Rasmus

by Lawless on May 13, 2007 3:14 PM EDT

Colby is hot right now in Springfield. I am a big proponent of the Cards philosophy to take it slow with Colby, BUT in 122 ABs Colby has an OPS of 939 and a walk rate of 10% plus.

Personally, since Colby is in the middle of a prolonged hot streak I would prefer to leave him in AA until he reaches around 300 ABs and take a look at his numbers at that time, but I am interested to get the group's thoughts.

The other, more interesting question, is if he keeps up the production would you give him a September callup and start his arb clock?

Finally what does the group believe Colby's upside potential is? I thought some semi-interesting comps would be:

Johnny Damon
Gary Sheffield
Von Hayes
Will Clark (the early years - as a hitter...)
Carlos Beltran?

Anybody have other thoughts? Sorry for the unimaginative post, I am just interested in seeing what the group thinks of Colby.

Poll

Who is the best comp for Colby Rasmus?

Carlos Beltran

7 votes

Jim Edmonds

4 votes

JD Drew

11 votes

Von Hayes

5 votes

Gary Sheffield

0 votes

Johnny Damon

25 votes

Steve Finley

22 votes

74 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 19 comments

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Comments

I don't think it's the right time for it

Jason Marquis still sucks.

by kyle man on May 13, 2007 3:16 PM EDT 0 recs

needs to be seasoned a little more

Jason Marquis still sucks.

by kyle man on May 13, 2007 3:17 PM EDT 0 recs

no need to push him

he's gonna be a good one but let's let him continue to have success at AA

by chuckb on May 13, 2007 3:24 PM EDT 0 recs

My thoughts on the matter

Well I think there is no way he ends up in the majors this year. Therefore there is no reason to rush him at all. I say keep him in AA all season, no matter what his numbers are. I don't think the competition is that much greater in AAA than it is in AA, just more seasoned. One of this biggest keys to success in baseball is conficence. Let Rausmus tear it up in AA for this year, build his confidence. Then next year for spring training let him play with the big league squad again and decide whether he is big league ready or needs another season in the minors, this time AAA.

by stl3bagger on May 13, 2007 3:26 PM EDT 0 recs

Sensible approach

That seems like the sensible approach to Colby's development. What's the rush? There are plenty of outfielders at Memphis, would he even get the playing time he needs if he moved up before next season? Let him season in Springfield.

by cardsgirl95 on May 13, 2007 8:48 PM EDT up 0 recs

Another Semi-Interesting Question

With Miguel Cabrera voicing his inclination to play with Pujols, if Rasmus kept these numbers up through the year, would we trade him to the Marlins for Cabrera (obviously we would probably need to include more,,, but it is an interesting thought....)

by Lawless on May 13, 2007 3:32 PM EDT 0 recs

Grady Sizemore

by plh903 on May 13, 2007 3:59 PM EDT 0 recs

ive always heard rasmus

is similar to grady sizemore

by truemun12 on May 13, 2007 4:00 PM EDT 0 recs

And I'd rather him

get settled in and continue to hit at AA, and let Memphis be a pit-stop to the bigs.

by plh903 on May 13, 2007 4:00 PM EDT 0 recs

The cardinals need to keep him in AA for the rest of the year, start him in AAA next year and hopefully, if all goes well, he'll be in in St. Louis sometime after the 08 all star break.

I think a good comparison would be Sizemore, one of my friends lives in Springfield and says that all of the hype surrounding Rasmus is bases on potential. I'm not saying that he hasn't been impressive so far. He has. Im saying he will hopefully grow into those man muscles and those doubles will turn into home runs.

hit em where they aint

by thefordhamflash on May 13, 2007 11:51 PM EDT 0 recs

Colby

I got to see Rasmus play two games last year. I think the Grady Sizemore comparisons are fairly apt, but personally, I see a little bit more of Steve Finley in the guy. If he adds some more muscle, he could develop more of that Sizemore kind of power, but at the moment, he's more of gap power hitter. Of course, that's why teams do projection.

As far as his future goes, I'd like to see him in AAA at some time this year. He's torn up each level so far, and as long as he continues, I see no reason to hold him back. That being said, right now is probably too soon. Let the kid do it for another month or two, (or three) and then give him a crack at Memphis.

