Future Redbirds

Just doing a little more digging regarding some of the names popping up in some of the box scores for the rookie league squads, and I found a couple of other names worth noting. In case you missed part 1, here it is. Now, on to part two.

Romulo Ruiz-Hat tip to frequent commenter who goes by the moniker fewgoodcards regarding Ruiz. Searching around, I found this (free) article the Birdhouse. Here’s what Jeff Luhnow had to say about Ruiz:

“Romulo Ruiz is an exciting shortstop prospect. I saw many of the players that were signed for six figures in both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic this year, and in my opinion, he was one of the best. He is a natural at that position (shortstop). He has five tools, a tremendous work ethic, and great instincts for the game”

The Cards thought so high of him, they gave him the highest bonus they have ever given a Venezuelan player and the highest July 2 bonus in team history. Ruiz is just 17 years old. He’s on the GCL team.

Wladimir Mendoza- Mendoza is a 21 year old lefty pitcher for Johnson City. He was the Cardinals VSL pitcher of the year last year, going 6-4 in 13 starts with 89 strikeouts and 47 walks in 75.2 innings. He stands 6′0″, 160 right now and should fill out more with time. That’s a nice strikeout ratio but the walks are obviously an issue. He allowed a lot of outfield flies last year, 40% of the balls put in play against him went to the outfield, which could spell trouble for him down the road. He’s on the Johnson City roster.

Edwin Conde- Conde was the team’s VSL player of the year. He’s a 20 year old that stands at 6-1, 165 outfielder and hales from Nicaragua. Conde posted a .786 OPS for the VSL team last year. These guys really could use a sandwich. He hits the ball to all fields and gets the ball in the air. That’s about all I could dig up. He’s also on the GCL team.

Omar Javier-Put up a 3.62 ERA in 49.2 innings, striking out 34 while walking 15 for the DSL team. The Cards are high on him and from what little I’ve heard he has some good stuff. Javier is 19 and throws a fastball in the 92 mph range and compliments it with a solid bender that is in the mid-70’s. He stands at 6-3, 165 and is a right hander. He didn’t fare too well in his last outing, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk over 2.2 innings, striking out 2 but has been making several appearances out of the bullpen in practice games, and reportedly looked gassed. He’s on JC.

Dognnt Bolivar: First of all, how do you pronounce that? Doughnut? Dog nut? Regardless, that’s one of the best names in the minors. Anyway, Dognnt went 2 for 4 with a double and a homer yesterday. He’s an 18 year old middle infielder with decent pop. He hit 8 homers in 230 at bats last season in the VSL and also stole 8 bases. Just looking at his batting chart from last season, he’s pretty pull happy. Also on the JC team.

Finally, I leave with with a name that’s been around for awhile:

Elvis Hernandez- I just saw that Kevin Goldstein had this blurb on him after witnessing him pitch in the MWL All Star Game, so I’ll just use this post as an opportunity to pass this along:

The later innings were pretty uneventful, but Quad Cities (Cardinals) reliever Elvis Hernandez opened some eyes in the eighth by striking out the only two batters he faced. A lanky Dominican, Hernandez delivers 92-94 mph fastballs and a very good slider using a whip-like motion and a low three-quarters arm slot, one that scouts insist givse him trouble against left-handed batters, who get an extended look at the ball coming out of his hand. The stats agree, as righties are hitting just .198/.294/.278 against him, while lefties have no such trouble at .274/.330/.476. It’s a definite concern, and one that makes it hard to project him as anything more than a situational reliever, but for one night and two batters, he was electric.

Elvis is also a former DSL player. The splits bear watching, hopefully he can learn to hide the ball better in order to step it up to the next level. Since I’m talking Swing players, I could say something about catcher/3B Wilmer Alvarado, but I already discussed him here.

I’m sure I’ve left some other notable players out, but rest assured I’ll be discussing more as the season goes on.