Kevin Goldstein has his positional rankings for SS up. No Cardinal prospects to be found except for this blurb about the draft:
Unlike most years, the 2007 Draft wasn’t deep in shortstops. There was a decent chance that none would be taken in the first round, but the Cardinals ended that possibility by selecting Oklahoma high school star Peter Kozma with the 18th overall pick. He’s an interesting comparison to the next big high school shortstop, Justin Jackson, who went 45th overall to Toronto. Kozma is all polish and fundamentals, while Jackson is all tools and raw ability. Call me crazy, but I’d rather take a shot at the latter.
Meh, whatever.
Kozma goes boom. Nick Additon catches my eye. Blake King returns to form. It’s your Friday edition of the Daily Prospect Report.
- Only two hits for Memphis: Jarrett Hoffpauir and Mike Ferris both singled.
- Mike Smith went 8.1 innings allowing 2 ER on 3 hits, 1 BB and 2 HBP. Really a pretty good outing by Smith.
- Chris Perez imploded for 3 runs in the 9th plus allowing an inherited runner to score. He allowed 2 hits (including a HR) and a HBP.
- Jose Martinez went 4-for-5 with a double and a HR.
- Colby Rasmus went 1-for-5 with a HR.
- Bryan Anderson and Mark Hamilton both collected 2 hits in 4 ABs.
- PJ Walters was so-so going 5 innings allowing 3 runs. He allowed 3 BBs and 6 hits but struck out 6 batters with a 5:3 GO:AO ratio.
- Mike Sillman walked 2 and struck out 2 in a scoreless inning.
- Allen Craig goes 2-for-4 with a double, HR and a walk.
- Dan Nelson went yard and collected a walk.
- Nathan Southard had a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in addition to stealing 2 bases.
- Brad Furnish allowed 3 runs in 5 innings and while I’m too tired to look it up at the moment, my gut instinct tells me that he’s been prone to some flyballs more than usual in his last few starts.
- Scott Vander Weg, Jon Mikrut and Luke Gregerson combined for 4 scoreless innings in relief.
- Arnoldi Cruz went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.
- Oliver Marmol also drew a pair of walks and stole a base.
- Shaun Garceau got roughed up again for 4 runs in 3 innings. He walked 3 and allowed 6 hits striking out 3.
- Kyle Mura pitched a perfect inning of relief lowering his ERA to 1.84.
- Tyler Henley went 1-for-3 with a BB and stole 2 bases. He’s batting .333/.426/.385 thus far.
- Daniel Descalso went 2-for-4.
- Blake King was fantastic throwing 5 innings of 1 hit ball. He walked 1 and struck out 7!
- Jess Todd allowed a run for the blown save before Batavia would regain the lead.
- Mike Folli went 3-for-5 with a double.
- Pete Kozma hit his first professional HR going 2-for-5 with a double as well.
- 20 year old Nick Additon was freakin awesome for JC throwing 5 shutout innings. He allowed 4 hits and 2 BBs while striking out an eye-popping 9. He’s got a 47:8 K:BB ratio at the moment which is damn good.
- Jose Arrendondo followed up with 4 scoreless innings allowing 5 base runners and striking out 5.
GCL Cardinals 3, GCL Marlins 2
- D’Marcus Ingram went 2-for-5.
- Rico Washington went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks.
- The Gonzalez-es were good again. Carlos threw 4 innings allowing 2 hits and recording 2 Ks. Reynier followed up with 3 innings of 2 hit, 1BB and 5 Ks.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Is it just me or does allen craig need a promotion? This guy is raking in high A-ball. He’s our 3rd baseman of the future and we have a guy in AA-ball who’s getting close to 30!
Is there any chance that Mather might move back to 3rd considering the amount of young talented outfielders (duncan, ankiel, rasmas)in this organization. He can’t be that bad at 3rd base.
In case KG wasn’t aware, when the Cardinals took an all-tools raw guy who was supposed to be da bomb, it was Daryl Jones, who is batting .200. Justin Jackson is hitting .202/.269/.277 in 119 AB’s at GCL. Kozma is hitting .222/.282/.361 in the Appy League.
And seriously, “all polish and fundamentals”? THAT’S bad? It’s not like they took a 22-year-old college shortstop with no ceiling. Kozma is going to be fine.
What’s up with Jesse Todd only going 1 inning tonight?
Ryan…sample sizes, but I agree, I think I’d rather have Kozma, too.
CVB, earlier in the season there was talk that Craig probably wouldn’t stay at third base. He has a lot of errors, but I don’t know what specifically he does well or poorly over there.
I think Craig fits into a category with Christian Reyes and Steve Hill — they seem to be genuine prospects as hitters, but right now it’s hard to say what position they’ll play.
Speaking of third basemen, I’m looking forward to any reports about Tony Cruz’s defense. Assuming his hitting so far isn’t a total fluke, will he stick at third?