Acquire Rocco Baldelli!

by the red baron on May 14, 2007 12:07 AM EDT 0 recs

I agree

if the guy can handle stiffer competition in a couple of months, let him have it.

On with the youth movement!

by aet15 on May 14, 2007 2:07 AM EDT up 0 recs

realistically,

is AAA all that much tougher than AA? I've heard that the talent at AA is often a lot deeper than it is at AAA, as teams season their best prospects at AA, and use the AAA club as basically a pit stop for them on their way to the majors.

by Valatan on May 14, 2007 3:42 AM EDT up 0 recs

Common wisdom...

You're correct, Val, in that most baseball people believe that if you can hit at AA, you can hit at AAA. The gap between Single A and AA is much, much bigger than the gap at AA to AAA. Not sure about the reason, but I think you are at least partially correct. I would also stress that Single A contains a lot of undeveloped players, still learning the game, so a lot of mistakes are to be feasted on there.

That said, I think a AAA call up at the half season point is the absolute ceiling for Rasmus this year. I wouldn't want to rush him any further. I would consider that a stunning accomplishment and give it 7-1 odds.

The septemember call ups will probably go to guys who have been around longer, who need the additional incentive, and who are in a better position to help the team. Remember, Colby got a HUGE ringing endorsement when the organization started him at AA.

I voted Steve Finley. He doesn't have the wheels to be Carlos Beltran and Sheffy was a speedy SS at this point in his career.

by Brock20 on May 14, 2007 7:40 AM EDT up 0 recs

I don't know...

...I was thinking that they keep him in AA all year and give him a cup of coffee at the end of the season. I think I read somewhere that players AA numbers translate pretty straight to AAA numbers. That said I think Rasmus's development is directly related to JEd's status. I think since JEd is signed for next year Colby will be playing AAA. When JEd is injured he will get considered for a call-up.

by BigJawnMize on May 14, 2007 9:05 AM EDT up 0 recs

300 AA at bats

I'd like to see Rasmus get the call to AAA this year if he demonstrates mastery of AA. The original poster mentioned 300 ABs at AA ... seems like a reasonable number if he continues his strong performance. If Rasmus can get somewhat acclimated to AAA in 2007, then it would be less of a rush to call up Rasmus sometime mid-2008 when JED inevitably makes a trip to the DL or is completely unproductive. Why the goal to bring up Rasmus during the 2008 season? In my view, it's important on several levels: (a) Rasmus and JED can play together for part of a season as happened with Molina and Matheny and (b) the organization needs to make the call at the end of the 2008 season (which JED's contract ends) whether Rasmus is ready to be a starter in MLB. Ideally, you'd want more than a September callup in 2008 to audition for this job. I'd prefer Rasmus join the team at the all-star break in 2008. If that is the target, let's get the kid up to Memphis sometime this year.

by jjray on May 14, 2007 9:16 AM EDT 0 recs

AA

He should spend all of '07 in AA. In '08, invite him to spring training, then send him back to AA to tear it up, then elevate him to AAA. He gets some seasoning there and in September we call him up to see what the kid can do. Then he is ready for '09. What age will he be in '09, 22 or 23??

I know what I wrote hasn't been eye opening, and is quite possibly what the Cards have in mind. It makes sense to bring him along slow. I am really excited about this kid.

Love comes mostly in RED!

by bleedred06 on May 14, 2007 1:23 PM EDT 0 recs

progress

i am pretty indifferent as to whether or not to move him up to AAA this year. the difference in quality isnt all that dramatic. if he keeps hitting they should call him up in september though. a few days in september isnt going to make him a free agent any sooner. worst case scenario, if you want to call it that, he may become a super 2. he would cost a little bit more but if he learns some stuff in september it would all be worth it in my opinion.

by dmb60614 on May 14, 2007 4:55 PM EDT 0 recs

I had trouble

trying to find a good comp for Rasmus, because I don't think he's going to walk as much as a lot of those players. I would go with either a rich man's age-30+ Steve Finley, or Dale Murphy's raw numbers (ie without an era adjustment.)

As far as AAA goes, I don't see any reason for it. If Edmonds is still sucking in July, give him a month there so he'll be ready in Spring Training, but if it looks like jim's got enough to play out his contract just leave Rasmus in AA and let him spend a full year at both levels.

by DanUpBaby on May 14, 2007 8:46 PM EDT 0 recs