This is old, but I had not seen it before. The Hardball Times analyzes the top draft picks, including scouting video. The bit on Brett Wallace is interesting, comparing his swing to Prince Fielder‘s.

The Cardinals finally gave in and put Colby on the DL with his groin injury. Groin injuries seem to linger – I strained mine a couple of years ago and it wouldn’t go away until I finally stopped doing anything for two weeks.

All the teams were in action today and finished 2-4 on the night.  All the details are after the jump.

Memphis 4, New Orleans 5

• Shane Robinson hit his first homerun at AAA. He was 2-4 and also had a double.
• Jarrett Hoffpauir was 2-3 with a double and a walk.
• Uncle Rico Washington was 3-4 with a double.
• Mike Parisi had a bit of a bad night, he gave up five runs (four earned) in four innings on six hits and five(!) walks. He also struck out five.
• Ron Flores Randy Flores threw two scoreless innings, Mark Worrell threw one and Jason Motte pitched a scoreless final inning with two strikeouts.

NW Arkansas 11, Springfield 10

• The normally untouchable Jess Todd gave up six runs on six hits and four walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out five.
• In spite of Todd’s off-night, the Cardinals had a shot to win this game going into the ninth, but Fernando Salas also struggled, giving up five runs on five hits in just two thirds of an inning.
• Justin Fiske pitched a perfect inning in relief, striking out all three men he faced.
• Allen Craig and Andrew Brown were each 2-4 with a homerun. Brown also doubled.
• Matt Pagnozzi was 3-3 with two doubles.
• James Rapoport was 1-4 with a triple and had an assist from the outfield.

Palm Beach 5, Clearwater 2

• Matthew Arburr was 2-4 with a homer and a double.
• Luke Gorsett and Daniel Descalso also went yard. Gorsett was 2-4 and Descalso was 1-4.
• Tyler Henley was also 2-4 with a double.
• My Dad’s favorite minor leaguer, Brandon Dickson had a solid outing, giving up one run over seven innings. He gave up six hits and three walks while striking out four.

Quad Cities 2, South Bend 10

• Brett Wallace was 1-3 with a homerun and a walk. I’m already looking forward to seeing him next year in Spring Training.
• Nicholas Peoples also homered, he was 1-4.
• Nick Additon had his first bad outing since, well, maybe all year. He gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out five.
• Non-Cardinal Note: Sean Coughlin, South Bend’s catcher, went 2-4 with a walk, two homeruns and seven rbi. So if you’ve got him in your Low A Fantasy League, I hope you started him.

Lowell 3, Batavia 5

• Shane Peterson was 1-2 with a pair of walks.
• Jose Garcia was 1-3 with a walk.
• Jermaine Curtis and Jon Edwards were each 1-3 with a walk.
• Jameson Maj gave up two runs on four hits over five innings. He struck out six.
• Ramon Delgado went three innings, allowing a run on three hits and striking out a pair.
• Adam Reifer finished the game off with a scoreless inning, striking out one.

Pulaski 7, Johnson City 3

• Alex Castellanos was 2-3 with a homerun.
• Jairo Martinez was 1-4 with a homerun.
• Curt Smith was 1-4 with a double.
• The well-named Johnny Bravo took the loss, but didn’t pitch that poorly. He was betrayed a bit by his defense as only one of the three runs he gave up was earned. He pitched four innings and gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out five.
• Matthew North was also betrayed by his defense (two of his four runs were earned), but he pitched poorly, too. He only lasted 1.2 innings and gave up five hits and two walks.
• Matthew Frevert pitched 1.1 scoreless innings and Samuel Freeman pitched two scoreless innings.

A lot of changes have transpired since this season and last with the new name, new stadium name and new ownership. How is the new ownership group working out so far?

A lot of changes is right. The new ownership group and the new management have been nothing short of amazing. I’ve been around this team for a few years now and the opportunity to be a part of reviving baseball in the Quad Cities has been great. From the new name to a new culture around the ballpark, the fans have really responded to all the changes and shown up in force. It’s hard to believe that attendance is up 64 percent, but being a part of making that happen and initiating all of the changes has been very fulfilling. The fans have really embraced all of the changes, and baseball in the Quad Cities is showing signs of returning to its glory days of the mid-90s.

How has the team coped with the flooding this summer?

All of the flooding has been crazy, definitely not the kind of thing you ever expect to have to deal with. But such is life on the Mississippi River. Really, we’re fortunate that the City of Davenport put in such great flood protection when they renovated Modern Woodmen Park in 2004. The two floods we’ve had this summer would have probably wiped out our whole season before the renovation, but because of all the great flood protection we only lost four openings.

There were a couple of games that we actually played in a ballpark completely surrounded by water. The city build a temporary bridge that extended from the entrance of the ballpark all the way to the edge of the flood waters. People were clicking pictures on their camera phones and we played in front of a packed house both nights. I’ll never forget the atmosphere and energy that were in the ballpark on those nights.

