Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
In 2019 Lynn will be 32 and on the inevitable aging downward spiral.
In 2019, the Cardinals are going to have the best young pitching staff in baseball. No other club will come close to the youth and MLB quality we will have in the rotation. No one.
Yeah, I assume his post All Star collapse will start coming earlier and earlier. [Reply]
Originally Posted by raybec 4:
Pardon me if I don't share your enthusiasm about our young pitchers. Martinez has a 10 cent head, Reyes is an unknown until he gets some innings under his belt and Flaherty and Weaver are just prospects.
we will see soon enough.
—————————————-
BenFred: Cardinals' bet on young pitching faces early test
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. • Cardinals officials speak of Jack Flaherty as if the prized prospect is a grizzled veteran renting space in the body of a rookie.
He’s an old soul. More serious than silly. Slow to smile, and quick to cover it when he does — even after he received the news he would depart Florida as the Cardinals’ fifth starter for the time being.
“He showed a little teeth,” manager Mike Matheny said Sunday afternoon. “He didn’t try to. But he did.”
“Just a little,” Flaherty admitted as he prepared to board a bus that rolled toward the airport without Adam Wainwright.
What a difference one week makes.
When Flaherty was optioned to Class AAA, the message he received was as clear as the major-league rotation was secured. A strong Grapefruit League performance had cemented his place as first man up. If one of the Cardinals’ starters encountered significant turbulence, Flaherty would get the call. One regrettable session of conditioning sprints later, and here he is.
“You thought I was lying, didn’t you?” Matheny told the 22-year-old.
“To get an opportunity to do something like this, it’s special,” said Flaherty. “I’m just looking forward to helping the team in whatever kind of role or situation my name might come up.”
What had been an extremely upbeat and mostly injury-free camp did not end soon enough. Two bad hamstrings have once again stirred concerns about the Cardinals’ pitching. Is it versatile, or just vulnerable?
The front office believes it’s the former. It has hinged its hopes on promise while shrugging off the lack of proven production.
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
In 2019 Lynn will be 32 and on the inevitable aging downward spiral.
In 2019, the Cardinals are going to have the best young pitching staff in baseball. No other club will come close to the youth and MLB quality we will have in the rotation. No one.
The last Cardinals pitching prospect that was a top 50 guy that lived up to expectations was Wainwright.
Not Wacha, Miller, or even Martinez were what we were told they'd be. [Reply]
The MLB draft also once told you all you need to know about Albert Pujols, Matt Carpenter, Kevin Siegrist, Trevor Rosenthal, and Yadier Molina, while guys like Pete Kozma, Zack Cox, James Ramsey, Tyrell Jenkins were all first round or sandwich guys. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
So has Lynn.
The MLB draft also once told you all you need to know about Albert Pujols, Matt Carpenter, Kevin Siegrist, Trevor Rosenthal, and Yadier Molina, while guys like Pete Kozma, Zack Cox, James Ramsey, Tyrell Jenkins were all first round or sandwich guys.
l know I’ve always got the homer glasses on. I can’t change that part of myself.
I’m aware that l was probably harder on Lynn than I should have been. His flops in crucial games count more to me than pitching 6 innings of 2 run baseball in a Tuesday game in June. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
l know I’ve always got the homer glasses on. I can’t change that part of myself.
I’m aware that l was probably harder on Lynn than I should have been. His flops in crucial games count more to me than pitching 6 innings of 2 run baseball in a Tuesday game in June.
You don't get to the former without the latter. [Reply]
The Cardinals decided that the 2019 closer was ready to do the job in 2018.
—————————————————————-
The conversation started Sunday after hotshot rookie Jordan Hicks blistered through the Washington Nationals lineup in a sudden appearance no one expected him to make as recently as last week.
The Cardinals wondered if he was closer to the majors than planned.
They've decided he wasn't just close -- he was ready.
In a stunning 11th-hour change to the roster, the Cardinals will promote Hicks on Wednesday or Thursday morning for the opening day roster. One of the quickest departures from spring training camp will now be an early arrival in the majors, leaping all the way from High-A to Citi Field in a single week. The righthander will take a spot in the Cardinals bullpen.
To make room for him on the active roster, the Cardinals optioned John Brebbia to Class AAA Memphis. The decision was finalized Tuesday afternoon, an official confirmed to The Post-Dispatch.
The front office, coaching staff, and even catcher Yadier Molina had conversations about whether Hicks was ready to leap from High-A to the majors.
"Stuff is stuff," manager Mike Matheny said.
Hicks, 21, has a fastball that was clocked at 102 mph during spring training, and he throws a fastball at 99 mph that has sink to it. He offsets that pitch with a slider that he can throw for a strike and a changeup that showed greater command and depth this past spring. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
The Cardinals decided that the 2019 closer was ready to do the job in 2018.
—————————————————————-
The conversation started Sunday after hotshot rookie Jordan Hicks blistered through the Washington Nationals lineup in a sudden appearance no one expected him to make as recently as last week.
The Cardinals wondered if he was closer to the majors than planned.
They've decided he wasn't just close -- he was ready.
In a stunning 11th-hour change to the roster, the Cardinals will promote Hicks on Wednesday or Thursday morning for the opening day roster. One of the quickest departures from spring training camp will now be an early arrival in the majors, leaping all the way from High-A to Citi Field in a single week. The righthander will take a spot in the Cardinals bullpen.
To make room for him on the active roster, the Cardinals optioned John Brebbia to Class AAA Memphis. The decision was finalized Tuesday afternoon, an official confirmed to The Post-Dispatch.
The front office, coaching staff, and even catcher Yadier Molina had conversations about whether Hicks was ready to leap from High-A to the majors.
"Stuff is stuff," manager Mike Matheny said.
Hicks, 21, has a fastball that was clocked at 102 mph during spring training, and he throws a fastball at 99 mph that has sink to it. He offsets that pitch with a slider that he can throw for a strike and a changeup that showed greater command and depth this past spring.
Thanks for posting this. Can you periodically keep posting good articles? My work blocks the ads so STLToday insists that I subscribe to read the article, which I won't do. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Marco Polo:
Thanks for posting this. Can you periodically keep posting good articles? My work blocks the ads so STLToday insists that I subscribe to read the article, which I won't do.
