First, the Toronto Blue Jays claimed 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir off waivers yesterday.  The 26-year-old got a meager 16 PAs in just 8 games at the ML level in 2009, and didn’t figure to be a core asset going forward.  He did have a nice little season at AAA, hitting .291/.357/.486 in just over 400 PAs (.370 wOBA).  Unfortunately, he is a far below average defender by all accounts, and, while solid, his bat isn’t enough to overcome that deficiency in the big show.

Bigger news came today though, as it was announced that Matt Scherer and Joe Thurston were outrighted and Brad Thompson was given his release.  For a good rundown of what exactly this means from an operational standpoint, there is a good summary here.  Basically Scherer and Thurston were removed from the 40-man, whereas Thompson is now free to sign to with any team.

Scherer, if you recall, was a 16th round draft pick in 2004, and posted solid numbers in Memphis this year (73.2 IP, 3.54 ERA, 6.11 K/9, 2.78 K/BB).  The power righty probably got a little lucky though as his FIP was 4.02, and at 26 isn’t getting any younger.  I think the chances of anyone selecting him in the Rule 5 draft are small, as few teams are going to have a spot on their 25-man roster to take a flier on a relatively common commodity (average RH reliever).

Thurston and Thompson are guys we are more familiar with, but that doesn’t mean we will exactly miss their contributions.  Thursty Joe provided a whopping 0.2 Wins Above Replacement in 124 games, being as close to the definition of “freely available talent” as possible.  He is a multiple AAA all-star, and I think its safe to say that’s where he belongs.  The additions of DeRosa and Lugo made his contributions virtually irrelevant, and I think the fanbase can rest a little easier knowing his baserunning gaffes will be at bay, at least for the time being.

Brad Thompson’s release shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.  He is eligible for arbitration this offseason for the first time in his career, and paying anything more than the minimum for his 4.89 FIP just isn’t good business given his role as mop-up long reliever (which can be filled by just about any pitcher in the system).  The only thing that we may miss is the look on our friends’ faces when they see him on the mound and ask why we have a 13-year-old in the game.  Don’t get me wrong – he is a friendly face in the bullpen, and is well-liked – but keeping him around is not in the best interests of the club.

That pretty much sums up the first wave of transactions, but rest assured that many more are on the way.  Bigger decisions involving Holliday and DeRosa are looming in the coming months, as is final word that Rick Ankiel is no longer a Cardinal.  It is really an interesting time to be a Cardinal fan, as decisions in the coming months are going to illustrate the ultimate direction ownership and management want to take in the next few seasons.

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Wagner Mateo

5. Wagner Mateo, International Signing, 3B/OF, 16: Picked by many scouting services as one of the top 3 international prospects in 2009, the Cardinals shelled out over 3.1 million dollars to sign the 16 year old Dominican prospect. He will have time and room to grow in the Cardinals system, but it will be a while before we see him in Cardinal red (or AA ball for that matter).

The ceiling for Mateo may be the highest in the organization, so many prospect gurus will have him rated higher, but he was born in 1993 so I believe you must temper your expectations. (See Shelby Miller and subtract 2 more years as to why this can be bad.)

Projections get more sketchy the farther out you go, but he has shown a nice ability to hit, with a compact left handed swing and is a scout’s 5 tool dream.

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Unfortunately for the Cardinals Wagner did not pass his physical and the Cardinals have voided his contract. There is speculation of a vision issue and another unknown ailment that caused the Cardinals to back out of the contract that was to pay Mateo a nice signing bonus of over $3 million. Could this money possibly go into the Holliday/Pujols funds. Nobody knows.

What I’m affraid of is the harm this could do to the Cardinals presence in the Dominican. They have a good set up with their new baseball academy in the Dominican and having Albert Pujols, but let’s hope the handling of the Mateo contract doesn’t hurt future relationships. International signings are more like college recruiting rather than professional drafts we are used to seeing in the US. Teams build their Internationals Baseball Academy’s in order to recruit the best talent and hope to strike gold with the next great baseball star. If Dominican baseball players look at the Cardinals voiding Mateo’s contract in a negative light, then this could cause future players to avoid the Cardinals academy.

I understand the Cardinals had to do what was right for their organization, but I hope the rest of the Dominican athletes feel the same way about how the Mateo situation was handled.

On a side note, tickets for the NLDS and NLCS went on sale today. I’ve purchased some tickets to sell and try to make a profit on to cover my own playoff ticket expense, so if you’re interested in any playoff tickets, post a reply and I’ll get you my inventory for the NLDS and NLCS. You’ll definitely save money over buying on stubhub or ebay.