The well-traveled Steve Dillard replaced Keith Mitchell as manager this year. What does Dillard do well, and how does he differ from Mitchell?

They are both pretty aggressive managers, so it’s fun baseball to watch regardless. They both like sending baserunners home around third, etc. Personality-wise, Steve is a very even keel guy. He never gets too high or too low and is very good at going with the flow. You can certainly tell the guy has been around this game for a long time. Mitch was more of a rah-rah guy. He had a competitive side to him that really got the players up and ready to play. Both are very good managers and also very good people to work with. They have very different personalities but similar managerial styles.

The team now features two first round draft picks on the left side of the infield. What can you tell us about Pete Kozma, and what are your early impressions of Brett Wallace?

I can tell you that it is pretty fun to watch those two guys playing together. They are both pretty down-to-earth guys that you would have no idea are first-round picks if you ran into them in public somewhere.

Pete is an all-around talent. The scouting report coming in was that he doesn’t stand out at anything but does, but all five tools are a tic above average. That may be an understatement. He hits the ball to all fields with a line-drive stroke and controls the strike zone well. I think most impressive is his defense, though. His range is exceptional at shortstop, and the guy makes plays behind the bag at second that most shortstops have no chance of getting to in this league. He also has a strong arm, but he only shows it when he really needs to.

I’ve only seen Wallace for six games at this point, but he has seemed to hit the ground running. When he first got here I was really impressed by the way he handled himself with all of the media attention. He was very accommodating to every media request, handled himself with poise and confidence, and had well thought-out responses that were more than just your typical stock answers. He has also seemed to hit the ground running offensively and defensively. He has made a couple of nice snags at third base and his only errors have been throwing errors. So far, I have seen nothing to indicate the claims that some scouts made coming in that he wouldn’t be able to handle the hot corner.

How excited should we be about Richard Castillo? He’s only 18, and so far the results have been pretty good. What does he throw, and how is he achieving those results so far?

Very. You hit the nail on the head when you said he’s just 18. I’ve only see him make three starts, but from what I’ve seen his biggest asset is fastball command. He can put the ball where he wants to, which can get most guys by in this league. Perhaps the most encouraging thing is that he really hasn’t shown a good feel for his curveball, which I’m told can be his best pitch. What he’s done so far has been pretty much fastball-changeup, so if he can start throwing the curve for strikes he can really take off.

Speaking of lesser-known pitchers with results, what can you tell me about Mark Diapoules and Nick Additon?

By all accounts, Diapoules has a big-league sinker. He was able to throw it down in the zone effectively and nobody in this league could touch it. He had a couple of rough outings that pitching coach Ace Adams attributed to a problem getting off the rubber quickly, but they worked that out and he was back on track when the Cardinals promoted him.

For Additon, the name of the game is control. He doesn’t throw hard, but he can spot the fastball on both sides of the plate. Like Castillo, the more he improves that curveball the more effective of a pitcher he’ll be. The pitch can be very good at times and he seems to be throwing it more and more as the season progresses.

Tommy Pham is a tantalizing talent, but also a bit of an enigma. Being that you get to see him nearly everyday, I was interested in what your impressions were of him.

My impressions of Tommy are that he has got one of the most impressive set of tools of anybody I’ve seen here. Four of his five tools are well above average and probably pretty close to major league ready. He can flat out go get the ball in center and his throwing arm is both strong and accurate. His speed is the best on the team and his only caught stealing this year was really more of a pick-off play. And that’s not to mention the fact that he has tremendous power to all fields. The issue for Tommy has been making consistent contact and putting the barrel on the ball. He strikes out a lot and has a tendency to muscle up before he swings. The Cardinals have been working with him on getting better separation in his swing and staying loose. If he can start making consistent contact, there is no telling how quickly he can move.

What can you tell us about Francisco Rivera? I’ve seen him on a few occasions and came away very impressed; in fact I’ve dubbed him on the blog as my own favorite “personal cheeseball” for the 2008 season. Please tell me if my personal fascination with this player is justified.

Rivera is another really impressive player Erik, it’s not just you! It’s hard to believe watching him that he’s only a 19-year-old that made his pro debut earlier this season. He’s a gamer. He homered in his sixth pro at-bat and has been off to the races ever since. To me the most telling thing about Francisco is the way he raises his game with men in scoring position and two outs. He seems to have an instinctual knack for driving in runs.

Outside of the players we’ve discussed, who is the best River Bandit player that we don’t know about yet? Are there any other players that have attracted your attention?

I love the way Charlie Kingrey plays the game. He’s up in Palm Beach now, but the guy has a smooth left-handed swing and hits the ball to all fields. My favorite part about Charlie is that he never stops hustling, regardless of the game situation. Paul Vazquez has also stood out. He’s an older guy but he’s become a real leader on this team. The guy has been taking a beating behind the plate and in the batter’s box – he was hit by a pitch in the face in Clinton and was frustrated that they held him out of the lineup for the next two games – but has still managed to lead the team in batting average.

