lotta talk about daric barton over at john sickels' Minor League Ball the other day. i've been trying to think of the last time cardinal fans followed an ex-prospect this closely -- or for that matter followed him at all. anybody? granted daric barton isn't just any prospect, and it's only fairly recently that we all got online and had reliable day-by-day access to minor league performance . . . . still, i've been a cardinal fan for 30+ years and this is a new experience for me. if anybody can recall something similar -- ie intense scrutiny on a discarded farmhand -- refresh my memory.
for that matter, if you can recall the cardinals ever having dealt a more heralded prospect, post it in the comments. i've given it a few minutes' thought and can't think of an example.
oh yeah -- that guy we got in the daric barton trade? he's pitching tonight.