Bryan Smith has been caravaning the Midwest League, and he shared this tidbit of info that he said was OK to pass along.
Erik –
Helium alert. Live from the QC press box, and I just watched Francisco Rivera take BP. Now I’m writing this before Moustakas takes BP in a little bit, but in a week’s worth of watching MWL batting practices, Rivera was the most impressive yet. He hit at least a half-dozen balls to the warning track of the deepest part of the stadium, and also hit a couple out. He is going to hit for some real, real power.
If you remember, Rivera was signed out of high school in Mexico and did not play last year due to injuries. He was called up to QC and in 12 games he’s batting .293. Keep an eye on this guy.
Our homeslice fewgoodcards recently participated in a mock draft at Minor League Ball, here are his 5 rounds of picks.
- 13. Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky
- 39. Conor Gillaspie, 3B, Wichita State
- 59. Trey Haley, RHP, Texas HS
- 91. Wade Miley, LHP, SE Louisiana
- 125. Matt Marquis, OF, New Jersey HS
- 155. Johnny Giovatella, 2B, New Orleans
I’ll let fgc digress on his picks, but my initial reaction is that’s an impressive haul, especially the first 4 picks. I’d be thrilled to get Friedrich and Gillaspie, but chances are the Cardinals will probably get neither as both have played themselves higher up in the draft. Gillaspie looks like a surefire 20-30 pick, and Friedrich may now be a top 10 pick. Some see Miley as a sandwich pick/2nd rounder so getting him in round 3 is a good catch. And I don’t think Trey Haley gets the recognition he deserves. Great job by fgc, we should only be so lucky.
Colby is on the upswing. Kozma is on the downswing. Get it in your DFR.
- Colby Rasmus! He lives! Colby went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. Don’t look now, but Colby is hitting .368 with a homer and 2 doubles in his last 38 at bats, with 9 walks to 9 K’s. He’s reached base in each of his last 10 games.
- Chris Duncan went 0 for 4. As happy as I was for Mather, I think I’m even more sad for Duncan. It seems like he came bursting on the scene not that long ago.
- D’Angelo Jimenez and Josh Phelps both went 3 for 5.
- P.J. Walters allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks with 5 K’s in 6.1 innings.
- Jason Motte went 1.2 innings and allowed 1 hit and struck out 4.
Springfield 2, Corpus Christi 7
- Clayton Mortensen had a weird night. He struck out 8 in 5 innings but also had 6 walks and threw 3 wild pitches. He ended up giving up 3 ER in 5 IP. As up and down as he’s been this season so far, for jumping to AA this year just a removed from college is pretty impressive. I think he will piece things together quickly.
- Shane Robinson went 2 for 5 with a double and had 2 outfield assists, throwing a runner out at third and at home.
- Steve Hill went 2 for 4 with a triple.
- Brandon Yarbrough went 2 for 4 with a HR.
- Tyler Greene hit his 7th HR of the season.
- Luke Gorsett hit three doubles.
- Donovan Solano went 4 for 5 with a double.
- Arnoldi Cruz went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk.
- Brad Furnish allowed 2 ER on 2 walks and 5 hits over 5 innings. He struck out 3 and allowed his 7th HR of the season.
- Pete Kozma went 0 for 4 with a BB and a stolen base. After hitting .341/.421/.538 in April, he hit just .189/.280/.221 in May.
- Charles Kingrey went 3 for 4 with a HR and a walk.
- Mr. Helium Francisco Rivera went 2 for 4.
- Thomas Pham went 0 for 4 with 3 K’s and an outfield assist, nailing a runner at third.
- 19 year old Eduardo Sanchez allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 6.
- Thomas Eager put together his best performance to date, allowing just 1 hit over 4 innings with 5 K’s.
- Wayne Daman, just coming off the DL had a game costing error in the 10th.
