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DFR: Shortstops that can hit? Oscar Mercado, Edmundo Sosa continue to offer hope with nice games at the plate

An all around great day for the Cardinals in the low minors.

By Eric M. Johnson
Oscar Mercado has that look, that WINNING look.
Oscar Mercado has that look, that WINNING look.

It's been quite a while since the Cardinals have had as many solid middle infield prospects as they have in the low minors this season, and all of them had good days in the back field games against the Astros organization yesterday.

Las Vegas 4 Springfield 1

Springfield Pitching

  • Tyler Lyons - 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 K
  • Logan Billbrough - 1.1 IP, 5 H, ER, K
  • Danny Miranda - 2 IP, H, BB, K
  • Shaban Ronnie - 1 IP, 2 H

Springfield Hitting

  • Curt Smith (1B) - 2 for 3, R, 2B
  • Oscar Taveras (DH/RF)* - 1 for 4, 2B

Notes:

  • Tyler Lyons with another rough outing in minor league camp, continuing the struggles that got him sent down from big league camp a couple of weeks ago. The stuff has been good according to reports, so hopefully this is just a bump in the road for him.
  • Taveras with another hit while making up for missed time earlier in the spring. He's hit in every game he's played in minor league camp so I'd say the reports of his demise as a prospect are incredibly overstated.

Binghamton 6 Palm Beach 1


Palm Beach Pitching

  • Jon Cornelius - 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, K
  • Ryan Sherriff - 3 IP, 4 H, 2 K
  • Joe Donofrio - 1 IP, 3 K
  • Iden Nazario - 1 IP, H, BB, K

Palm Beach Hitting

  • David Washington (1B) - 2 for 3, R, 2B

Notes:

  • Nobody of note in on the pitching side, but solid outings from Sherriff and Donofrio nonetheless.
  • David Washington was the only player of note offensively and continues to play well with the Palm Beach squad this spring

Peoria1 6 St. Lucie 1


Peoria Pitching

  • Kyle Helisek - 4 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
  • Corey Baker - 2 IP, 2 H, K
  • Robert Stock - 1 IP
  • Thomas Lee - 1 IP, 2 K
  • Sam Tuivailala - 1 IP, K

Peoria Hitting

  • C.J. McElroy (CF) - 3 for 5, 2 R, 2B
  • Mason Katz (2B) - 2 for 5, 2 R, 2B, RBI
  • Ronald Castillo (RF) - 2 for 4, R, HR, 3 RBI
  • Jimmy Bosco (LF) - 1 for 3, R, HR, RBI, BB
  • Michael Schulze (3B) - 2 for 3
Notes:
  • Four straight scoreless innings for Sam Tuivailala in relief. Hopefully he can continue to pitch this well and make himself a candidate to help the Cardinal bullpen at some point this season...but I wouldn't bet on it.
  • Ronald Castillo...again. By far the most impressive player in the low minors portion of camp this season. That's 4 homers this spring, by my count, along with several multi-hit games. Inasmuch as the Cardinals don't need any more outfielders, Castillo is certainly making a case for starting the year at Palm Beach.
  • It's hard to argue with C.J. McElroy's athleticism -- it's certainly plus. But we've not seen much of anything in terms of baseball skills to this point in his career, so a three hit game with and extra base hit is a welcome performance
Peoria2 7 Savannah 1

State College Pitching

  • Nick Petree - 4 IP, 3 H, 6 K
  • Max Foody - 2 IP, H, 2 BB
  • Kyle Grana - 1 IP, H, ER, K
  • Zach Loraine - 1 IP, K
  • Kyle Barraclough - 1 IP, BB, 2 K

State College Hitting

  • Richard Pedroza (2B) - 2 for 3, BB
  • Oscar Mercado (SS) - 2 for 4, R, 3B, 2 RBI
  • Anthony Ray (LF) - 3 for 4, R, HR, 3 RBI (Inside the park HR)

Notes:

  • No word on whether the Savannah hitters actually got to use bats. #Strikeouts #Strikeouts #Strikeouts
  • Great outing for Petree, his best of the spring so far. Still my pick to be the breakout candidate in the Cardinals minor leagues this year.
  • Oscar Mercado continues to pound out base hits. Perhaps his bat was a bit underrated.

Extended1 7 Long Island Storm 5

Extended1 Pitching

  • Arturo Reyes - 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
  • Will Anderson - 2 IP, H, 2 K
  • Josh Lucas - 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER
  • Steven Sabatino - 1 IP, K
  • Brandon Lee - 1 IP, 2 H

Extended1 Hitting

  • Edmundo Sosa (SS) - 2 for 5, R, 3B, RBI
  • Justin Ringo (1B) - 2 for 4, R
  • Chris Rivera (2B) - 3 for 3, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, BB
Notes:
  • Chris Rivera with a great day at the plate. He hasn't gotten a lot of PA's this spring and will likely stay in extended spring training until short season ball starts, but he's played well when he's gotten on the field.
  • Edmundo Sosa has hit well in limited action and the extra base hits have been encouraging.
  • No report on whether Long Island was short a right fielder -- two triples in the same game???

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