KLaw's minor league system rankings

Talk about the Cardinals minor league baseball
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Jocephus
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KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by Jocephus »

i know we all don't like keith but can someone who has insider say where the cardinals rank? don't need all the details but i'd be curious on where he puts us.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/insider/story/_/ ... s-2016-mlb

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go birds
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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by go birds »

19th

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Felix The Cat
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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by Felix The Cat »

19. St. Louis Cardinals
2015 rank: 13
Players in Top 100 (2016): 3

This is surprisingly low for a team that has been so productive over the past decade, but they've promoted much of their top talent and are now buttressed by their international department rather than their domestic drafts.
(Hi, Keith Law!)

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MrCrowesGarden
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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by MrCrowesGarden »

3 players in the top 100 is more than anywhere else I've seen. Reyes and Flaherty seem safe bets to be in there; the 3rd could be take your pick.

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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by Magneto2.0 »

MrCrowesGarden wrote:3 players in the top 100 is more than anywhere else I've seen. Reyes and Flaherty seem safe bets to be in there; the 3rd could be take your pick.
list just came out

Reyes was number 8
Reyes can rival Lucas Giolito and Tyler Glasnow for pure stuff, including a big fastball that has hit 100 mph and is regularly 94-98 and good feel for a plus upper-80s changeup, showing very consistent arm speed. His curveball isn't the plus pitch the other two are, but he can throw it for strikes and does get some two-plane break to it. He also looks like a top-of-the-rotation starter, listed at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds but is clearly stronger than that now. Reyes punched out a hilarious 151 batters in 101 1/3 innings (414 total batters faced) when he pitched in 2015.

Reyes had two major setbacks during the season, however. First was the shoulder soreness that cost him about a month during the season, a concern for any pitcher but particularly one who strides a little short and finishes his delivery abruptly rather than getting all the way over his front side. Second was the 50-game suspension for testing positive for marijuana, which isn't a concern for his baseball ability, but it cost him innings he needs to work on building durability and developing command. (If the Cardinals add him to the 40-man roster now, the suspension itself will be suspended, as players on that roster are not subject to discipline for marijuana.)

He should be a lock for the Cardinals' 2017 rotation, given the dent the suspension and a likely workload cap will have on his potential output for this upcoming season, but there is at least a little reason to be concerned that he doesn't have 200-220 inning seasons in his long-term future.
Marco Gonzales was 76
Gonzales was expected to be a mainstay in the Cards' rotation by now, 2 1/2 years after being a first-round draft pick, but right now he's the odd man out after the team's signing of Mike Leake. However, there is enough of an injury history among their other starters that Gonzales should get his chance soon enough.

He's an oddity for these rankings because he'll pitch with a 45 fastball but has a 70 changeup and 55 breaking ball and the ability to throw everything for strikes. He does sink the ball but is not really a ground ball pitcher, and in his brief cups of coffee so far, he has been prone to too much hard contact from leaving stuff up in the zone. He's a superb athlete who can even swing the bat a little, and his delivery is very low-effort and easy to repeat, so I'm confident he'll be able to work to the lower third with his fastball so that he can get to the changeup and curveball, both of which have missed bats everywhere he has pitched, including the majors (MLB hitters have swung and missed at almost one in four changeups he has thrown).

He'd be a great longman for the Cards to start the year as they try to manage the workloads of their injury-prone starters, with the potential to step in and be a quality fourth or fifth starter right now when the need arises.
Jack Flaherty was 83
Flaherty was a two-way guy in high school and originally wanted to go pro as a third baseman, but his bat was way behind and scouts saw his future on the mound. He has a workhorse frame and a very easy, repeatable delivery for unusually good fastball command. He'll sit 90-94 mph and will flash three average pitches. The fastball could use some more plane, as he's 6-foot-4 but doesn't take full advantage of his height, allowing hitters to put the fastball in the air too often. The same problem makes his curveball flatten out, but if he gets on top of the ball more frequently, that should be an above-average or better pitch with depth and tight spin.

There's still projection in the body, and his present command and control are very promising for someone who has been a full-time pitcher for less than two years. He looks like a potential third starter in the making, with league-average performance over a large workload each year.
Last edited by Magneto2.0 on February 11 16, 9:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

jim
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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by jim »

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before here, maybe not, so I'll say it again. Keith Law is an idiot. I hate Keith Law.

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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by Fat Strat »

MrCrowesGarden wrote:3 players in the top 100 is more than anywhere else I've seen. Reyes and Flaherty seem safe bets to be in there; the 3rd could be take your pick.
Yeah, it was Marco.

I think that Luke Weaver could work his way into the top 100 by the end of the year, too. And then there are a few of the kids who could also show up, if they have an Alex Reyes like season.

Our system is better than it seems. We could be a top 10 system again by next winter.

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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by jim »

weaver looked great in the fall there is a ton of depth pitching wise in the system

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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by jim »

BA has the Dodgers as #1.

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Re: KLaw's minor league system rankings

Post by phins »

The Dodgers should be #1. They are just swimming in money, resources, depth.

If you wanted a dart throw for a kid to come completely off the board and break out this year, I'd say Sandy Alcantara. He has a legitimate 70 fastball and is ultra athletic. Command and consistency are holding him back, but he's a kid that could skyrocket.

Weaver will probably settle in somewhere near the back end of a top-100 list with his athleticism and velocity. The breaking ball hasn't gone forward at all in pro ball and I worry he peaked early. He's 50/50 to remain a starter, which is the key to his value (obviously).

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