It’s safe to say we have no reason to talk about Zack Cox anymore when we do our fortnightly minor league updates. Now in Miami, which I know is infested with murderers from watching “Dexter,” Cox has his work cut out for him. No other Cardinals farm hands were forced to join other organizations, so I’ll mostly be checking in to see how our usual heroes of the future are faring with the vast majority of the minor league season now completed.
Giving Zack Cox the inset photo in this minor league report just seemed like the right thing to do since we’ll never get the chance again.
Memphis Redbirds (43-68)
Matt Adams certainly was not phased by his ugly but brief stint in St. Louis, as his numbers are still filthy in Memphis. Adams has 16 home runs and a .629 slugging percentage in 240 plate appearances. He’s still not walking, but that doesn’t appear to be a trend that will be reversed. Ryan Jackson seems to have settled in as a not completely embarrassing shortstop; he’s hitting .274/.335/.405 and still plays that tasty defense we all know and love.
Shelby Miller is the marquee name here, and he’s still mired in a strange and mostly fruitless season. Reports are getting better when it comes to Miller’s fastball being fast, but 156 baserunners in under 100 innings is a rough number to look at. Miller’s strikeout rate has remained exemplary; he’s fanned 107 in his 99 1/3 frames. John Gast actually has solid enough strikeout and walk rates (7.3/9 and 2.8/9), but he continues to pile up the hits allowed. Victor Marte is back in Triple-A, which is honestly the merciful thing to do for all parties involved.
Springfield Cardinals (60-47)
Every two weeks we get to giggle and blush as we type the name Oscar Taveras in different fonts on our WordPress fields. This post is no different, and there have been rumors that Taveras could even see time this September as a 20-year-old. Taveras has done nothing bump improve his stock as the season wears on; he’s hitting an extremely impressive .323/.384/.577 with 19 bombs and like 1,000 super-hard swings. Baseball America had Oscar as the 74th best prospect in baseball prior to the season’s start. During the publication’s mid-season rankings, they upgraded him to the number 18 spot. Kolten Wong has not been as fortunate, as he’s struggled a bit of late. He still owns a .760 OPS as a second baseman, though he has some work to do before he’s ready to take over in St. Louis.
Trevor Rosenthal‘s success earned him a trip to the Major League bullpen, a destination that has allowed him to touch triple digits with his fastball. Rosenthal still projects as a starter down the road, but the bullpen certainly needs an impact arm. Carlos Martinez‘s stock seems to keep rising, though his lack of strikeouts since reaching Double-A is a bit puzzling. Martinez, who is just nasty (we drunk-scouted him, so we know) is only fanning 6.9 batters per nine, but the small 44 1/3 inning sample size may have something to do with that. Strikeouts aside, Car-Mart (which I think is a business) has limited his walks (2.4/9) and has been very difficult to hit (36 hits in 44 1/3 IP). Oh, and he still throws hard. Real hard.
Palm Beach Cardinals (51-56)
We always struggle to find things to say when talking about the Palm Beach Cardinals. It seems prudent to talk about Alan Ahmady and all of his walks. Ahmady has a nice .380 OBP thanks to 31 walks in just 242 plate appearances, and he’s also flashed some gap power despite only hitting one home run on the season. The problem, of course, is that Ahmady is 24. That’s pretty much senior citizen level when you’re playing A-ball.
Quad Cities River Bandits (52-54)
The first 101 plate appearances for recent draftee Stephen Piscotty have gone reasonably well. Piscotty is hitting .281/.366/.427 with a homer and a couple of stolen bases. The big knock on Piscotty was that his once-impressive swing had gotten messed up. Let’s hope it gets straightened out and his stock soars. Tyrell Jenkins remains disappointing this season. He’s walking far too many (4.5/9) and giving up plenty of hits despite a decent strikeout rate. We say this all the time, but Jenkins is athletic and raw but still full of potential. We feel obligated to once again tell you that Colin Walsh, he who is not to be fussed over, is flirting with a 1.000 OPS.
Batavia Muckdogs (23-18)
We warned you in our last minor league report that Patrick Wisdom was the Muckdog we intended to follow most closely. Not to contradict ourselves, let’s take a look at how the 2012 draft pick is doing so far. In 151 plate appearances, Wisdom is hitting a lackluster .277/.371/.400. The positive sign here is that Wisdom has shown a discerning batting eye. The negative is that he still hasn’t really shown off all the power many scouts felt he’d have on full display.
Johnson City Cardinals (20-17)
Steve Bean and Carson Kelly are a couple of early 2012 draft picks getting their start as members of the Johnson City squad. Bean, who is not in any way related to Sean Bean (also known as Ned Stark and that guy who laughs at Nicholas Cage in National Treasure), is a catcher right out of high school hitting .125/.263/.213 in 95 trips to the plate. Obviously Bean is incredibly young and has plenty of development to undertake, but that’s a pretty funny line to have. Who is he, 2011 Adam Dunn? Kelly has fared better thanks to his power. The 18-year-old is hitting .240/.275/.456 with seven long balls in his first 132 plate appearances. He’s almost the reverse of the other Cardinal draftees (Piscotty, Wisdom) in that he’s come out clearing the fences right away but hasn’t been patient.
GCL Cardinals (26-12)
Since it’s fun to see how the recent Cardinal draft selections are doing, let us check in on Max Foody once again. Foody has now pitched 12 2/3 innings in three starts and four total appearances. He’s struck out 13 and only walked one over the course of that span. As awesome as all that sounds, he’s also given up 17 hits. It’s those hits that have led to his gross 5.68 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.
DSL Cardinals (26-24)
The 19-year-old named Luis Cruz who I mentioned in the last minor league report continues to display a nice approach at the plate. Cruz is hitting .326/.400/.465 in 195 plate appearances. Luis Perdomo and Dewen Perez remain an effective pitching duo for the internet/Dominican Cardinals, as they have each posted excellent strikeout rates (8.9/9 and 9.8/9 respectively) and held opponents in check. They’re both teenagers and worth keeping on the general radar.
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