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- Magneuris Sierra - 1-5, R, RBI, K, 2B
- Oscar Mercado - 2-5, RBI, 2 K
- Anthony Garcia - 0-5, K
- Casey Turgeon - 2-4, R, 2 K
- Bruce Caldwell - 2-5, 2 RBI, K, 2 2B
- Leobaldo Pina - 1-1, R
- Jesse Jenner - 1-1, R
- Zac Gallen - (L) 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, BB, 3 K
A very forgettable night for the Springfield Cardinals. Magneuris Sierra hit another double, Oscar Mercado keeps rolling along with 2 more hits. Think about this for a second, Oscar Mercado has never hit above .254 as a professional. Last year he hit .215. He’s absolutely murdering right-handed pitching at a .340 clip. Casey Turgeon is a guy that doesn’t get a lot of a attention, but I like his game. I saw him a bit in college and he reminded me of a very, very poor man’s version of Dustin Pedroia. He’s a scrappy guy, who can handle second base, and should be a good roster filler for the Cards. Zac Gallen was just alright in this one. Eight hits in six innings isn’t spectacular, but it’s not getting roughed up either. In his last two starts, Gallen has only walked one in 12.2 innings and struck out seven.
- Darren Seferina - 2-4, BB, K
- Andy Young - 0-5, 2 K
- Thomas Spitz - 2-4, 2 R
- Auston Wilson - 2-4, K
- Jose Godoy - 1-3, R, BB
- Luke Dykstra - 1-4, RBI
- Junior Fernandez - (L) 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Newly promoted Andy Young with a rare 0-fer. If you’ve followed Cardinals drafts for a bit, you’ll probably recognize the name Austin Wilson. Wilson was a highly-touted high school player who the Cardinals drafted and tried to woo away from Stanford. Ultimately he went to college and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners and was picked up in the Minor League portion of the rule-V draft this Winter. Wilson is built like a tank and has tremendous power, but his contact issues are a constant. I saw him last year in the California League and he looked nothing like the player I saw coming out of high school. He struggles with high velocity and gets easily fooled on breaking pitches. Hopefully he could put it together, but he has only played sparingly for a Palm Beach team that could use a little pop. Junior Fernandez has been so-so in the pitcher friendly Florida State League and he was a guy I expected to take a leap in his development this season. So far, he has not made that leap. He still needs to learn how to become a more complete pitcher.
- Ricardo Baustista- 1-4, 2B, K
- Bryce Denton - 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K
- Dennis Ortega - 1-4, 2B, R
- Jonathan Mulford - (L) 3.0 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 2 BB, K
- Leland Tilley - 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K
- Anthony Ciavarella - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K
I have to be honest here, there is not a whole lot of interesting talent on this State College club. Ricardo Bautista and Bryce Denton are probably the most intruiging hitters of the bunch. Also two of the rare position players on this roster that hail from the high school ranks. Dennis Ortega, the catcher, is an interesting prospect. He hit .357 in the GCL last season. It it a fluke? Is he a decent hitter? I’m not sure, but I’d like to find out. Jonathan Mulford got shelled in his first professional start. He spent all of 2016 as a reliever. Tilley and Ciavarella did a nice job out of the ‘pen to eat up some innings in a pretty lopsided game. This team should be a bit more interesting in the coming weeks as draft signings will alter the complexion of this club quite a bit. It looks as though Zach Kirtley and Evan Mendoza have been assigned to the club and they will be guys to keep an eye on from the 2017 draft class.
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Memphis and Peoria had the day off. Rookie level Johnson City starts their season on Thursday. The GCL Cardinals start on Monday against the GCL Astros.
Here are Thursday’s probables:
Memphis: John Gant
Springfield: Dakota Hudson
Palm Beach: TBA
Peoria: Austin Sexton
State College: Anthony Shew
Johnson City: Junior Gonzalez