A look back at the 2017 Johnson City Cardinals

In the final installment of our season reviews, we’ll look back at the Johnson City Cardinals’ season, fueled by a number of 2017 draftees.

St. Louis’ seventh-round selection was outfielder Chase Pinder, a team leader in several offensive categories. Pinder, 21, maintained a 146 wRC+ and slashed .320/.442/.438 in 209 plate appearances with Johnson City. Pinder’s .413 wOBA and 14.8 walk percentage were also team highs.

The Cardinals pick in the 19th round was infielder Irving Lopez. Lopez, in his age 22 season, performed to a 35 wRC, trailing only Pinder’s 42 for the best on the club. Lopez’s 11.8 strikeout percentage was the lowest on the club by almost two percent, and his .378 on-base percentage was second among Johnson City batters with at least 100 plate appearances.

With the mention of strikeout percentage, infielder Carlos Rodriguez draws attention. The 20-year-old right-handed-batter whiffed 57 times in 145 plate appearances — a 39.3 strikeout rate. That’s a team high, of course, and by over 11 percent.

It was infielder Luis Bandes who controlled most of the power stats for Johnson City, as his .520 slugging percentage, 10 home runs, and 49 runs batted in were all tops on the team.

Johnson City Cardinals 2017 statistics

Thirteenth- and 16th-round selections, Jacob Patterson and Jake Walsh, were impressive in their time on the mound. Patterson worked to a 1.93 ERA across 23 ¹⁄₃ innings in relief. Patterson struck out 33 batters, resulting in a staff-best 12.57 K/9 rate. In 16 appearances out of the bullpen, Walsh went 5-0 with a .122 opponents’ batting average and only three earned runs allowed.

Alvaro Seijas made 12 starts for the Cardinals, logging 63 ¹⁄₃ innings. Seijas was touched for only two long balls, figuring out to be a 0.28 HR/9 rate — the lowest among Johnson City pitchers with a minimum of 40 innings pitched. Jacob Schelesener punched out 61 in 43 ²⁄₃ innings but also walked 38, although he held the opposition to a .196 batting mark. Evan Guillory, a 23rd-round pick, worked to a 2.80 ERA in 16 games (six starts), adding up to an even 45 innings.

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That does it for our season reviews. Thank you for checking in all season long, and I invite you to continue doing so throughout the offseason. On the Minor League side, our Arizona Fall League coverage will begin in the upcoming week, with a quick preview of the Cardinals-related action coming up on Monday.