Join baseball writer Daniel Guerrero for his live Cardinals chat at 11 a.m. Monday
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Monday’s 11 a.m. live chat.
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Hey everyone! Cardinals minor league writer Daniel Guerrero here.Hope the holiday season has been treating you all well.I'll be filling in today for Post-Dispatch lead Cardinals writer Derrick Goold to answer your questions on everything related to the Cardinals, their minor leagues, or just baseball in general.Let's have a good one!- The other DG -
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Right-hander Austin Love is someone who was impressive and not as talked about. I wasn't able to make it out to Peoria to see him, but from watching his starts online and looking at the numbers, there is some promise there. He led all Cardinals prospects in strikeouts with 151 in 125 2/3 innings. Love is 23 (turning 24 in January) and was the Cardinals' third-round pick in 2021. Love did struggle against lefties this past season (they hit .342 off him). Improving his changeup was one thing he said he wanted to do to combat that.
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It seems like the plan is for him to get playing time in the outfield and at-bats. That's what the hope for Joshua Baez was at the start of the year, but a left wrist injury and surgery limited him to 32 games (101 at-bats) this past season. Baez is still only 19 years old and appeared in just 20 Low-A games.
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Thanks for the question.I did not get to see Cooper Hjerpe pitch this past minor-league season because he was held out of games. Hjerpe threw 103 1/3 innings for Oregon State this past season (as you probably saw) so the Cardinals took a cautious approach because of the workload. Hjerpe did throw some bullpens and live batting practices down at the Cardinals' training complex in Jupiter, Florida. The Cardinals liked what they saw in those sessions.As far as projections, I'm not too sure I can predict that. He has been described as a strike thrower with a unique arm angle, and also as someone who is competitive.
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Improving command on his fastball is one thing that Matthew Liberatore could benefit from. That's one thing that Cardinals' manager Oliver Marmol said he'd like to see from Liberatore moving into next season. Marmol wants to see a little more swing-and-miss with that pitch.
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Thanks for reading it.Gordon Graceffo's timeline could really be dictated by his results. Whether that arrival to the majors is opening day 2024, a sooner date, or a later one could be determined by how Graceffo pitches when his next opportunities arrive. Those next opportunities will be in spring training.Here's the link to that story for anyone who might want to read it:
Cardinals pitching prospect Gordon Graceffo hopes to prove big-league potential in spring
STLtoday.com | After being named the Cardinals' minor-league pitcher of the year, Gordon Graceffo is aiming to show he belongs with the big-league squad during spring training. -
Daniel, do you have a more detailed explanation for the bends that Connor Thomas's career took this year? In 2021, he seemed like a very promising lefthander on the brink of MLB work, at least as a long reliever. But his performance declined rather precipitously this year until the Arizona Fall League when, as the story goes, he performed stunningly as he deployed a cutter that he had learner from Jason Isringhausen. Do you understand why Thomas had not introduced this pitch earlier. He must have known that his chances of making the majors depended on improved performance this year, but he waited until overtime to deliver this difference maker.
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As the story goes, the development of a cutter was one that Mike Maddux suggested to Connor Thomas back in March/April during spring training. Because of struggles against righties for much of the year, Thomas felt like he needed to make a move, but the pitch was a work in progress throughout the year so it was not introduced so early.Thomas used it when playing catch and in bullpens. He tested it a couple of times in starts in the second half of the season, but it didn't become a part of his pitch arsenal until the Arizona Fall League. Once he was ready to fully introduce it, the strikeouts success that he had not had for much of the past two seasons came with it.
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Jordan Walker will have the opportunity to make a case for a big league roster spot in spring training. That's something the Cardinals front office has spoken about this offseason. John Mozeliak said during his end-of-season press conference that some of the club's offseason moves will be made with the rising prospects in mind and keeping opportunities open for them.Whether Walker is at Busch Stadium on opening day this April is to be determined. His performance could dictate where he is placed.
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Do you know what the Cards think of Burleson? He appears to be able to really rake at the plate. Do they foresee him as an everyday OF? Also Mason Wynn looks to be a great athlete with lots of tools. Do you see any real holes in his game that he needs to fix/overcome before being called up to the bigs?
