Cardinals kept Wisdom in the Rule 5 draft (lost nobody in the MLB portion).
Okay, that's fine. He gets another year to establish a little more plate discipline and prove that the power is sustainable. He could make himself into a viable bench player.
But seriously, my kingdom for a lefty with thump somewhere in this organization. Honestly, the closest I can see to a viable lefty bench bat is that Woodman bum we got from Toronto. There's just nobody in the entire system that hits lefthanded and doesn't suck.
Carlson is a switch hitter who's way too far away and a natural righty at that, Plummer is a mess and Hurst is a signability pick from 2017 that's probably Skip Schumaker if everything goes right. How did they manage to have an entire minor league organization without a single lefthanded bat that profiles as a plus power threat? [Reply]
#STLCards keep pushing for Donaldson, sources tell The Athletic. #BlueJays remain disinclined to move Donaldson, planning to compete in 2018. Asking price high. No indication deal is close.
A's infield prospects Yairo Munoz and Max Schrock would head to the Cardinals in the pending Stephen Piscotty trade, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was first to float those two names. Official announcement of this trade is pending a physical and that could take another day or so given that Piscotty dealt with multiple injuries in 2017. Munoz, 22, batted .300/.330/.464 with 13 home runs and 22 stolen bases in 112 games this past season between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Nashville. He's played all over the field, but most of his defensive innings have come at shortstop. Schrock, a 23-year-old second baseman, put up an impressive .321/.379/.422 batting line in 106 games at the Double-A level in 2017. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Cardinals kept Wisdom in the Rule 5 draft (lost nobody in the MLB portion).
Okay, that's fine. He gets another year to establish a little more plate discipline and prove that the power is sustainable. He could make himself into a viable bench player.
But seriously, my kingdom for a lefty with thump somewhere in this organization. Honestly, the closest I can see to a viable lefty bench bat is that Woodman bum we got from Toronto. There's just nobody in the entire system that hits lefthanded and doesn't suck.
Carlson is a switch hitter who's way too far away and a natural righty at that, Plummer is a mess and Hurst is a signability pick from 2017 that's probably Skip Schumaker if everything goes right. How did they manage to have an entire minor league organization without a single lefthanded bat that profiles as a plus power threat?
Not that Schrock is all world, but he is a lefty. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Marco Polo:
Not that Schrock is all world, but he is a lefty.
I googled the guy and there are a lot of opinions out there that he has an All-Star ceiling. Even a MVP. Never heard of the guy. Maybe DJ knows the guy? [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
I googled the guy and there are a lot of opinions out there that he has an All-Star ceiling. Even a MVP. Never heard of the guy. Maybe DJ knows the guy?
These are the same opinions that had Martinez as a Cy Young candidate. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
I googled the guy and there are a lot of opinions out there that he has an All-Star ceiling. Even a MVP. Never heard of the guy. Maybe DJ knows the guy?
The 'MVP' article you read was tongue in cheek.
No, I didn't know him but his name trickled out last night so I looked him up a bit.
Great bat control, willing to work a walk. By all accounts the kid plays his ass off and is a lot of fun to watch. Plus speed that he seems to have forgotten to put to use on the bases last year but there are no indications he lost it. To my eyes he's an extremely high floor, relatively low ceiling, not terribly versatile defender that will play in the major leagues. First (lazy) comparison is Greg Garcia.
After a little more thinking I got to Joey Cora as a potential comp. If you squint really hard and project a bit, you can get to Cesar Hernandez. If he got there, this would be a win from a pure 'baseball' standpoint.
The hit tool and speed will play at this level. Yes, he's a lefty, but a redundant one in that we already have Garcia. So for right now I don't see much need for him as he doesn't present the lefty power that we need.
Munoz is the guy I can live without. No understanding of the zone, not enough power to make up for the bad strike zone judgment. Arm profiles at short but the feet don't so you have 15 HR hitter with shitty strikezone judgment and a corner IF defensive profile. Fan-fuckin-tastic. We got a worse version of Patrick Wisdom. And wonder of wonders, he also hits righthanded. I'd have far preferred Greg Diechmann who at least bats lefthanded and seems to have some idea what the hell he's doing at the plate.
I'm guessing the Cardinals hope they can turn Munoz into an IF/OF super-sub in the mold of Chris Taylor. I wouldn't hold my breath. [Reply]