Kary Booher has a profile of Justin Fiske. Interesting story – left handed relievers are a weak point in the Cardinals organization, so it is nice that they were able to pluck a successful one from the Independent League.

Springfield was off and Johnson City played a double header, so the system had five teams playing six games and they went 2-4. All the details are after the jump.

Memphis 6, New Orleans 10

• Clayton Mortensen did not have his best outing. He followed his M.O., getting a bunch of groundballs (7-1 gb to fb) and striking out another four, but he also gave up bunches of hits, nine to be exact. He was touched for eight runs over 4.1 innings, including two dingers. Mortensen apparently came out in the fifth inning due to injury – the last batter he faced reached on a “line drive to Mortensen” according to the game recap. Hopefully he’ll be ok.
• Matt Clement was brought in to relieve for Mortensen and he allowed an inherited runner to score and another run of his own in the two thirds of an inning that he pitched. It was really a neat trick, as he did it all without allowing a hit. He hit two batters and walked another.
• Nick Stavinoha was 1-5 with a home run, which makes three in the last two games or three since Az wrote that Nick has no power. My guess is that he read what Az wrote and has extra motivation now – good job, Az! Stavinoha also made an error in the outfield and had an outfield assist.
• Uncle Rico Washington was 2-4 with a bomb.
• Bryan Anderson was 2-5.

Palm Beach 6, Clearwater 1

• Donovan Solano and Charles Kingrey each homered this afternoon, providing the power. Solano was 2-4 with a walk and Kingrey was 3-4 with a double and a walk.
• Daryl Jones was 1-4 with a walk and his seventeenth stolen base of the year.
• The Cardinals were a little sloppy in the field with errors from Solano, Eddie Degerman and Daniel Descalso.
• Shaun Garceau had a nice start, going six scoreless innings, scattering four hits and two walks while striking out two.
• Degerman struck out three in his two scoreless innings of relief.
• Kenny Maiques was the only Cardinals pitcher to struggle today. He walked a pair of batters and gave up a hit and an unearned run while only retiring one batter.
• Francisco Samuel was called in to clean up the mess and he retired the final two batters to earn the save.

Quad Cities 8, South Bend 2

• Richard Castillo pitched six solid innings, giving up a pair of runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four.
• Matt Spade followed Castillo with two perfect innings, striking out one.
• Brandon Garner pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up only a walk.
• The offensive player of the game was Roberto Espinoza, who went 2-4 with a double and three rbi.
• Nicholas Peoples and Oliver Marmol each also went 2-4. Peoples also doubled and Marmol also stole a base.
• Pete Kozma and Brett Wallace were each 1-4. Wallace also walked.
• Aaron Luna was 1-3 with a walk.
• Thommy Pham was 0-2 with a walk and an outfield assist from center field.

Lowell 5, Batavia 1

• Charles Cutler was 2-3, but he had a passed ball and a throwing error behind the plate.
• Shane Peterson was 1-4 with a double.
• Jon Edwards was 1-3 with a walk.
• Jose Garcia was 1-4 with a stolen base.
• Zachary Pitts took the loss, but he didn’t really pitch that bad. He gave up a pair of runs over five innings on six hits. He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out a pair.
• Hector Cardenas, on the other hand, was terrible. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk and only managed to retire one batter.
• Rigoberto Lugo (no, I did not just make that name up) didn’t do Cardenas any favors, allowing one of two inherited runners to score on a couple of walks. He got a pair of outs without giving up any runs that are attributed to him in the boxscore.
• Arquimedes Nieto (who, if I’m not mistaken, is Tom Nieto’s fourth cousin, thrice removed through his maternal grandfather – but I could be wrong about that) came in after the Cardenas-Lugo disaster and struck out three over three scoreless innings.

Pulaski 5, Johnson City 2 (Game 1)

• The Cardinals only managed five hits in the first game and a double by Osvaldo Morales was the only extra base hit.
• Deryk Hooker had a nice start, giving up one run on five hits over five innings. He also struck out four.
• Samuel Freeman and Jorge Rondon let the game get away from the team in the sixth inning, allowing four runs and only retiring one batter between them.
• Santo Maertz came in and put out the fire, allowing a hit and two walks, but not allowing a run or letting either of his inherited runners to score. He pitched the final 1.2 innings and struck out a pair.

