A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

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Jocephus
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A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

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A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

by Marc Hulet - January 22, 2016

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Cardinals

The Graduate: Randal Grichuk, OF: The Cardinals received a lot of value from rookie outfielders in 2015 between Stephen Piscotty, Tommy Pham, and Grichuk. All told, they compiled 5.7 WAR with Grichuk leading the way at 3.1. He played all three outfield positions and was surprisingly good in center field. At the plate, he started tapping into his raw power more consistently (.272 ISO) and went deep 17 times in 103 games, while adding 30 more extra base hits. He remained extremely aggressive at the plate — which limits his effectiveness at times — with a strikeout rate of more than 30% and a BB-K rate of 22-110.

The Riser: Edmundo Sosa, SS: The Cardinals also saw good returns in 2015 from pitchers Alex Reyes and Jack Flaherty but Sosa saw his value increase even more. The young shortstop has shown the ability to hit at every level he’s played and he’ll very likely open 2016 in full season for the first time. Soon to be 20, he gives the Cardinals a premium shortstop prospect who plays solid defence, hits for average and possesses both gap power and the speed to steal 15-20 bases. At this point, he just needs polish and plate appearances to polish his immense raw talent.

The Tumbler: Patrick Wisdom, 3B: The 52nd overall pick in the 2012 draft, Wisdom has done nothing to quiet the concerns over his ability to hit professional pitching. The third baseman is a solid fielder but he was lucky to get out of A-ball as quickly as he did and he’s been stalled in Double-A for the past two seasons. Wisdom, 24, doesn’t have great pitch recognition but he possesses some pop when he makes contact. On the plus side, he saw the power output increase and his strikeout rate decrease during his second go around at the level.

The ’15 Draft Pick: Harrison Bader, OF: The Cardinals focused on outfielders early in the 2015 draft and came away with a couple of promising players in Nick Plummer (1st round) and Bader (3rd). I wasn’t personally a huge fan of the Plummer pick but Bader could end up being a steal. He had an excellent debut with the bat and earned a quick promotion to A-ball where he hit more than .300 and stole 15 bases in 54 games. He also showed more pop than expected.

The Lottery Ticket: Junior Fernandez, RHP: The Cardinals don’t spray and pray the international market like the larger market teams such as the Cubs and Dodgers but they have immense success thanks to excellent scouting. The club has acquired the likes of Alex Reyes, Magneuris Sierra, Edmundo Sosa, Sandy Alcantara, and Fernandez.This young hurler can tickle triple digits and has a promising changeup. Just 18, he’ll open the 2016 in full season ball and could fly up prospect rankings in 2016 if he continues to follow the same development path. Fernandez has the potential to develop into a top-flight starter if he can improve his breaking ball.
http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/a-mino ... cardinals/

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GeddyWrox
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Re: A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

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Good stuff! I hope they're right about Sosa!

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Re: A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

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2d opinion needed. Paging Phins

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Re: A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

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Freed Roger wrote:2d opinion needed. Paging Phins
It's kind of you to think of me, but the baby girl Avery has sort of stolen my prospect heart and now I spend my days watching my 13-month-old toddle around the house rather than spending my time with prospects.

I've taken a few assignments freelancing to write about the Miami Hurricanes, but otherwise I just haven't been around much. I did notice that he had Junior Fernandez a little higher on velocity than the whopping one time I saw him, but otherwise, I think the write-up is really intended more for casual fans than a Fangraphs write-up would be. Also, keep in mind, I'm a Marc Hulet fan- never have been. They lost a good one when they lost their national guy to a MLB team.

It's interesting he gushes about Harrison Bader, but poo-poos Plummer, who had a very solid debut for a barely 19-year old from a cold climate. I liked the Bader pick, and really like the Plummer pick. Not as big on the Bryce Denton pick, but think there are some good things going on with the farm system.

Writing about the prospects has me jonesing again, so I'm going to put down the keyboard before I fall off the wagon. :wink:

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Re: A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

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Phins, what don't you like about the Denton pick? I know he struggled last year, but he was 2.5 years younger than the league average. He was completely over matched yet kept his K rate below 19%. He just started growing hair on his face and is a beast physically. I think he breaks out this year.

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Re: A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

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salukifan2 wrote:Phins, what don't you like about the Denton pick? I know he struggled last year, but he was 2.5 years younger than the league average. He was completely over matched yet kept his K rate below 19%. He just started growing hair on his face and is a beast physically. I think he breaks out this year.
Keep in mind I said not as big on the Denton pick. Here's what I wrote on him in the 2015 Cards Draft Wrapup:
Round 2. What the Cards did: Take a power upside bat
Bryce Denton is another polarizing draft prospect who saw his range from top-half of the 1st round to the 3rd round. Those who love Denton see exceptional bat speed, arm strength, physicality, power projection, and the ability to stay at 3B. Those who don’t, see a lot of swing-and-miss to his game, a below average defender who will need to move to a corner OF spot and a guy with below average pitch recognition. The Cards split the difference and took him in the 2nd round and signed him to a very reasonable $1.2m deal. Very young for his class, and shares a birthday with yours truly (8-1-97), though the year is different.

What the Cards didn’t do: Play it safe
Taking high school players with three consecutive picks is nearly unheard from the Cards, and the fact they took three guys who all have significant risk is surprising. I honestly love the approach the Cards took and feel they did their homework on what the price tag would be for each player they selected and made the puzzle fit together nicely.

Denton has an aggressive swing that has some uppercut to it. He is extremely timing based, and when he gets out of whack he really gets out on his front foot and rolls over for ground balls a lot. When he’s going well, he makes a lot of hard contact, produces excellent loft on the ball, and can hit it out to all areas of the park. He really clears his hips and creates torque similar to a golfer who drives the ball 300 yards. Loves the ball up, and will really put a jolt in it when he catches up. He’ll have to learn what is too far up in the pro’s, but I love the aggression. Right-handed swinger who is average athletically and with a plus arm. I see the potential for a 50 hit, 65 power, 45 glove, 60 arm, 45 run, 3B prospect if all goes right. That’s a star as well.

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Re: A Minor Review of 2015: St. Louis Cardinals

Post by salukifan2 »

Good stuff! Thanks

I think he showed last year that strikeouts shouldn't be too much of a problem for him, and considering strikeouts were a primary concern for many scouts I believe there is a lot to be excited about

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