VSL Cardinals 7, VSL Mariners 2
- The manly Gerardo Mannbel strikes again, he went 3 for 4 with a HR and a BB.
- Moises Colorado struck out 5 in 3.2 innings and allowed no runs.
Filed under: 2008 MLB draft, Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
We should refer to Colby’s stats as BD and AD.
Before Dad and After Dad.
As his Dad came up to Memphis to work with his swing and since that…the old Colby.
Ya know Baseball America is just looking for a reason to put Colby on the hot sheet…they ranked him so high to start the season, they gotta save face.
So for the same reason Sugga Shane Robinson doesnt get on the list…Colby will.
As for the draft…FGC did a very nice job…as usual.
But I think I am starting to sway towards the Brett Lawrie side.
It must be a Canadian thing?
LOVE the action on Haley’s pitches. The pitch at :19 in the video is just absolutely filthy.
Matt Marquis has impressive power, BA ranks it at 70.
Not to be all anti-Haley here, but doesn’t he have a little bit of control problem?
Nice mock. I hope it comes true. Friedrich/Gillaspie would be my personal dream scenario. However, I hope the Cards don’t waste a second rounder on Haley because I do not believe they would pay him enough to steer him away from Rice. Players committed to Rice are tough to steer away and rumor has Haley needing first round money to sign. I think that would be a great deal for the Cardinals to take a shot on a kid with upside, but I do not believe they would do it.
Nothing personal meant to the Jimenez family, but why is D’Angelo Jimenez getting any playing time?
Jared,
I think a risk in the 1st or 2nd round is much better then the 4th round like last year. At least you get compensated for those if your pick doesn’t sign.
Mannbel!
In other news, it’s nice to see PJ Walters continue to post such fine strikeout totals in AAA–over 8 per 9 IP. Just as much as pure velocity, a high K ratio in the upper minors is an indication of a guy who can succeed at the next level.
I wish we could find some kind of list of who attended the Cards pre-draft workout.
But I dont know where to look and the Cards seem to treat the draft like the Kremlin.
Goold expects Worrell to be called up today.
I didn’t want Jimenez up at all, but as it turned out it didn’t cost us anything. All that happened is that he poured gasoline on an already raging inferno, just like he did so many times last year. Maybe we can move on from that curiousity now.
I do have high hopes for Worrell. I love the different look he gives out of a pen. Hope he’s able to stick for a while.
how old is francisco rivera…it may have already been said…and what posistion does he play
Hugo,
Sure, a compensation pick is better than nothing, but I’d much rather take a risk later in the draft personally. Even if you’re lucky enough to get the same quality player with the compensation pick the following year — you’ve still wasted an entire year of development for what should be one of your best returns in the draft. If you take a risk on a kid in the 4th round (as the Cardinals did last year) they get no compensation, but the risk also isn’t as great to me because the talent at that part of the draft is still good but not up to the stands of the first, first round supplemental, and second rounds.
He is a 19 yr old outfielder, turns 20 in December
Oh… and also, I do not think a team should EVER take a kid who’s bonus demands are well known if they do not plan to even get in the ballpark. Sure, the demands are inflated, but these teams have a good idea what it will take. Like I said, I like Haley, but if the Cards take him then I hope they are prepared to sign him.
oh and i say we go over slot for haley…he looks good in that video… my uncle lives in a town thats like 30 minutes from haley’s, and he went to see him pitch at some point and said his curve is really unbelievable at times, and that he has pretty good command for his fastball
thanks jd…i love the worrell call up if its true…i think san diegos bullpen has shown over the past couple years that a pitcher who brings a completely look is very valuable…as long as he ISN’T OVEREXPOSED
love to see Solano continue to hit the ball I hope at his young age they leave him where is at and dont rush him, Hopefully next year we can end the Green fiasco at springfield and Solano will give take over for him next year .I really love the depth the Card are cultivating at the middle infield position for the future with barton, martinez, solano and Kozma .great site!!!!