Pulaski 8, Johnson City 5 (Game 2)

• A bit more offense for Johnson city in Game 2, but not enough.
• Nico Vasquez was 2-4 and was thrown out trying to steal.
• Osvaldo Morales was 2-3 with a pair of doubles.
• Paul Cruz, Curt Smith and Jairo Martinez were all 1-3.
• Michael Blazek only lasted four hitters into the game. The first reached on an error, then Blazek threw away a pickoff attempt, then he walked a batter before giving up singles to the next two batters. Then he was removed. Ouch.
• Carlos Gonzales followed with an erratic performance. He allowed two runs on three hits and two walks, but he struck out eight in only 3.2 innings.
• Joel Pichardo then gave up three runs on three hits in 2.1 innings, but he only struck out a pair.
• Jose Mateo finished off the game with a perfect inning, striking out one.

The approach of Colby Rasmus to the majors as the best position prospect the Cardinals have had since JD Drew plays a big part. In the past when prospects were mentioned it was as part of a trade or as a role player. Now the Cardinals are looking at a player that has been marketed as the centerfielder of the future.

The Front Office pushed the idea of building from within since the departure of Walt Jocketty; you could even trace it back to the emergence of Jeff Luhnow as being in charge of the draft. That idea has at the very least stuck with the fan base if not resonated. The success of other teams (Rockies, Red Sox) with homegrown players isn’t lost on the crowds. While the Cards have been remarkably successful during what was initially termed a “transition year”, the PR machine has, at the least, succeeded in transitioning fan’s perspectives towards the minors.

I think the addition of sites like FirstInning, Minorleaguesplits and Fangraphs with their statistical data for the minors has played a huge role with that. The one site that’s really behind the curve here is the site that has perhaps the most to gain — Baseball Prospectus. They have a well of resources far exceeding what any of the other sites do and yet the most they come up with is some poorly formated text stats and translations. The room for growth there is tremendous as well as the room for statistical studies in that area. Too much of prospect watching remains clouded in scouting vagueries.

At the end of the day, you can attribute the increased interest to whatever you want but the Cardinals would be wise to capitalize on it and use that to draw in fans. Increased attendance to minor league games, increased merchandise sales when a player first comes up, as well as other marketing opportunities are all areas that the Cardinals can shake the minor league money tree. Here’s a few suggestions I thought up.

1: Paul DePodesta has his own blog for the Dodgers Padresand I would never expect the Cardinals to do that. There’s something really simple (and similar) that they could do, however, that would make it a lot easier for people to follow the minors. Start a blog and post the transactions. Disable comments and don’t offer commentary but letting people know when player X has been moved from Palm Beach to Springfield goes a long way toward making fans feel connected to the minor leaguers. We want to revel in their promotions as much as anyone. The flip side of that is posting when (and why) a player is going to the DL. Elaborate explanations are not a requirement but I’m sure someone, somewhere in the Cardinals Front Office is tracking when players hit the DL in their system. CTRL+C and CTRL+V a brief note to the public. It takes an extra 60 seconds but dropping a note like “Rasmus – day to day – groin” would answer a lot of very common questions.

2: Bring your minor league clubs to St. Louis. I’ll leave the logistics of this to someone who knows the contracts with the minor league clubs and their schedules better but it couldn’t be that hard to bus in Memphis and Springfield and have them play each other in Busch. I’d like to think there’s enough interest that you’d draw a good sized crows — 20,000 maybe? — so that it’s profitable in terms of ticket sales. Have it during the All Star break or when the Cardinals have an offday in April or September.

You can spin this a hundred different ways too. Make it a charity game or lower ticket prices since it’s the minors but there is an opportunity to let some people who normally can’t afford to see the big league club come down to STL and experience baseball in Busch. The Cardinals are first and foremost a business so I want to be clear that I’m not advocating they give away money but I would think someone could come up with a way to make some profit from a game like that.

Beyond the potential monetary benefits, I’d like to think it would mean something to the minor leaguers too. A taste of what it could be like if the make the bigs. Get some exposure to the major league park and the St. Louis crowd. Maybe when they are actually called up, the bright lights won’t be quite so intimidating and the nerves won’t be quite so stressed.

3: Make Memphis a home to real prospects. This is as much about building up the farm system in general as it is anything specific about Memphis. As far as I know, Memphis and the Cardinals have not re-upped as affiliates for next year yet. Part of the reason behind that is Walt Jocketty used Memphis as a stashing ground for the tired, the sick and the poor during his tenure, which was a very common way to use AAA affiliates throughout baseball.

That said, the more time that you have players playing together before they reach the majors, the better, imo. I’ve heard interviews from several minor leaguers on the radio (especially bullpen guys) about how much easier it was since they knew someone like McClellan when they came up. Someone that could show them around a bit. Someone they already had a comraderie with. If you’re a team chemistry person, you can start that concoction right by having near-MLB ready prospects play together for extended periods of time in Memphis. There’s limits to that based on the major league clubs immediate needs but I think there are benefits to be had there.

