News and Notes: Read at Own Risk

I don't know whether Cardinal Nation should be terribly concerned (Wainwright is on DL and Wellemeyer is hurting) or very excited (Boggs is starting tonight, McLellan might get a rotation shot, and Garcia would appear to be next in line). I guess the abundance of pitchers is a good problem to have, but frankly I didn't want to see the Memphis Mafia Part Deux just yet. I was getting very comfortable with a Starting Five of Waino, Lohse, Wellemeyer, Looper, and (eventually) Pineiro. Right now, most teams would take our DL rotation in a stretch run any day of the week (Carp, Waino, Mulder, Clement, Thompson). Ugh! Is our medical staff that bad, or is it just dumb luck? Clement is not on our staff, but the rest--maybe so. Oh well, such is the world of America's Pastime. Let's move forward and play the game.

I am very excited to see Boggs tonight. In all likelihood, he becomes the next Brad Thompson for our bullpen. He probably won't end up as a big league starter----of course the same was thought with Looper and Wellemeyer (and Kent Bottenfield for that matter). Let's give Dave Duncan a round of applause. He should be in the Hall of Fame real soon for those 3 names alone. Let's see how he can do with McLellan/Garcia. I think we have 2/5 of our 2009 rotation right there.

The draft is a wrap. Keith Law approves (Cards #4 for him). I approve. Some say upside is not there. I say pish posh. Scott Gorgen has loads of upside. The only knock on him is size (short and stocky). Who cares? If he can pitch, he can pitch, and this guy CAN PITCH. Saw him a few days ago. The reports on his advanced change are spot on. I think he will surprise a ton of people and eventually land in the BA top ten for the Cards. Besides Gorgen, we got a nice, balanced haul. Niko Vazquez might be a power bat at 2nd. Aaron Luna too. It is unlikey that both pan out, but if 1 of the 2 does, we have a legit power bat for that barren wasteland in teh system. As far as pitching is concerned (besides the aforementioned Gorgen), it is all about signability issues. Lance Lynn will be signed and he will be an underwhelming pro. His ceiling is #4. Hey, that's fine. Every team needs 5 starters. The 2 signability issues to which I refer are Anthony Ferrara (a high school LHP) and Mitch Harris (RHP out of Navy). If we can sign both of these guys, our draft goes from solid to great. Harris could be a #3--not bad for a 13th rounder (come to think of it, we have had success with 13th rounders----Pujols!!!). Ferrara could be a 7th round steal. He has a low riding fastball at 90-91 and a couple of developing off speed offerings. Other notable names---Xavier Scruggs, Devin Shepherd, and Jermaine Curtis.

The draft ceiling: 7-8 big leaguers
Floor: 1 big leaguer----there is 0 chance that Brett Wallace's bat doesn't crack the bigs

Speaking of drafts and cracking the bigs, let's look at a few previous years---starting with the 2004 draft.

2004:

Best Pick: Ummmm....Mark Worrell???
Worst Pick: Gotta go with Chris Lambert

Ugh!! Flush rounds 1-5. We got nothing. In fact, I sit next to 3rd rounder Eric Haberer in class now. 9th rounder Mike Parisi was ok in a brief STL stint and 12th rounder Mark Worrell has had a sniff.
Still hope: Matt Scherer and Jarrett Hoffpauir.

Grade--D

2005:
Best Pick: Colby Rasmus is a top 10 prospect, but Jaime Garcia is a top 30 prospect that the Cards dug out of round 22.
Worst Pick: Nick Webber I guess----Its hard to call a guy that has cracked AAA in 3 years a terrible pick, but he was considered a big time prospect coming out

Other good picks: Mitch Boggs has made the majors. Kenny Maiques appears to be a 37th round find

Others of note: Tyler Herron, Mark Mckormick, and Tyler Greene all are still around. Herron probably has the best chance of getting to St Louis. 3rd rounder Daryl Jones is starting to put the tools together and 4th rounder Bryan Anderson has hit his way to Memphis (at age 21). Overall, I could see at least 5-6 out of this group in St Louis

Grade----A-; We had 4 1st rounders. Rasmus looks like the best pick. Getting Garcia that late could be epic in a couple of years. If Jones can develop a 20-25 HR swing and Anderson can hit for a little power, this class is A+ without hesitation

2006:
Best Pick: Chris Perez is the real deal
Worst Pick: Adam Ottavino might be a real bust

Others of note--Shane Robinson is hitting well, Brad Furnish might still become a very good prospect, Allen Craig and PJ Walters have been pleasant surprises, and John Jay has turned into a legit prospect. Nick Additon was a huge steal in round 47. He is still in A ball, but is progressing.

Grade---A-: Blowing the Ottavino pick hurts, but this draft could eventually trump '05. If Walters, Perez, Craig, and Jay keep doing what they are doing, we have a nice haul. Jon Edwards is still a guy to keep an eye on, as is D'Marcus Ingram. Additon is a long shot, but right now he is our 2nd best LHP.

2007:
Best Pick: Jesse Todd has exceeded expectations big time. Some believe that he, not Garcia, is our top pitching prospect
Worst Pick: They wasted a 4th rounder on a guy, Kyle Russell, that it seems they had no intention of signing

Others of note: Kozma is starting to look like a very solid 1st rounder; he is the organization's SS of the Future. Clayton Mortensen has had his critics, but he has also cracked AAA---This is probably Best Pick 1A. 8th Rounder Tyler Henley has a lot of fans. I project him as more of a 4-5 OF, but he is a baller. Rounds 13-14 (Steven Hill and Josh Dew) look like steals so far.

Grade: B---This class was a bit unheralded. Kozma and Mortensen both had their critics. Not as good as the 2 previous years, but better than most critics believed at the time. I could see 2/5 of our starting 5 being from this draft come 2010.


1 final tidbit---Looking back at the previous draft classes, I found that 2003 COULD HAVE BEEN stellar.

We drafted: Anthony Reyes, Daric Barton, Brett Sinkbeil, Max Sherzer, and Ian Kennedy
That is a pretty solid group