Daily Farm Report: Tyler O’Neil Helps Power Memphis Past Reno

Triple A: Memphis 11 - Reno 3

• Breyvic Valera (2B): 3-5, 2 R, 2B, BB, K
• Nick Martini (LF): 3-5, R, RBI, BB
• Tyler O’Neill (CF): 3-6, 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 K
• Alex Mejia (3B): 4-6, 2 R, RBI, K
• Jose Adolis Garcia (RF): 2-5, R, RBI, BB, K
• Aledmys Diaz (SS): 1-6, RBI, 3 K
• Jack Flaherty (SP): 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR
• Josh Lucas (RP): 1 IP, 3 K

Oh, hey, Tyler O’Neill. O’Neill is now batting .306/.308/.694 in Memphis, good for a 135 wRC+. If he can finish the season on the tear he started at the beginning of July his numbers at the end of the year will be right about where they need to be, and it will have him an injury away from St. Louis to start 2018...Breyvic Valera’s night pushed his wRC+ for the season up over 100. He keeps doing just enough to hang around, but given all of the churn on the edges of the big league roster this season the fact that he hasn’t yet had a cup of coffee probably says a lot about what the organization thinks about him. He may fall victim to the crunch on the 40 man this winter...Josh Lucas now has 58 strikeouts against 8 walks in 52 innings in Memphis this season.

Double A: Tulsa 12 - Springfield 1

• Magneuris Sierra (RF): 0-3, BB, K
• Oscar Mercado (CF): 0-4
• Darren Seferina (2B): 0-4, R
• John Nogowski (1B): 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K
• Randy Arozarena (LF): 0-3, BB, K
• Andrew Knizner (C): 2-3, 2B
• Tommy Edman (SS): 0-2, K
• Eliezer Alvarez (PH): 0-1
• Zac Gallen (SP): 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

The combination of Sborz and Spitzbarth proved to be too much for the Springfield bats to handle. The two Drillers pitchers only allowed 6 base runners and 2 XBH between them...Meanwhile, Zac Gallen limited the damage, but he labored, needing 75 pitches to get through 4 innings. Gallen looked good during his brief stint in AAA, but now that he is back in Springfield he’s returned to his low BB, low K ways. His BB% has remained steady across three levels, but his K% in Springfield has lagged significantly behind his strikeout rate in AA has lagged quite a bit behind his numbers in Palm Beach and Memphis.

Class A Advanced: Bradenton 2 - Palm Beach 1 (10 Innings)

• Blake Drake (CF): 1-5, K
• Chris Chinea (C): 1-4, K
• Casey Turgeon (LF): 1-4, 2B
• Andy Young (DH): 1-4, R, 2B, K
• Jeremy Martinez (C): 0-4
• Mike O’Reilly (SP): 6 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K

Class A Advanced: Palm Beach 3 - Bradenton 1 (7 Innings)

• Blake Drake (CF): 1-4
• Jose Godoy (C): 0-2, BB
• Thomas Spitz (RF): 2-3, 2B, BB
• Chris Chinea (1B): 0-4
• Andy Young (2B): 2-3, R, RBI, SB
• Jose Martinez (SS): 1-3, 2B, RBI, K, CS
• Ramon Santos (SP): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Thomas Spitz has been running double-digit BB% since he debuted as a pro in 2015, and can swipe a bag on occasion as well. The high walk rates have allowed him to mostly keep his head above water, but his K% is starting to creep up as he climbs the ladder as well, but unfortunately more power hasn’t followed. He’s 25 and in a different system he’d probably be able to carve out a role as a depth outfielder in the upper minors, but he’s about to run into the logjam of outfield prospects in Springfield and Memphis...After a rough start to his career in Palm Beach Andy Young’s numbers are creeping back up in the right direction...It’s too early to tell much from Mike O’Reilly’s 3 starts in Palm Beach, but since he’s playing over half of his games in Roger Dean Stadium the home run rate will come down, and we’ll get a chance to see how his changeup fares against high A hitters...Ramon Santos also has only a handful of high A starts to his name. He’s a week younger than Mike O’Reilly, but he has a pro career that goes all the way back to 2012. After some early success at various rookie levels of rookie ball he’s struggled above the Gulf Coast League.

Class A: Peoria 4 - Wisconsin 3

• Stefan Trosclair (2B): 0-2, BB, K, SB
• Brian O'Keefe (C): 1-4, R
• Danny Hudzina (3B): 2-2, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Matt Fiedler (RF): 0-2, BB, K
• Nick Plummer (RF): 1-3, K
• Kramer Robertson (SS): 0-3, K
• Sam Tewes (SP): 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR
• Yeison Medina (RP): 1 IP, 1 K

2016 30th round pick Stefan Trosclair tore up the GCL last year, but he was a 21 year old with 4 years of college ball under his belt, so it wasn’t all that surprising. It was surprising when the organization started him in a full-season league to start the year, and it has been even more surprising that he’s continued to rake. He has a weird profile for a 1B, lots of walks, middling power, and 12 steals this season, which may be why the Cardinals have tried him at 2B this year. The jump from the GCL to a full-season league is huge, but Trosclair has handled it, but he’s 22 and he’ll have to keep hitting and moving up the ladder steadily if he wants to avoid becoming an organizational bat...Sam Tewes was drafted in the 8th round last June, but didn’t throw a single pitch in pro ball until this season. He handled himself well in a 4 start stint in May in Palm Beach, but he was assigned to State College when short-season leagues started up. He looked strong in his Peoria debut last night, getting through 7 innings in 78 pitches and inducing 13 groundouts along the way...

Class A Short-Season: State College 9 - Auburn 2

• Scott Hurst (CF): 1-4, R, 3B, 3 RBI, BB
• Bryce Denton (LF): 3-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, CS
• Dennis Ortega (C): 3-4, 2 R
• Caleb Lopes (DH): 2-4
• Johan Oviedo (SP): 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 8 K

Rookie: Pulaski 7 - Johnson City 0

• Delvin Perez (SS): 2-4, K, CS
• Brady Whalen (DH): 2-4, 2 K
• Evan Guillory (SP): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Rookie: GCL Cardinals @ GCL Astros - PPD (Wet Grounds)

Rookie: DSL Cardinals 6 - DSL Mets 5

Today’s Probables

MEM - Matt Pearce

SPR - Ryan Helsley

PB - Jake Woodford

PEO - Frederis Parra

SC - Jonathan Mulford

JC - Jacob Schlesener