Baseball Potpourri Thursday
According to Strauss, the Skip Schumaker experiment might be coming to an end. I guess a fielding percentage of .826 might make the decision a little easier. It also seems that management isn’t to thrilled about the internal canidates.
If the team were to go out and add a second baseman, I say take a look at the Cleveland Indian’s Josh Barfield. The 26-year-old has really struggled the past couple of seasons at the big league level but I would really like to see what a change of scenery might do for him. He still has tremendous tools and I am not ready to give up on his talent just yet.
John Marecek has posted a pic of Roberto De La Cruz, the Cardinals biggest international signing of 2008. Check it out here. Plus, check out his blog, the Busch Basement.
My old friend Kary Booher looks at the Cardinal third base situation from the prospect point of view.
Baseball America debuted its 2009 Draft Tracker on Wednesday. The featured player on the list, Brad Boxberger, is a player that I think would be on the Cardinals’ radar. He is coming off a sophomore season in which he really struggled but he has come out strong in the early going this year. Plus, he has two seasons of Cape Cod League experience which the Cardinals love.
Another player that I am high on, Kendal Volz of Baylor, was featured this week at BA. It is behind the subscriber wall but he is a guy that I am liking more with each passing week.
Also this week, MLB started its Draft Report feature that will take us up to the June event. Featured prominently is the top player in the draft, Stephen Strasburg. In his start against Nevada, he reportedly hit 102 MPH seven times. SEVEN TIMES!
Another player featured is Tyler Skaggs, a prep pitcher from California. He is the style of pitcher the Cardinals have not take a chance on in a decade, a high upside high school southpaw. Skaggs has a projectable 6′5 frame to which he could add bulk. BA discussed Skaggs and fellow Southern Cal lefty, Tyler Matzek, in one of its recent Draft Blogs.
The University of Missouri faces a tough early challenge as it heads down to Austin to take on number 1 Texas. The Longhorns are led by one of the nation’s top pitching staffs. It should be a fantastic game Friday when the Tigers’ ace Kyle Gibson faces off against Chance Ruffin. Both have big time talent.
Here in Cape, I will be out watching SEMO take on Northern Illinois. The Huskies come into the game with a 4-9 record after falling to St. Louis U. yesterday. NIU is led offensively by the trio of Troy White, Jordin Hood, and Joe Buonavolanto. Pitcher Andy Deain picked MAC pitcher of the week honors after earning his first career win as a starter by defeating Missouri 5-2 this past Saturday at the DeMarini Invite. He spun six innings, surrendering only one earned run on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
Dustin Mattison
dustin@whiteyball.com
Filed Under: Baseball • Cardinal Prospects • College Baseball
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[...] Brad Boxberger, continues to rack up the big strikeout totals. After talking about Boxberger last week, he went out and struck out 11 in seven innings of work. He now has 37 K’s in 26.2 innings while [...]