Questions for Jason "Professor" Parks

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jim
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

Post by jim »

Fat Strat wrote:The Cardinals have a handful of largely unheralded prospects playing very well at the major league level -- including Jay, Motte, Craig, Freese, Boggs, Descalso, Lynn, and Kelly. Which player has surprised you the most with his play? And why has that player been able to exceed your expectations?
That's what I asked.

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JackofDiamonds
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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The Cards farm system has generally been rated at best middle of the pack, yet it seems year after year we grow key contributers to winning teams. My questions are these:

1. Have the Cardinals outperformed expectations?
2. If they have, what's going on? Just getting short changed from the experts? Something happening with teaching at the lower levels that is unique to this organization? Tony LaRussa/Dave Duncan?

Here is a list of players that have contributed or provided important returns with trades at the MLB level. I put in parens the rating of the team by Baseball America or the individual players ranking within the Cardinal organization. This seems like good production from a farm system, more than what I would have expected given the organizational rankings.

2007 (23)
- Colby Rasmus (1) - Largely the reason we were as high as 23, Rasmus hasn't lived up to his potential yet at the MLB level. St. Louis seemed to recognize something, trading him at the deadline for bullpen help that was instrumental in the 2011 WS.

- Jaimie Garcia (2)
- Chriz Perez (3) - again provided good returns.
- Jon Jay (5)
- Mitchell Boggs (11)
- Shane Robinson (28)
- Skip Schumaker (29)

2008 (13)
- Rasmus (1)
- Perez (2)
- Garcia (5)
- Boggs (9)
- Jay (11)
- Allen Craig (15)
- Kyle McClellan (19)
- Jason Motte (24)
- Mark Hamilton (27)

2009 (8)
- Rasmus (1) and Brett Wallace(2) were big reasons for the higher ranking. We turned Wallace into Matt Holliday.
- Perez (3)
- Motte (8)
- David Freese (9)
- Jay (12)
- Garcia (13)
- Boggs (14)
- Lance Lynn (15)
- Fernando Salas (20)
- Craig (26)
- Robinson (28)

2010 (29)
- Shelby Miller (1) - still waiting but he is the reason we weren't ranked dead last.
- Garcia (2) *
- Lynn (3) *
- Freese (5) *
- Eduardo Sanchez (6) *
- Craig (7) *
- Daniel Descalso (9) *
- Jay (13) *
- Joe Kelly(21)
- Mark Hamilton (26)

Look at that! The 29th ranked farm system had 7 guys that were on the WS roster (denoted by *). That's pretty impressive.

2011 (24)
Miller (1)
Craig (5)
Lynn (6)
Sanchez (7)
Kelly (10)
Matt Carpenter (11)
Descalso (12)
Salas (14)
Adron Chambers (16) * - the 8th guy that was on the WS roster.
Tony Cruz (25)

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robbotis
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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With Miller, Rosenthal, Kelly, Jenkins, Martinez, Wacha, and more....
If there is such a thing, do the Birds have a surplus of starting pitching prospects from which to make trades?

AWvsCBsteeeerike3
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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I feel bad for whoever has to sift through all the bull [expletive] and find the actual questions.

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JackofDiamonds
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:I feel bad for whoever has to sift through all the bull [expletive] and find the actual questions.
It won't be too bad. Just skip my posts.

phins
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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What can you glean from watching a player in person that you miss on video?

How important is organizational philosophy in the development of a prospect? (I. E. a pitch to contact philosophy for a pitcher who wants to throw a four seamer up in the zone)

When should a team promote a prospect, and is it important to keep clock in mind? I've read your columns in the past that have alluded to fact you'd more aggressively promote than some teams have in past. Tampa, specifically.

How big is the difference between prospect 20 and 40 in an average system?

When ranking a prospect, do you instill "gut feeling" into it at all, or do you simply go off scouting reports on what they ultimately could become?

When do you really start to pay attention to a prospect? Once they reach the states? Full season league? AA?

What tool is most imperative to the success of a hitter & pitcher?

When does a team decide to give up on a prospect and move on? Any common characteristic present in the failed prospect outside of lack of talent?

How do you evaluate a successful draft for a team with average spending budget and average number of picks?

Are there any Cardinals prospects you're higher on than most?

Shelby Miller struggled and seems to have found his rythm. Would you rather a prospect blow trough the minors without ever struggling, or have a prospect struggle at some point and rebound while making the necessary adjustments?

Who are Cards top-5 prospects currently in rookie ball or lower?

Jason tends to like 6-3 pitchers who are lanky. Do you have a "preference" on the physical attributes of a pitcher?

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sighyoung
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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Have there been any significant changes in the ways prospects are being evaluated in the last few years?

Do you anticipate any changes or breakthroughs in the near future?

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sighyoung
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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Is there a scout, a GM, or minor-league executive that you especially admire for his or her ability to assess or develop talent? What has most impressed you about this person?

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go birds
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

Post by go birds »

Sup with your weird neighbor?

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sighyoung
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Re: Questions for Kevin Goldstein

Post by sighyoung »

Overall, with the departure of Luhnow, how do you think the Cardinals' approach to drafting, signing international prospects, and developing minor-league players has changed or will likely change in the next few years?

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