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What the Cardinals think of Alec Burleson is someone who can be a productive left-handed bat in their lineup. Burleson's defense is an aspect of his game that could use some improvement, but his bat skills were certainly impressive in Memphis and something that the Cardinals feel hopeful of.As far as Winn, his defense, throwing arm, and overall athleticism are some of his best attributes. He had some improvements at the plate this year compared to what he did last year when he reached Class High-A Peoria in 2021. That was something he acknowledged earlier this year. What Winn did in Class AA Springfield showed he is improving in that aspect.
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As is the case for many players, where Logan Sawyer begins the 2023 season could be determined by his spring training. Sawyer is set to compete for a spot in the upper minors, so Memphis is a possibility. Sawyer is someone who has solid command and plus-stuff. The fact that he walked just three guys in 30 innings last season and 12 total in his last 76 1/3 innings is something the Cardinals liked with him.
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Like you, I also had to learn who Inohan Paniagua was during this season. He was not on many prospect lists but moved his way up them with what he did in Class Low-A Palm Beach this year.Paniagua is 22 years old. He found success atop Palm Beach's rotation (2.81 ERA, 145 strikeouts in 137 2/3 IP) and got his first taste of pitching in Class High-A at the end of the season. He had some mixed results. The Cardinals' hope is for Paniagua to grow into his 6-foot-1 frame. He's listed at 148 pounds, so the Cardinals would like to see him add on some weight as he continues to develop.
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A couple of teenage prospects may fit that mold.One that comes to mind is Joshua Baez. In a small sample size, he slugged .540 with five doubles and three homers in 20 Class Low-A games after he returned from injury. He's 19 and listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. Based on seeing him on the backfields last spring, he's someone who takes some might hacks. A full and healthy season next year will give us more insight.Another that comes to mind is Won-Bon Cho. Like Baez, he is also 19 years old. Cho is listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds. His power could develop as he continues to develop in the minors.
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I have had the chance to watch and speak with Mike Antico. He's someone who is a solid defender in center field and a stolen base threat.He stole 67 bags this last season -- the most for a Cardinals minor-leaguer in 2022. Antico also doubled 31 times, which sometimes came on singles that turned into doubles (something he said he likes to do). He overcame a slow start in Class High-A Peoria and had a decent slash line to end the year (.245/.344/.395)Those qualities of speed and defense benefit Antico's potential.
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A position player that could break into a top 100 list in the coming years could be Jonathan Mejia. Mejia is just 17 years old (!!!) and had a solid finish in the Dominican Summer League. He batted .321 with a 1.031 OPS in his final 30 games there after hitting .157 in his first 16 games. That bounceback was something the Cardinals liked.Mejia is a Dominican-born switch-hitting shortstop and was acquired by the Cardinals during last year's international signing period. As Derrick Goold (DG1) reported last winter when Mejia was signed as a 16-year-old, Mejia's signing bonus was the highest the Cardinals had paid to a player his age. His prospect timeline is one that might take a while because of his age.
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He has. Looks like Robles' command is improved.His strikeouts-to-walk ratio has improved from where it was with Class AA Springfield. 3.33 K/BB in 30 1/3 innings with the Estrellas compared to 1.67 K/BB ration while in Springfield. Robles allowing just four runs in over 30 innings against some older competition is worth noting as well.
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I'm not sure if it gives them an advantage. But I do think it is something that gives them more comfort in knowing how to adjust to what baseball will lock like at the major league level in 2023.For example, I remember Oliver Marmol mentioning this past season that some guys that were called up to the majors from Memphis had an internal clock and a quicker pace to them because of the pitch clock.
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I think both are realistic possibilities.In Matthew Liberatore's case: There's always a need for pitching and already has some big-league experience. Where he starts the year is probably a tricker question given the Cardinals' current rotation options.For Moises Gomez: He provided a lot of power with Springfield and Memphis and will get a chance to follow up on his performance come spring. With Gomez on the Cardinals' 40-man roster, he'll be in big-league camp during spring training to show what he can do and has an easier path to a call-up if that day comes.
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As far as strikeout pitchers go, Austin Love, as previously mentioned, led all Cardinals minor-leaguers in strikeouts with 151 after a season in Class High-A Peoria. Andre Granillo is a reliever who pitched for Class Low-A, High-A, and AA. He had a 14.10 K/9 and a solid swinging strike rate.When it comes to power arms outside of Gordon Graceffo and Tink Hence, one name that comes to mind is Freddy Pacheco. He flashed an upper 90s fastball in his time out of the bullpen with Class AAA Memphis and Springfield and had stretches of success at both levels.