4: This one is selfish. Well, more selfish than the first three. I don’t know how many viewers they have for the recorded Memphis game but I watch at least one of those games a week. The annoucers for those videos in Memphis are probably my favorite pair of announcers I’ve heard. They’re really great. Humble, not condescending, kidsters — they just seem like good people. So I have a real incentive to watch the games. What I’d love though, from the deepest depths of my robotic processor is to see radar gun readings on the broadcast. I have no idea what kind of technical requirements that would impose — I’m just an idea man. But it would make it a lot more interesting when I’m trying to watch someone like Walters with a good changeup.

That’s just one robot’s ideas. I really can’t express how excited I would be if the Cardinals did something like #2. I’d drop a lot of $$$ to see that. Those may be totally unrealistic suggestions but I hope that the Cardinals realize that have a unique opportunity to foster interest in their minor leaguers right now. They’d be foolish to let it pass them by.

Derrick Goold says Jeff Luhnow still believes there a chance the Cardinals can get Venezuelan OF Yorman Rodriguez. It’s been rumored he’s already agreed to sign with the Reds. What the Cardinals have done already this year in Latin America has already been outstanding…to add Yorman on top of that …that would be epic. Yorman can’t sign until he turns 16, which is next month. He’s drawn some comparisons to Carlos Beltran.

Chris Lambert scoffs at our earlier dismissals of him as a prospect. Scoffs, I say. In a little over 100 innings now, and Lambert has a sparkling 3.30 FIP for the Mudhens. The night before last he threw a 1 run-3 hit complete game.

The ever-insightful Larry Borowsky took us on his own tour of the farm, and it’s followed by some interesting conversation amongst VEB readers.

Only three teams played tonight in yet another abbreviated DFR.

Memphis 3, New Orleans 1

Nick Stavinoha 3-for-4, 2 HR.
Cody Haerther 1-for-4, HR.
Mitch Boggs 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K.
Jason Motte 1 perfect IP, no K.

Colby hasn’t played since the 1st due to a groin injury, but it’s considered minor. He’s not going to be put on the DL as far as I know. I think we’ve said this before, but we keep getting asked. We’ve been saying Nick Stavinoha needs to add something else to his repertoire, because he’s basically a one-trick pony. He responded well by blasting a couple of homers tonight. Now, if he could just draw more than 3 walks a month and we might have something. Cody Haerther was outrighted off of the 40 man roster. Once a well regarded prospect, it seems like his prospect days are officially over. Hello, Quad A.

Springfield 0, Midland 2

Allen Craig 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K.
Mark Shorey 1-for-4, 2B.
Casey Rowlett 1-for-3, 3B.
Kyle Mura 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.

Springfield was shut down by the A’s 2007 1st round pick James Simmons, who held them to just 2 hits over 8 innings. Simmons didn’t issue a walk and struck out 11. That’s, dare I say, Jess Todd like.

Palm Beach 2, Clearwater 3 Game 1, 8 innings.

Arnoldi Cruz 2-for-4, 2B.
Daryl Jones 2-for-4, CS.
Daniel Descalso 2-for-3, 2B.
Mark Diapoules 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 9 ground outs.
Kenny Maiques 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K.
Elvis Hernandez 1 IP, 0 H, 2 K.
Francisco Samuel 0.0, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB.

Daniel Descalso had himself a good game, which he was long overdue for. His double came in the extra 8th inning (they only play 7 innings in a doubleheader). Tyler Henley was going to bunt him over to 3rd but Clearwater’s P Matt German threw the ball away, allowing Descalso to score the go ahead run. Unfortunately, Samuel suffered a rare implosion.

PB 6, Clearwater 4

Arnoldi Cruz 2-for-4, 2 2B.
Daryl Jones 2-for-4, 3B.
Daniel Nelson 2-for-3, 2B, K, BB.
Charlie Kingrey and Tyler Henley both 1-for-4, 2B.
Blake King 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
Casey Mulligan 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Davis Bilardello 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K.

Cruz has shown steady improvement every month, and now has a .938 OPS for the month of July. Daryl Jones is working hard at living up to the Curtis Granderson comparison, legging out his 4th triple. And I’m digging this crummy catcher turned reliever project so far.

Quad Cities and Batavia both had the night off. Johnson City was postponed. Due to that, it’s probably well past time for a GCL update.

Gary Daley has allowed 7 runs in 3 innings, with 8 walks. He has to have one of the worst cases of Ankielitis I have seen in a long time. Anthony Ferrara made his debut yesterday, throwing 1 inning with 2 K’s and a walk. Eric Fornataro has thrown only 4 innings and has allowed 1 unearned run on 1 hit and has 3 K’s. Ryde Rodriguez has a .288/.323/.356 line; I have to think he’d be hitting for more power if he were in JC. He has only 2 walks to 13 K’s in 59 at bats. Devin Shepherd has only 12 at bats and has 4 hits and a double. 8th rounder Michael Swinson is hitting .276/.344/.414 with 4 steals in 8 games. I have no idea who Yunier Castillo is, but he’s 19, plays SS, and has a .308/.349/.487 line. 19 year old C Ismael Cardona has a 1.269 OPS in all of 14 plate appearances, he’s bears mentioning because he hit .300/.392/.380 on a sorry VSL team last year.

