Cards top-21 (top-10 detailed)

[phins]

Thanks phins

I love reading these in the offseason and coming back to them at the end of the year.

I really like your posts.

Thanks for the kind words. How did I fare after this year under your review?

[jim]

Awesome!

[go birds]

good stuff, like others have mentioned, the system appears deeper than i thought.

If only a few of those guys pan out, we're still fielding a contending team (tm) with payroll flexibility.

[jim]

I'm slowly picking through this.

- Why did you hesitate putting Martinez on your list? I would do what BA does, which is just use the MLB rules for defining a rookie. If they are eligible for ROY, they are still a prospect.

- Long range for Wong ... I say he will be All Star. Maybe not a consistent AS, but his up years will be of that caliber.

- I can't get on the we are deep train, or maybe I don't know what you mean by deep. The farm system for Cardinals falls off a cliff after Piscotty. I think the top 4 are legit MLB starters, I view Gonzales as a nice bullpen arm but nothing more. I love his move to 1B, he's got a couple of different looks there.

- I like Reyes better than Gonzalez only because of the ceiling. I agree the floor is higher with Gonzales. Someone is going to have to tell Reyes that with runners on you can't take 1.7 seconds to get the ball to home plate, even with Yadi back there.

[STL_Cards]

- I can't get on the we are deep train, or maybe I don't know what you mean by deep. The farm system for Cardinals falls off a cliff after Piscotty. I think the top 4 are legit MLB starters, I view Gonzales as a nice bullpen arm but nothing more. I love his move to 1B, he's got a couple of different looks there.

I agree with you.

[33anda3rd]

There are enough raw tools and athletic bodies in the low part of the list that if the org can turn it into baseball skills, it's a deep enough farm. Impact players for 2014? I mean, there's Taveras, Wong, Martinez, but we know all about them. Impact players for 2015? Maybe none. But impact players for 2016, 2017? There could be some there, and I have faith in Gary LaRocque and his crew as one of the best Player Development teams in baseball, if not the best. If there's a group of guys who can turn those low-on-the-list tools/athleticism players into Baseball Players, it's them.

[jim]

I finally got a chance to really take a look at the videos and I agree with phins on Kaminsky. He could be a sleeper.

[jim]

He(Wong) also had the embarrassing gaffe on national television when he was picked off to end a World Series game.

True, and he also made a play nobody noticed in Game 3 that saved the game in the 8th inning. The inning and game was getting away from us, bases loaded 1 out and we were up 2. Nava hits a soft sinking line drive and Wong makes a very good play and almost turns 2. If that ball gets by we lose that game. Very very difficult play under extreme pressure.

[Michael]

Great post! Thank you!

[a_smith]

Thanks phins

I love reading these in the offseason and coming back to them at the end of the year.

I really like your posts.

Thanks for the kind words. How did I fare after this year under your review?

pretty darn good in hindsight.

I liked this bit about Wacha

"Future: Truth be told, I like Wacha more than I like Martinez. I was a big fan of the pick where he was selected and even thought he could start his career in the major leagues and not embarrass himself. He is ranked behind Martinez due to the fact he did not start in his debut and the sample size is so small, it’s hard to know at this point if his stuff will stay as solid once he’s going 6 or 7 innings a game. He has the look of a future #3 starter who will eat innings and be a fixture in a big league rotation. Big fan of what I saw from Mr. Wacha."

Piscotty was good
"Future: I went into the draft with a preconceived bias against Piscotty, but after watching a lot of tape of his, especially hitting in the cage, I came around to him and started to like his potential a lot more. I am buying the bat, and feel with professional coaching he can become more aggressive, open his hips and try to pull the ball with authority more often. I think it’s easier to teach a hitter to pull the ball more when appropriate, rather than trying to teach a dead pull hitter who has to cheat to hit to use all fields. He has natural athleticism and a plus arm. Solid prospect and a bright future. Another prospect who is young for his class, continuing the Cards preference for age + level."

Gast
"Future: Gast profiles as a back of the rotation starter who will keep his team in the game, and rely on his home ballpark to look decent on the stat sheet. A fly ball pitcher with a good fastball, Gast profiles as a major leaguer in some capacity, albeit with a low ceiling. I, admittedly, have always had a bit of shine towards Gast due to his arm and left-handedness. "

Miller
"For me, the curveball dictates how Miller goes. When it’s on, it has hard biting action and is more of a power curveball than a slow loopy curveball. When Miller stays on top of the curveball and keeps the downward action on the pitch, he can throw it for a strike as well as bury it in the dirt on command. This pitch is currently tough to grade, as it fluctuates from a 50-65 pitch. I think it will even out as a 60 pitch consistently at maturity. Miller shows a nice feel for a changeup and is something he’ll need to combat lefthanders as a starter in the big leagues. It will most likely never be a plus pitch for Miller, but it should eventually level out as a 50 pitch as he gains consistency. Two plus pitches and one average starter combined with above average command/control generally is a #2-3 starter in the big leagues, and I think Miller will be exactly that in a few years. I’ve said for years he reminds me of Matt Cain, and I believe most Cardinals fans would love that level of production from Miller."

Other than Jenkins injury you had the top 10 really well. I fault you for not predicting his shoulder injury

You and everyone else missed on Maness and Seigrist.