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I am in the middle of writing up the preview for this weekend’s two-game series against the Kansas City Royals, but it is not quite ready yet. Also, as we all know the major league St. Louis Cardinals team has not been playing all that hot this season. Writing about them gets to be a bit of a drag.
However, there are some fun youngsters in the system to look forward to and the Cardinals do seem to have at least partially set themselves up for 2024. stlcardsfan4 wrote a little bit about that yesterday. In the past couple days a few clips of some of these young pitchers were posted online that I thought would pair nicely with Thursday's article. I do not have much to offer in analysis here — consider this an open thread/Birdo in Brief to discuss among yourselves — but there are definitely a few players I am excited to see.
Super-cut of Drew Rom's organizational debut
— VHS (@VanHicklestein) August 10, 2023
5.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 10 K, 2 BB, 1 HR#stlcards pic.twitter.com/r2PUBSbT2j
Drew Rom is a 23-year-old lefty drafted in the fourth round by the Baltimore Orioles out of high school. He was acquired by the Cardinals in the Jack Flaherty trade. Prior to the trade he was boasting a 25.1% k-rate in AAA. His walk rate is a bit high at 11.5% so hopefully over time he is able to gain more control. He ranked 26th among Cardinals prospects per Baseball Savant.
Gordon Graceffo buries his curveball into the ground and gets Tristan Gray swinging over the top of it for a strikeout.
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) August 10, 2023
Graceffo's slider and curve look filthy tonight. pic.twitter.com/L2wjldayWv
Gordon Graceffo is the third ranked prospect in the Cardinals system. He was the Cardinals fifth round pick back in 2021. The clip above is of a curveball, but a lot of prospect experts have been noting his increase in fastball velocity. His AAA stats this season are little underwhelming, but the stuff looks good.
Max Rajcic has thrown back-to-back scoreless outings w/ at least 6 IP. Final line:
— Kareem (@KareemSSN) August 11, 2023
7.0 IP
2 H
0 ER
1 BB
4 K#STLCards pic.twitter.com/QVfBK1v8gI
Max Rajcic was the sixth round pick for the Cardinals in 2022 and the organization's 18th prospect. He is currently pitching with the Peoria Chiefs. There is not too much to go off for him, but so far he has rarely given up home runs which seems better than often giving home runs, right?
WOWOWOWOW HOLY CHASE DAVIS!!!! WHAT A CATCH IN CENTER TO SEAL THE WIN FOR PALM BEACH!!!
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) August 11, 2023
The route was a wee bit weird but who cares THIS ROCKED!!!! pic.twitter.com/dD9gro1gJK
I do not actually have much to say about this clip, it was just fun and serves as a reminder to check out Kyle Reis. He has a lot of really good Cardinals prospect coverage over on Twitter and overall just a delightful person!
Here are some links about the prospects mentioned above...
Ranking the Prospects Traded During the 2023 Deadline | Fangraphs
The Most Fascinating Minor League Translations of 2023 | Fangraphs
St. Louis Cardinals Top 32 Prospects | Fangraphs
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