1. Colby Rasmus-Prolonged early season slump or no slump, Colby’s status has not changed.
2. Brett Wallace- Thinking about Rasmus, Wallace and Pujols in the same lineup in the near future is pretty exciting. If that doesn’t work out, maybe they can also flip him for a former Cy Young winner.
3. Bryan Anderson-It’s a coin flip between Jaime Garcia and Anderson here for me, but I’ll give the slight edge to Anderson. He’s improved his defense and has not stopped hitting despite the challenges thrown at him. Will he still be around after the All Star break is the question.
4. Jaime Garcia-After obliterating AA, he’s had his ups and downs in AAA but is still holding his own.
5. Clayton Mortensen-His ERA is fine, but peripherals are actually pretty ugly in AAA, but he’s still getting a lot of groundballs and the Cardinals seem to have challenged him more than anyone in the system.
6. Daryl Jones-Daryl fell from grace last year, missing BA’s Top 30 entirely. Since then, he became a baseball player. The gap between what he is now and what he will become (20/20 OF, good OBP, defense) is still high, but nowhere near as high as it was just a year ago.
7. Jess Todd will destroy us all. What excites me more than anything about Todd is he’s been so adaptable. He quickly picked up the cutter and seems to be doing the same with a 2-seam fastball. His feel for pitching stands out more than his stuff.
8. Pete Kozma-I’m nicer to Kozma than some of my compadres here at the blog. I think he should be at least an average MLB SS, but after a hot April he’s done nothing to impress me at all. Having seen him several times in person and on the local TV station here, I’ve come up with a conspiracy theory–He changed up his swing a little and become a little more of a power hitter out of spring training. Then, at the first sign of a slump he went back to what felt comfortable to him and has become nothing more than a singles hitter. It’s just a theory, and I’m not certain of the validity but the month-by-month numbers seem to bear it out. I think he’s also had a difficult time adjusting to pro ball out of high school, so when you take that into consideration he’s not been that bad.
9. Lance Lynn-Here is my first little surprise, I guess Keith Law sold me on his potential to be a solid mid-rotation innings eater, and Chris O’Leary sold me on his durability, which I think is an underrated trait.
10. Jon Jay-I think Jay has the potential to be Coco Crisp in his 2004-2005 Cleveland Indians heyday when he was batting near .300, slugging nearly .450 and hitting double digits in the steals column while playing a solid OF. The key word is potential, I’m not saying I’d stake the farm on it. His Peak Translation currently is .288/.355/.457.
11. Mitchell Boggs-Three OKish starts, one great start and one horrific start doesn’t seem to justify sending him down. Yes, he wasn’t missing any bats, other than Royals bats but I think he is still potentialy a solid back-end starter and I’m ingtrigued at what he could possibly do in relief.
12. Adam Ottavino-I am giving him a lot of the benefit of the doubt. His last few stars he’s showing signs of improvement, especially in his last outing. Hopefully he’s finally coming around.
13. Joe Mather-I can’t figure him out. He hits like he could be at least a solid average big league corner OF in double A last year and now in triple A. But my gut says he’s more of a platoon/4th OF guy.
14. Tyler Herron-I really think it was a mistake pushing him up to AA so quickly. He’s been pretty bleh but he’s only 21 and still has three average pitches and good command, so here he is.
15. Nico Vasquez-Jason Motte really probably belongs here, I admit it. But as one of the charter members on the Nico bandwagon I’ll stick him here. Quick Kozma versus Nico Smackdown: Hitting for average: Given Nico’s K’s and Kozma’s contact rate, I’d say advantage Kozma. Hitting for power: Advantage Nico, by a mile. Plate discipline: Kozma.  Speed: Kozma, easily. Range: Kozma, again, rather handily but Vasquez is no slouch despite his size. Throwing arm: Kozma, but a little closer. In a perfect world, Kozma will be playing along side Vasquez in the infield by 2011, with Kozma batting 2nd or 9th (assuming LaRussa doesn’t retire), and Vasquez batting 6th.

Update: Perez has been in the majors for over 40 games, so I didn’t include him on the list. If I were to include Perez, I would put him at #2, maybe even #3 after Wallace.

Meet the future catchers — Bryan Anderson is first up.

Slow news day — let’s get right to it. Palm Beach was postponed & Johnson City had the day off so it’s an abbreviated DFR today.

