Future Redbirds

Moving on up, we’re getting to the bacon of Cardinal prospectdom, which as AZ noted earlier today leans heavy on pitchers.

10. Mitch Boggs. No one seems to be all that high on Boggs,  other then the Cardinal brass, who have continually sung his praises, one scout going so far as to say he’s the best starting pitcher in the system. I guess he’s overlooked because he doesn’t really blow you away, but Boggs makes all his starts, eats innings, and keeps his team in the game. ZiPS thinks he has the goods to be the team’s fifth starter right now.

9. Kenny Maiques. Now we’re moving into the good stuff. I’ve seen Maiques several times and I think His stuff is as good as anyone in the system, with a 94 MPH fastball and a very, very good slider. There’s talk of him moving him into starting, and I think his stuff can translate there as well. He is a bit small, and he told me he looks up to Roy Oswalt, another short man with great stuff. I’m not sure if he will be that good, we can daydream. But really, his stuff is darn good. Did I mention I like his stuff?

8. Pete Kozma. I am not as down on Kozma as AZ, but I do worry about the same things. I’m putting him up this high because of his draft status and his early returns weren’t too shabby, either. It’s pretty divided when it comes to opinions regarding Kozma. BA says he was the best overall SS of the draft, while others like Gomez and Law think he’s going to be middling. The Cardinals liked his swing enough to take him as early as they did, so I’ll trust their judgment for now.

7. Clayton Mortensen. I really like Mortensen and I hope I’m not overly enamored with his early returns. It’s the K + groundball rates that have me all worked up, and his control was very nice as well. Couple that in with some glowing reviews from BA, and a great performance in the instructional league and I see a lot to like. I think he’ll at least finish his next season in AA, and could work his way into the big league rotation mid 2009. BA says they saw him near the front of the rotation, which is more then what they could say for Ottavino and Herron. I’m going out on a limb here, and will boldly predict by the end of the year he will be in the top 3 of all the Cardinal prospects, and in the Top 100 prospects in the minors. For now, I’ll exercise some constraint and put him here at # 7.

6. Tyler Herron. Love the command, control, dominance and groundball rates, and the fact that he is a young kid not far removed from high school. He’s in his third year of fulltime pitching, and the third time around he’s really come into his own. His peripheral stats aren’t far removed from Jaime Garcia’s last year, though he doesn’t have Garcia’s curveball or sinker. But both of those pitches of his are quite good in their own right. I wish the Cardinals would take more chances on players like him in the draft.