T.J. Oshie

What a fantastic day for Missouri sports yesterday!  I attended the St. Louis Blues hockey game last night versus Vancouver and was struck by how much energy and passion this young team had.  A sellout crowd gave the building a playoff atmosphere with constant cheering and chanting.  Cries of “We Want Playoffs” and “Ohhhh Sheee” permeated through the building, enticing me to take part in the electric atmosphere.

To be honest, I had written off hockey the last few years.  I still follow the team through the Post Dispatch, but I had not been to a game all season.  Hanging out at the game with a good friend, slapping five after a goal, and cheering every dramatic play, reminded me of how great sports can be.

The Blues will be an exciting team to watch in years to come with their “kid line”.  Peron and Berglund have a chance to be all-stars, and Oshie could be transcendent.  He was the best player on the ice last night, and his combination of skill, energy, moves, speed and hitting is going to be special to watch.  What a talent!  The Backes shorthanded goal was beautiful, but Oshie’s dekes and creativity to score the Blue’s first score might have been the best goal I have ever seen live.  It was that good.

After the game, I was able to catch most of the second half of the Mizzou game.  These kids have come a long way from the dark days of the program just 3 short years ago.  What Mike Anderson has done is phenomenal and deserving of coach of the year honors.  He outcoached the more experienced Calipari from Memphis and designed a game plan that showed why this team deserves their lofty plaudits.  The Tigers basketball team plays an exciting brand of basketball and it will be interesting to see how far they go in the NCAA tournament.

As an aside, when was the last time Missouri Football and Basketball have ended the season in the top 25?  It is a great time to be a Mizzou fan.

What do these teams have in common with the Cardinals?  Both of them rely heavily on kids and the Cardinals will be no different this year.  These young players will provide an energy and spirit that will further endear us to our team.  I believe a player that comes up through our system makes us more invested in how they do. We have a plethora of homegrown starters already with us.  Just look at all the players, brought up from our minor leagues, who will be starting for the Cardinals:  Chris Duncan, Rick Ankiel, Albert Pujols, Skip Schumaker, David Freese/Joe Mather, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright.

Others playing significant roles include: Jason Motte, Josh Kinney, Chris Perez, Colby Rasmus, Kyle McClellen and Brendan Ryan.  We have exciting prospects on the horizon that could see big league time this year, consisting of Brett Wallace, Darrell Jones, Jon Jay, Jess Todd, Brian Anderson, Tyler Greene, Brian Barden, Brian Barton, Blake Hawksworth and Mitchell Boggs.

These kids will pave the way for the Cardinals to be competitive for years to come and I’m looking forward to seeing their growth and accomplishments.  I hope they will find similar success to the young players on the Blues and Mizzou teams.  We are in for an exciting year if they do.

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Photo courtesy of the AP

Here is our continuing look at local college baseball and players that the St. Louis Cardinals will have an eye on in June’s MLB First Year Player Draft.

The Missouri Tigers look like they are beginning to right their ship after struggling out of the gate. The Tigers did not play the gracious hosts taking two of three from highly ranked Texas A&M. Kyle Gibson was his usual stellar self, striking out 16 in a complete game win over the Aggies on Friday night. The junior right-hander is now 4-1 with a 1.15 ERA along with 54-to-9 strikeout to walk ratio. For his efforts, Gibson was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week.

The Southeast Redhawks will be hosting UT-Martin this weekend after sweeping Tennessee Tech in its last OVC series.  Catcher Jim Klocke is slugging .608 and has made only one error behind the plate.  Plus, he has a team high five saves.

Arizona State’s Mike Leake had the game of his career against rival Arizona over the weekend. Leake struck out 15 Wildcats in gaining a complete game victory while giving up only five hits on the night.

Ryan Berry did earn his fourth win of the season but he wasn’t nearly as sharp as he had been previously. In Rice’s victory over Southern Miss, the right-hander allowed three runs in five innings.  For the season, Berry is 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA.   (See video of Berry above)

A new player I add to the board this week is Kentucky’s James Paxton.  When he was signed as a high school senior, the southpaw stood 6′1 but now possesses a 6′4 frame.  The native Canadian is racking up the strikeouts with 47 in 30 innings so far in 2009.  He is a perfect 4-0 and is holding the opposition to a .231 average.

Though he struggled over the weekend, D.J. LeMahieu is still hitting .368/.479/.553 for the LSU Tigers. I don’t know if he will still be available at 13 but he is becoming one of my faves.