I have been asking around for a report on Arni Cruz and his glove as well. Any chance someone could pass along some stats or eyewitness accounts?
craig seems to be getting better on defense. he has been stuck on 13 errors for a long time and hasn’t played first base for a while which he was doing quite a bit earlier in the season. i would think those would be signs that he is improving.
tony cruz only has 2 errors in 26 games with the swing. obviously 0 would be best, but he isn’t making a lot of errors. i don’t know what that says about his defense, but it is nice to see.
on the pete kozma vs. justin jackson debate. the toolsy guys haven’t worked out great for us in recent years. daryl jones and tommy pham have both struggled to hit on a consistent basis although they do show all the tools. jackson is considered to be the toolsy guy, but i question how good his tools really are. i don’t think he projects to hit for great power, probably better than kozma, but not that big of a difference. i also remember reading scouting reports from before the draft that said he had great speed underway, but had a slow first step that would keep him from being a good basestealer and might hurt him in the field. jackson is considered to be a very good fielder, but kozma was named the best defensive shortstop at the world wood bat championships last fall ahead of jackson. the consensus seems to be that kozma is also the better bet to hit for average.
it seems to me that jackson is very similar to tyler greene. he is considered the tools guy that will really have to work to hit for average. maybe the cardinals didn’t want to take a guy so similar to a guy they took in the first round just 2 years ago.
Can we start calling Martinez our SS of the Future? He seems to be improving offensively and his defense is supposedly very good.
martinez is looking very good since the callup, and he has always been one of my favorites. we are definitely starting to have some legit middle infield options in the high minors with ryan, hoffpauir, and martinez. i even thought tyler greene was having an encouraging season until he got hurt, he was on pace for a 20-20 season in AA and had cut down the strikeouts a little.
1/cvb89 - I would have liked to see Craig moved up when Rico Washington (with Richardson going to AAA) went down but Craig landed on the DL for a while as well with lower back issues. He continues to rake but as other have said, he’s not certain to stick at 3rd.
4/Grant - Todd just didn’t have it last night.
8/FGC - I agree with you about prefering Kozma but saying that the toolsy guys haven’t really worked out is a little misleading. Pham and Jones have been disappointments but obviously Rasmus has been a huge success. I think the farm needs to have a balance of “better bets” and “might flameout or be an All Star” types.
9/Paul - It’s easy to forget that the club has been relatively aggressive with Martinez (he’s 21 @ AA). Obviously his Palm Beach stint was terrible but he’s a contact hitter that showed decent power at Quad Cities. I’m not sure I’d label him as our SS of the future but at this point he’s probably our #2 SS prospect (after Brendan Ryan — almost forgot about him). The question is really how much he has to offer in terms of ceiling. And he really needs to start taking walks.
My wife and 5-year old son decided to travel up to Iowa on a mini-vacation and caught the Swing game vs. Dayton and thought I’d post on my observations. This will be my first post on Future Redbirds, but to Erik and AZ, I want to thank you for running this site, as it is one of the few bright spots in my normal work day. Appreciate it, fellas.
First impressions of the field and events and staff were positive…nice facility…typical minor league family attractions (to which my son was most happy)…just overall, a good atmosphere to catch a game.
The game featured Shaun Garceau facing Rafael Gonzalez, who apparently is one of Cincinatti’s better SP prospects and has decent enough stats to back that up. At this point, I’m thinking this could be a bad match-up given Shaun’s struggles. I really wanted to see Mortenson pitch, but he went the night before…and maybe that was for the better, as he only opted to stay in the game 1.1 innings before getting run for drilling a Dragon following a home run. Kid has moxy…I’m liking him more and more.
As you’ve read, the game ended 6-2, as indeed it was a lopsided offensive night. Garceau actually seemed to have a nice assortment of pitches (fastball at 89-91, curveball at 75, possibly a change-don’t think it was a slider or cutter-at 82…had a wrinkle). He seemed to fall in love with his curveball though, as his fastball stayed up in the zone, and Dayton was drilling his fastballs when he got behind in the count. A LOT of those hits were not cheap. If Garceau is going to make something of himself, he’ll have to get that ball down in the zone more. Gonzalez mixed speed well…which I suppose is a component of his success…but he didn’t seem to have anything eye-popping. Fastball at 88-89…curve at 71…slider at 87…possibly a change in there. He kept the ball in play and shut us down, though.
Position player-wise, I’ll run through the ones who caught my eye or were big names I had traveled to see.
Antone DeJesus has some lead-off hitter tools and actually reminds me of KC’s DeJesus…left handed hitting CF…solid contact and speed…had some slashing shots to left center, but they got run down in the gaps. Again, decent OF to keep your eyes on.
