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With the Dominican Summer League wrapping up, and the playoff loss by the Cards Gulf Coast League affiliate over the weekend we are down to 6 affiliates left active. The remaining St. Louis Cardinals prospects went 3-3 on the day behind three strong pitching performances.
AAA: Memphis 4 - New Orleans 5
- Jon Jay made his second rehab start for the Redbirds. He collected two hits and two runs and stole a base before he was replaced by Rafael Ortega in the top of the 7th.
- Jeremy Hazelbaker was the only other Memphis player with a multi-hit night, he had 2 singles, a walk, a run and an RBI.
- Arturo Reyes allowed 10 baserunners and 5 runs over 6 innings. Reyes has been roughed up in his 19 IP with Memphis, but it is still only 19 innings. He will probably join his former Gonzaga teammate Marco Gonzales in the Memphis rotation to start the year next season despite being drafted 39 rounds later. As bad as he has looked in the PCL so far, he has put himself position to at least ride the Memphis-St. Louis shuttle next year, which is ain't too shabby for a 40th round draft pick finishing up his second full season of pro ball.
AA: Springfield 6 - Tulsa 0
- Jonathan Rodriguez went 2-4 with a dinger, 2 RBI and 2 runs.
- Patrick Wisdom went 1-4 with a double, an RBI, and a pair of strikeouts.
- Breyvic Valera's struggles in AA continued, he was 0-4 with two strikeouts. The utility IF with the promising hit tool struggled in a callup to Springfield at the end of last season, and then again when he broke camp with the S-Cards this year. He was sent down to A-Advanced and hit .353/.468/.451 in 61 PA. He was called back up, to the Texas League but has only 4 hits in the 8 games since then, he has also struck out 6 times and hasn't yet drawn a walk.
- Corey Baker has been on the Springfield roster all season, making 37 appearances, but only 10 starts. Before yesterday he had never thrown more than 5 IP at the AA level, so of course he decided to throw a complete game shutout against the Drillers last night. The former 49th round draft pick (back when that was a thing) allowed 3 hits, walked 1, struck out 4 and needed exactly 100 pitches to get 27 outs, missing a Maddux by one pitch. He faced 3 over the minimum.
A Advanced: Palm Beach 3 - Bradenton 4
- Collin Radack started at DH and went 2-3 with a steal.
- Louis Linwood "Luke" Voit went 1-4, but cranked his 11th homer of the season, and drove in 2 runs in a 9th inning rally that fell just short.
- The impeccably named Blake Drake was 1-3.
- Corey Littrell took the loss, allowing 4 runs (3 ER) in 6.2 IP, striking out 3 and walking 2. His K% has dropped quite a bit since coming over from the Red Sox in a deadline deal last season, but his BB% has dropped precipitously. Perhaps more encouraging, his BB% in the Florida State League is the lowest of his career. Lefties who don't walk anybody will be given a lot of chances to succeed.
A: Peoria 1 - Cedar Rapids 0
- Obviously there wasn't much offense here, Oscar Mercado had the only multi-hit game for the Chiefs. He also knocked in the game's only run on a first inning single.
- Matt Pearce threw 6 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, striking out 4 and walking nobody. The 21 year old is has made a solid impression in his first full season of pro ball. His stubborn refusal to walk or strike out anybody would surely bring a tear to Dave Duncan's eye.
- The last time I brought you a DFR the Chiefs allowed 23 runs to Cedar Rapids so this was a nice change of pace.
A Short Season: State College 3 - Mahoning Valley 0
- First baseman Casey Grayson was 1-3 with a triple and a run scored, bringing his season line up to .318/.427/.435
- Orlando Olivera started at DH and went 1-4 with a run scored. The former Missouri Baptist Spartan has hit well at both short-season stops this season. He has a .346/.388/.523 line in the NY/Penn League, with a .370 BABIP. Without a first hand account it is hard to know if he is seeing a lot of strikes and handling them easily or if he has a super aggressive approach, but hopefully he'll get a chance to see some more advanced pitching in full-season ball next year. He'll be 25 in October, so he'll need to move fast.
- Starter Jorge Rodriguez scattered 7 base runners over 6.2 IP, striking out 5 batters along the way.
Rookie: Johnson City 0 - Pulaski 10
- Eliezer Alvarez was 1-4 with a walk, continuing what has been a very strong year at Johnson City for the 20 year old.
- Chris Chinea added 2 hits, including a double.
- The pitching lines were obviously a mess, every pitcher but one allowed a run. That pitcher, Chandler Hawkins, handled the 9th and struck out the side.
Today's Games
All the affiliates still in-season will be in action today. Peoria has already clinched a playoff spot in the Midwest League, and Memphis and Johnson City have been eliminated (technically Memphis' tragic number is still 1). Jimmy Reed will take the hill for Springfield in a game against the Arkansas Travelers, who lead the S-Cards in the second half standings by 2 games.Meanwhile State College fights for a Wildcard spot and Palm Beach will try to cut their Magic Number down to 1 against Bradenton.