Miami’s Ryan Jackson seems to be falling down draft boards with his struggles at the plate.  The slick fielding shortstop is hitting .277/.354/.400 on the season.  Though scouts question his bat none question his ability to stay at short.

Baylor’s Kendal Volz continues to struggle with his command with a 28-to-15 strikeout to walk ratio.  Volz has a big arm and superb mound presence but the control issues are what are hampering at this time.  Reminds me a lot of what was being said about Shooter Hunt this time last year.

Two Texas A&M pitchers are causing headaches for the Big 12.  Right-hander Alex Wilson has 49 strikeouts compared to only eight walks in 31.2 innings.  Left-hander Brooks Raley has racked up 34 Ks in 33 innings of work.  Plus, Raley is leading the Aggies in BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, TB, extra base hits, and steals.

Things have started slowly for Mike Minor but he still has himself positioned as a first round pick.  The lefty has posted a solid 3.41 ERA while allowing only five extra base hits in 31.2 innings.

Two outstanding high school lefties are featured at  MLB.com this week.  Matthew Purke and Tyler Matzek both should hear their names early in the 2009 draft.  Purke, a Texan, can dial his fastball up to 95 while the Californian, Matzek, can touch 94.  Zach Wheeler is one of the top prep right-handers has a projectable frame with the ability to run his fastball to the plate at 95.

Dustin Mattison

dustin@whiteyball.com

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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.

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Dustin Mattison

dustin@whiteyball.com

Tyler Greene (Photo by Dustin Mattison)

Spring Training continues at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida.  Many of the St. Louis Cardinals top prospects are making an impression on manager Tony LaRussa and his staff.

What a difference a couple days make.  Seems the sky was falling as far as Cardinal fans and Colby Rasmus were concerned.  But after a pep talk from his manager, Rasmus is on a role going 3-for his last -4 and has in on base percentage up to a respectable .364.

One of the players I have had a close eye on is Tyler Greene.  Picked two spots after Rasmus in the 2005 MLB First Year Player Draft, Greene could be best described as an enigma for most Cardinal prospect watchers.  He seemed to break out at Double-A Springfield in 2008.  He struggled at Memphis but put together another impressive showing out at the Arizona Fall League.  So far this spring, the Georgia Tech alum is hitting .333/.333/.389 in 18 at bats, the fourth highest total on the team.

At the Birdhouse, we ranked him as the 18th prospect in the system.  Personally, I ranked him as the 13th best prospect in the Cardinals organization.  This past July, this is what I had to say about the former Yellow Jacket:

“I would like to see him make a more conscious effort to keep his hands back and drive the ball more to the opposite field.  Yes, he would most likely lose some of his home run total but should more than make up for it in the batting average department.  With his bat and foot speed, Greene could become a doubles machine.”

With a strong performance so in the early spring, he has made my outlook for Greene come to fruition:

“If, and that is a big if, he is able to find some consistency in hitting the breaking ball and reaches base at a respectable rate while still providing above average power for a middle infielder, he once again will rate among the top prospects in the system and would have to be considered for a big league look sometime during 2009.”

Jon Jay is making the coaching staff take notice.  Jay has posted a line of .353/.421/.529 in his 17 at bats.  The crowded outfield picture keeps getting a little hazier.

“With a strong spring, he could find himself in the mix for a utility role as a corner infielder/outfielder. If not, he will see how he matches up against Triple-A pitching.”

That is what I wrote about Allen Craig in early January.  Though his making the team is an extreme long shot,  with a line of .538/.571/.846 in 13 at bats, he has made the front office take notice.

Luis Perdomo is not in Cardinals camp but he is making an impression in the San Francisco Giants exhibition games.  The right-hander pitcher the Cardinals received for Anthony Reyes has five strikeouts in four innings for his new Giants team.  Selected by the Giants in last December’s Rule 5 draft, he has one save and a 2.25 ERA for his new team.

Minor League spring training starts next week so keep us book marked for some of the latest analysis.

On a personal note, I want to wish Erik Manning of Future Redbirds the best of luck.  He sent me an email this morning telling me of his desire to hang up his cleats.  I wish him the best and want him to know he is always welcomed here at whiteyball.

For those of you, who have been fans of Future Redbirds, welcome.  You will find lots of the minor league coverage you desire right here.  Not only do we talk minors, but we are at the games.  My first trip is already scheduled. I am planning on blogging live from Opening Day at Double-A Springfield unless something out of the ordinary happens.  (What you might happen?  Last season on my way to Springfield’s Opening Day, I got word that my brother wrecked my truck.)

Keep checking back for the latest not only from all levels of Cardinal baseball but baseball in general.

Dustin Mattison

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