Memphis 11, New Orleans 4

• Brian Barden was 2-for-5 with a walk.
• Nick Stavinoha was 4-for-6 with a double. The issue I have with Stavinoha is that he’s essentially Aaron Miles in the outfield. Hits for average, no power, no secondary skills, average to bad defense. I can’t see any team being interested in him unless he shows something more than hitting for average.
• Josh Phelps goes 3-for-5.
• David Freese was 1-for-4 with a HR.
• Jarrett Hoffpauir had a great night at the plate going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks.
• Reyes got the start and they continue to baby him back into the rotation. He went 3.2 innings allowing 1 hit, 2 walks and striking out 2. He also hit a batter and threw a WP.
• After stranding Reyes’ two bequeathed runners, Matthew Scherer allowed 3 runs all his own on 5 hits and 1K.
• Matt Clement was bad. Anyone have a fork they’re not using . . . need to label this pitcher as done.
• Mark Worrell had a shaky 9th allowing 1 hit, walking 2 and striking out 2.

Springfield 5, Midland 4 (12 innings)

• Jose Martinez was 3-for-6 with a double.
• Allen Craig was 2-for-4 with a pair of walks.
• Andrew Brown continues to show the power going 2-for-4 with a HR.
• Mark Shorey also went yard.
• Isaias Garcia was 2-for-5 with a walk.
• The story of the night has to be Adam Ottavino. Ott threw 6 innings allowing 8 baserunners (5 hits, 3 walks) but most encouraging struck out 8 batters. He was getting groundouts to boot (something he’s not known for) with a 6:2 count.
• Luke Gregerson had a great June but he’s struggling again in July. He got tagged for 3 runs recording 5 outs while allowing 3 hits, 2 walks and striking out 3.
• Fernando Salas blew a rare save in th 10th allowing a run to score on 2 hits and a HBP. He did pitch a scoreless 11th, which was followed up by. . .
• . . . a scoreless 12th from Marco Gonzalez who struck out 1.

Quad Cities 8, Peoria 2

• Adron Chambers was 2-for-4 with a triple.
• Pete Kozma was 0-for-3 with a walk. That bat has looked pretty bad after April.
• Brett Wallace lived up to scouting reports going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles and committing his second error. He was also HBP.
• Paul Vasquez, owner of a .850+ OPS as a catcher, was 2-for-4 with a HR.
• Aaron Luna was 1-for-3 with a HR and a walk.
• Ryan Kulik went 5 strong innings striking out 3 and allowing just 3 hits.
• Jared Bradford threw 2 scoreless innings allowing 3 hits and 2 Ks.

Batavia 2, Vermont 3

• Xavier Scruggs was 2-for-4 with a double.
• Beau Riportella was 2-for-4.
• A nice outing for 1st round draftee Lance Lynn who went 4 strong. He allowed 3 hits and 1 ER while striking out 5.
• Rigoberto Lugo was the unfortunate goat allowing a walk off HR to the first batter he faced in the 9th.

Josh Wilson was selected in the second round (70th overall) of the 2005 draft out of Whitehouse HS in Tyler, TX. Prior to the draft Baseball American ranked him the 124th best draft prospect and had this scouting blurb on Wilson:

Based on his standout performance at the Area Code Games last summer and at Whitehouse High this spring, Wilson was making a case to go in the first two rounds. He pitched at 91-93 mph and touched 94-95 with his fastball, and his curveball showed the makings of becoming a plus pitch. Wilson leveled off a little afterward, working at 88-90 mph and losing command of his curve. Now he appears to be a third- or fourth-rounder. Though Wilson isn’t tall, he has long arms that create a good downward plane on his pitches. There’s some effort to his delivery, but not to the point that scouts are overly concerned.

Apparently, scouts should have been more concerned, and I’ll get into that in a moment. Wilson started 12 games for Johnson City and had somewhat of a rocky debut. He had 32 K’s in 53.1 innings, with 23 walks and 7 homers allowed for a 5.00 FIP. Wilson started at the Quad Cities the following season but after 3 starts it was discovered that he had tore his labrum–an injury that can be the kiss of death for many a young pitcher. He’s rehabbed his way back and threw 8 innings last season for Batavia but experienced a set back and was sidelined for the rest of year.

Healthy now, Wilson has thrown 52.1 innings this season, with 32 K’s to 16 walks and 4 HR allowed. While Wilson hasn’t allowed a lot of runs, his 14.7% K/PA rate is hardly inspiring. He’s reinvented himself more into a control pitcher, and having seen him once on TV here locally he doesn’t look like he throws awfully hard but he’s pretty pinpoint with his command as the numbers bear out. He’s still relatively young at 21 and could show improvement as he gains strength. On the negative I’m not overly encouraged by the track record of the minor league pitchers in the system who go down with shoulder injuries–Hawksworth, McCormick and at the big league level–Mark Mulder :ugh:.

I’m not saying he can’t come back, and he was certainly was dominating in his last start-one of you noted he threw 8 balls total in his last start, and he struck out a batter per inning, so that’s a start. I just can’t get overly excited about him until he starts missing more bats on a regular basis.

Maybe I missed it but John Sickels offered some thoughts on Jaime Garcia earlier in the week. My thoughts lineup with his on balance.

