hansen, third round, probably a bit more than Mautz. Command of 4 pitches. Decent size lefty like Mautz but more meat on his bones. Needs work like Mautz. I’d give him a better shot at sticking as a starter.”
Mautz is sure impressive as a bullpen top lefty. I’m not sure if his “strikes” will be strikes at the next level when the plate tightens up. I think he will struggle with his pitch count, but he will be successful. He and Hansen were both very good picks with lots of talent. Hansen is just got to have to be super and spotting his pitches, which he isn’t bad at that now…at least part of his assortment. Just can’t miss as much at the next level. They both should be in the next 5 picks.
Paniagua is a hard one for me. His numbers are great, but I don’t see a 2-1/2 pitch starter that throws 92 mph being successful as a starter or a reliever
“Great info Bob Reed. As I remember it, high schoolers mostly started in Gulf Coast League, the best high schoolers, JC and small college started in the short season Appalachian League and college kids from bigger programs started in the NY-Penn short season league. Like you said, the stand outs might start higher. I still don’t quite see how the new arrangement is going to work out over time.”
I remember always going thru the draft list and trying to figure out where everyone will be placed. I don’t know what to do with the extended spring/gulf coast type thing and no short season teams how this will pan out either.
Bob Reed..I agree great info. Geez I remember the Jeff Ledbetters and Paul Ellis’s that just could not make their aluminum bat college power translate and it is just a reminder that most big colleges really have maybe 2-3 pitchers and 2-3 hitters that will actually make an impact in the minor leagues. The question is always do they feast on lesser talent or do they have the talent and the willingness to adapt to better competition.
“#11 – Joshua Baez – – Really came on when promoted to Palm Beach. Ended with .286 avg and an OPS of .958. If that translates as he moves up the ladder, he will turn heads as he predicted when he was drafted.
Yeah, but that 36% K rate…”
I wouldn’t have a problem with another Bobby Bonds. I think his K rate will go down as he gets at bats and stays healthy. TONS of talent here. Power Speed and an absolute Gun from the outfield. Another player fun to project.
Do you know how rare it is in the Cardinals system to hit 7 home runs and bat .250 in the Florida State league? Nolan Gorman had more at bats and didn’t do it. Dylan Carlson didn’t do it. Luke Voit did it twice but took twice as many at bats to do it as he hit 9 in 351 at bats and then 11 in 462 at bats. That is actually very impressive power numbers for Florida State league. Is it a fluke? At least he did it at the pro level and not college as we don’t need another Jeff Ledbetter….
Then again, our 70th overall pick Ryan Holgate can’t make contact and looks like a total bust. Hitting over .250 in the Florida State league with any power is quite a feat for any hitter.
Off the Cardinals website…
Bernal has a long road of development ahead of him. His defensive work will get him opportunities as he climbs the ladder toward St. Louis, and if his bat fulfills its potential, he has the pieces to be a possible everyday catcher in the Majors.“It’s an impressive start, but it’s not unprecedented. Ivan Herrera was only a few months older when he put up a 136 wRC+ at Low A in 2019. I like Bernal in the low to mid teens, given the small sample size.”
That’s a (mostly) fair point, 25. But Leo Bernal was in fact more than eight months younger at the same level. And eight-plus months is a pretty big deal, a much bigger deal when we’re talking teenage prospects than, say, 22 and 23-year-olds.
And although you’re quite right that his entire season was a modest sample size, that pushes him from the 3rd-best Redbird prospect to the 5th. But no lower. Because the 18-year-old Bernal has two things in his favor that Ivan Herrera did not at the same stage of development. Bernal has (1)real present power, and (2)overwhelmingly positive home/road splits — the latter of which has meaning to me, as Roger Dean Stadium is of course notoriously hitter-unfriendly. That double advantage for Leonardo can be summed up in one stat:”
3. Bernal at this stage is already advanced enough defensively to be a defensive catcher in a pinch at the upper levels. Defense wasn’t Herrera’s best tool.
4. Bernal is a switch hitter (and a good one so far) at a key position.If we are concerned with production at the minor league level being in a small sample size, then why are any picks that haven’t even played at the minor league level one inning even getting votes? Not being a smart aleck, just making a statement.
Possible pitcher that intrigues me…
knuckleballer Matt Waldron. Put him between fireballers and you would’ve have everyone falling over trying to hit him.Herrera
McGreeveyJust not sold on Liberatore throwing too many pitches over the heart of the plate with average stuff. Thompson looks like a reliever of a Ken Dayley variety. Bernal and Hjerpe are a lot of projection. Bernal is at a premium position good D and a switch hitter that can hit…just far away…. Curious how Hjerpe’s stuff plays.
I think McGreevey is getting lost here. I know he got overshadowed a bit by Graceffo throwing a whole lot harder after being drafted, but he has starting rotation written all over him.
Herrera could use another year in AAA, but he is a premium prospect still. I think he will figure it out and be a fixture for years to come.Jesse Winker would be interesting to look at. He absolutely killed us. Seattle is looking to dump him. If he turned it around, then that would be a tough 2-3-4
Graceffo. Got the 97+ heat and the secondary pitches and control. Hence could jump to #1 this year, but he is going to have to pitch more than 50 pitches as a reliever. Graceffo stats thru 50 pitches are awesome as well. Burleson is right up there, but raw tools of Graceffo gives him the edge.
I’m not so sure I wouldn’t protect Austin Allen. He has a bit more experience to be whomever’s backup if one of the catchers get hurt. I think Herrera needs another full year in triple A. Be a better third catcher option than what we have given we need to acquire a starting catcher. Who knows. Maybe he finally figures it out at the plate as he has put up good numbers in AAA for 3 years. He had Murphy in front of him at the big show. I would like to see the organizational players/prospects we have put up some numbers in AAA.
Yadi will love catching this young pitcher. I look forward to the game he calls and framing his pitches. It will be fun.
