News and Notes: Draft, LaRussa, Marp

Yesterday was Tuesday, meaning it was time for another Draft Preview from the Red Baron, the eighteenth on the year. These are coming up to a close as the draft is just a few weeks away, so make sure to read up to stay informed so you know what to expect on draft day!

Ben Godar has a piece on Tony LaRussa's playing career, where he was at best a spare part throughout his career. It was an interesting read for somewhat like me who didn't know anything about La Russa's playing days, and I recommend it to anyone like me who wasn't watching baseball back then.

Next up was John, who had a piece on the viability and the rarity that is a first baseman hitting leadoff. That's exactly what Matt Carpenter should be (at least fairly often) once Jhonny Peralta comes back.

Waino wants the strikezone to stay the same, and that's the subject of today's Hunt and Peck. Also included is a report on the an MLB committee deciding to change the zone, as well as the typical links around the baseball world, such as Noah Syndergaard's awesomeness, Jackie Bradley Jr.'s 28 game hitting streak, and what Joey Votto does to paper airplanes.

Ebo delivered another Daily Farm Report to us yesterday. Jake Woodfood threw 8 scoreless innings for Peoria, Dejong had a multi-hit game, and Andrew Morales struck out eight and walked none.

Things didn't go well for the Cardinals yesterday, taking a series loss to the Cubs. Check out the game thread for VEB's takes and check out the recap, courtesy of Zoomzoom.

With that out of the way, the Cardinals will take on another strong team today in the Nationals. Mike Leake is one of the only Cardinals pitchers whose starting to figuring things out, and he takes the hill against Joe Ross, younger brother of Tyson Ross. Ross is striking out 7.14 hitters per nine, with 2.89 walks per nine. That leads to a 4.02 xFIP. A better than average HR/FB rate brings that down to a 3.41 FIP. Go Cardinals!