Danup makes a (too) rare appearance and plays with translations.

Couldn’t agree more Pop. Also in the Kary Booher piece a check up on Francisco Samuel who still walks too many guys for me to begin supporting.

Kary Booher also takes a look at Daryl Jones. He makes a good point that we sometimes gloss over — the ballparks (with the exception of Hammons Field) are typically pitchers parks up and down the Cardinals system. Jones is excelling in a field that’s going to dramatically suppress his power numbers.

Memphis 8, Omaha 7

• Brian Barden goes 3-for-5 with a double and a HR. His Baseball Prospectus translation (prior to this game) was just .258/.322/.390 despite his actual line being .314/.384/.480. He takes a real hit due to his age but I’ve still got to wonder if he isn’t better than one of Kennedy, Izturis or Ryan.
• Nick Stavinoha was 3-for-5 with a triple. I’m guessing that ball got by the right fielder into the corner because Stavinoha is no speedster.
• Josh Phelps goes 2-for-3 with a double, a HR and two walks. I have to continue to question the reasoning behind giving Phelps at bats. He’s obviously not in the Cardinals long-term or short-term plans (the Chris Duncan at first while Albert was on the DL should tell us that) so why not spread 1B duties around with Stavinoha and Mather.
• Jaime Garcia had a rough night with bad command. It’s one start, so don’t read into this, but poor command and high walks was a trademark of Garcia’s injured elbow last season. Garcia lasted just 4.1 innings allowing 8 hits, 4 walks and 6 ER. He struck out just 1 but did record 7 groundouts against 3 flyouts.
• J ason Motte pitched a perfect frame striking out 1.

Springfield 6, Midland 4

• Jose Martinez was 2-for-4.
• Allen Craig was 2-for-5 with a double.
• Brandon Yarbrough was 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Tyler Herron got roughed up yet again in AA. Batters are teeing off to a .302 tune and the walks have gone through the roof. He did last 6 innings striking out 6 but he walked 2, allowed 8 hits and 4 ER.
• Josh Dew retired one batter while walking 3.
• Marco Gonzalez got 5 outs allowing one hit to pick up the win.
• Fernando Salas followed up with a perfect 1K 9th.

Palm Beach 6, Jupiter 3

• Tyler Henley was 1-for-4 with a double.
• Arnoldi “Tony” Cruz was 2-for-4 with a double.
• Daryl Jones was 1-for-4.
• Despite recording just 6 hits and 1 HBP, the Cardinals managed to score 6 runs. Clutch, baby, clutch.
• Thankfully Tyler Norrick brought his A game striking out 8 over 6 innings. He walked 2 allowing 5 hits and 2 ER.
• Eddie Degerman pitched a scoreless frame striking out 2.

Quad Cities 0, Peoria 1

• Pete Kozma was 0-for-4.
• Brett Wallace was 1-for-4 with a double.
• Josh Wilson turned in a hell of a game despite being the losing pitcher. Over 7 innings, he struck out 7 walking 0. He allowed 6 hits, one of which was his undoing — a solo jack.
• Pete Parise closed out the game with two scoreless frames striking out 1 allowing 1 hit.

Batavia 10, Vermont 9

• Christian Rosa was 2-for-3 with a double, HR and 2 walks.
• Xavier Scruggs was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
• Jose Garcia was 2-for-5.
• Edwin Gomez was 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles.
• An ugly night of pitching for Batavia. Thomas Eager started and went 5 innings allowing 4 hits and 4 walks — somehow only allowing 1 run.
• George Brown followed up with better peripherals and worse results. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 5 but was tagged for 3 ER.
• Then cam Daniel Richardson who retired just 1 batter while allowing 4 runs.
• Adam Reifer was asked to finish off the game getting the final two outs but allowing his own run as well.

Johnson City 8, Burlington 5

• This was a completion of the July 5th game.
• Nico Vasquez was 2-for-4 with a walk.
• Curt Smith was 2-for-5.
• Osvaldo Morales was the offensive powerhouse though. He was 4-for-4 with 2 doubles and a HR. Morales is confined to first base but he’s got the power to move up the system. He played 27 games in QC this year but was overmatched. He’s another bat to keep an eye on in the system.
• Reynier Gonzalez went 4.1 innings allowing 7 hits and 4 ER while striking out 3. He’s been up and down this year and doesn’t seem well suited to the starting rotation.

Johnson City 4, Burlington 1 (7 innings)

• Nico Vasquez was 2-for-3 with a double and a HR.
• Alex Castellanos was 1-for-3 with a double.
• Randy Santos opened with 4 scoreless innings allowing 1 hit, 1 walk and striking out 4.
• Adam Veres allowed 3 hits over 2 innings striking out 3. He also had an unearned run during his frames.
• Joel Pichardo finished up with a 1 walk, 2 K 7th.