Daryl Jones batted 2nd. This is a kid I was wanting to see play…and first impression was he’s skinnier then I expected, although he is a prime athlete. At the dish, he has a slightly open left handed stance and seems to flair out too much on the breaking balls, which he got a steady diet of all night. His at-bats were a mixed bag, but he defended the plate well with 2 strikes several times and collected an infield hit with shot off the pitcher (and then his speed beat it out) and then put a sac fly in play. His defense though was worth the price of admission. Early on, Garceau gets ripped to the RC field gap…DeJesus and Jones converge and kind of clutter each other along the wall…clearly a double…maybe a triple…and then this rifle of a throw comes in to second, actually making it somewhat close. Color me impressed with that throw…but that was just the beginning…he made a sweet diving catch on a flair to right a little later on, saving at least one run, and then on a line drive down the right field line, he corraled a tough hop and made a jaw-dropping gun to second to get an above average runner trying to stretch a double. At the end of the night, it is EASY to see why StL is going to give him all the time he needs to develop.
Tony (aka Arnoldi) Cruz batted third. My first observation…outside of him being on the small side…was plate presence. From appearance (and appearance only),he reminded me of Miguel Cairo. At the plate, he has a slightly crouched stance and impressive bat control…I don’t think I saw him swing and miss all night…and a good eye, as he worked every count. Even with 2 strikes, you never got the impression he was going to K. He went opposite field on his hit…solid line drive…and then got robbed in LC on a line drive…he also drew a couple BBs where he controlled the count. I’m not sure of how much power he can routinely generate from that stance, but his swing is compact and tight. I kind of wish he had middle infielder skills. Now the less impressive…his defense. He did stab a nice line drive, but that was the only play I actually witnessed him make (again, I had dad duties, though, and may have missed some). The bad I saw was two oh-layed choppers between 3B and SS…he completely whiffed on both of them with his stabs…not sure how you even do that. He just didn’t look sure of himself over there. Take it for what it’s worth (probably not much)…one night of observation. He may be solid…he just didn’t show it to me on this night. As you all know, though, definitely a player to watch.
Steve Hill batted cleanup…another player I really wanted to see. His first at bat was Joe Mather-ish…turned and smoked a line drive down in the corner…but then his next at bats were bleh. Looked like he was trying to go to right and grounded weakly twice to first. Last at bat, he got robbed on a deflection up the middle. He reminds me very much of Austin Kearns, both in appearance and swing. His defense at first…bleh again…nothing to write home about…had a few tough scoops he didn’t make…but nothing horrendous…looked fairly stiff over there. Be interesting to see what position they settle him into.
Nick Derba will be the last player I go into real detail on. I’ll start with the good…I think he is a solid looking catcher…solid fundamentals on blocking balls in the dirt…and picked a kid off first ala Molina (arm isn’t that good, though) and gunned another on a steal attempt. I like him…and he seems to have some athleticism to him running the bases. At the dish, he was ok, although he didn’t come through…couple of balls that he put solidly in play, but were handled…the yin and yang of his BABIP coming around. #$@$% law of averages.
He did coax a walk from a kid throwing 93-94 mph…good at bat…good eye. Again, a solid player worth keeping an eye on.
Other quick observations…
Christian Reyes is a big boy, but really should introduce himself to a push-up regiment…and maybe drop a few less f-bombs every time he swings and misses, which was quite a bit. With Derba and Hill around, better get used to that DH role, big boy. Overall, bleh.
Oliver Marmol…really curious to see him…and he is slick at SS…but will never hit with any kind of pop (just my opinion, obviously). He looks like A-Rod…actually, A-Rod’s little brother…actually, A-Rod’s little brother’s little friend who tags along to the ball park. Good glove, though…and speed to burn…had a nice steal.
Jaime Landin…middle infielder who had a bad night…and despite the name’s appearance, the announcer indicates he apparently goes by Hyme Lan-deen. That didn’t stop any Iowans from calling him Jaime every time. He had a BAD error and not memorable at bats.
Cairns, Mura and Sadowski were the relievers I saw. Cairns was unimpressive, while Mura has some nice off speed stuff…and Sadowski throws in the 90-92 range…good mitt pop…appears to throw a heavy ball.
End of the night fireworks made for an overall enjoyable night despite the loss. Cincy had some nice prospects I wish we had…Justin Turner at 2B looked and swung like Biggio…most impressed with him, despite a 1 for 5 night. Anyway, if anyone gets a chance to catch a QuadCities game, I’d recommend it. Cruz and Hill are keepers…and they have some interesting position players.
Apologies for the length. Again, Erik/AZ, thanks for the site…it’s good stuff.
Lets not forget the last “Raw Talent and Tools” shortstop we took in the first round. Super Awesome Future Hall of Famer Tyler Greene.
Mike: I don’t think you should write off Greene quite yet. He was starting to come around when he got hurt. It would be nice if 1 of those 2 tools guys from that year work out. The other 1 to which I refer is McCormick
Double A, thanks for that terrific, detailed report.
It’s great to hear Cruz is such a patient, tactical hitter, and that Derba has real skill behind the plate.
And I had no idea Jones was that good an outfielder. Like you said, the Cards will (and should) give him every chance to find his stroke as a hitter. (FWIW, August is his best month of the year so far.) He’s still only 20.
Double A, great report. Very enjoyable and informative.