Has Tyler Herron become the Cardinals #1 pitching prospect? Granted, there’s Jaime Garcia in AA doing some pretty nice things at the same age as Herron, but check this out-
For the Swing last season, Jaime Garcia put up this line-
77.2 IP, BB/PA 5.7%, K/PA 25.2%, GB% 65%, HR/Air 1% FIP 2.20
And for the Swing this season, Tyler Herron has put up these #’s.
86.1 IP, BB/PA 4.2%, K/PA 25.1%, GB% 57%, HR/Air 1%, FIP 2.24.
Garcia earned himself a call up to Palm Beach and started his season in AA the following season. It may not be long before Herron earns himself a call up also, and I’d have to think he’s going to be at AA to open next season. I still like Garcia as the better prospect, but Herron’s season has been nothing short of outstanding. He’s come from being a C prospect with serious questions around him to a B, B+ prospect. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to him if and when he gets called up to the next level this season, but I think at this point he may have surpassed Ottavino and certainly Hawksworth in terms of prospect status. A couple years back, BA ranked Herron the #20 prospect in the Appy, having this to say about the young righty:
Balls fly out of Johnson City’s Howard Johnson Field, which Kidwell called the Coors Field of the Appy League. Herron was bitten by the longball in his debut, as his 11 homers allowed ranked second in the league. He also struggled with his command and tired late in the summer, so his numbers weren’t pretty.
But his upside is undeniable. Herron has a projectable 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame and already pitches at 87-91 mph with his fastball. He also shows the making of a plus curveball and has an advanced feel for his changeup.
Glad to see him start to turn that upside into game.
Filed under: Tyler Herron
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
herron has been amazing this year. he should be going up to pb very soon, and could take over ottavino’s slot when he is promoted to springfield.
Here’s a thought on why the Cards are being slow to move guys up. You have to wonder if the trade deadline influences prospect personnel moves. If the front office sees the possibility of trading prospects, wouldn’t they rather the prospect be dominating their league rather than struggling to get acclimated to a new one? Ottavino and Herron both are guys that they’d get asked about if they wanted to pull a deadline deal, and they’d probably get better value if, say, Ottavino’s currently dominating the FSL (a pitcher’s league) rather than possibly struggling to get acclimated to the Texas League, which is known to be hard on pitchers. Just a thought, but you have to wonder if this comes into play when they think about moving guys up.
very true about keeping a prospect’s value high. however, i would be shocked if either ottavino or herron were dealt at the deadline.
I hope they hold onto both for a while longer. They’re stocks should continue to rise at least through AA.