Joe Kelly injured his hamstring today trying to beat out a bunt, leaving the Cardinals with a hole in their starting rotation. Who are the candidates to replace Kelly? Let's take a look.
Carlos Martinez
Martinez, who lost out to Kelly for the 5th starter job, would be the obvious choice to replace him in the starting rotation. However, there are some factors working against him.
First, the Cardinals may think they are better off leaving him in the bullpen, where he has enjoyed success (1.86 ERA) in a setup role.
In addition, if the Cards take him out of the setup role, who would they use to replace him? Jason Motte is not ready yet. Perhaps the team could bring up veteran David Aardsma from AAA Memphis, but, coming off a season in which he posted a 4.31 ERA, can he be relied upon as the setup guy?
Finally, Martinez may need time to stretch out, after spending the first two-plus weeks of the season as a reliever. While he has gone more than one inning in 5 of his 7 appearances, he has not pitched more than 2 innings in any game.
Tyler Lyons
If the Cardinals decide to keep Martinez in the pen, Lyons would be the most logical choice.
For one thing, he has pitched well so far this season, going 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA in 3 starts.
Second, he is on the 40-man roster, so it would not required the Cardinals DFA's any of their current 40-man guys.
Finally, he pitched today at Memphis, so he would be in line to make Kelly's next start.
Boone Whiting/Tim Cooney
Both Whiting and Cooney could be dark horses to fill in for Kelly.
Both are off to good starts at AAA Memphis: Whiting is 0-1, but with a 1.98 ERA, while Cooney is 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA.
If the Cardinals are not ready to give Lyons another try as a starter, especially after he posted a 5.56 ERA last season in 8 starts and they do not want to move Martinez from the pen, then Whiting or Cooney could get the call.
Whiting has more high level experience, having made 21 starts at AAA last season, while this is Cooney's first season at AAA. However, Cooney has arguably more upside than Whiting.
In either case, neither of them is on the 40-man roster, so the Cardinals would have to make room for them, which makes it less likely that it will happen.
Prediction
The Cardinals will likely give Lyons the first shot to replace Kelly. This will allow the team to keep Martinez in the pen and keep his innings down. However, depending on how long Kelly is out (and how Lyons fares), the team could be forced to use Martinez.
Showing posts with label Boone Whiting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boone Whiting. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Cardinals set 40-man roster before next month's rule 5 draft. Who did they leave exposed?
Wednesday was the deadline for major league teams to set their 40-man rosters prior to the December 12th Rule 5 draft. As such, the Cardinals made a series of moves to protect their key prospects.
First, they tried to clear some extra space by putting Ryan Jackson on waivers, however he was claimed by the Houston Astros. Despite the Cardinals struggles with Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso at short, Jackson never seemed to be an option, at least in the minds of Cardinals management, thus clearing him off the roster makes sense.
Second, the Cardinals removed pitcher John Gast and infielder Jermaine Curtis from the 40-man roster. Gast is a question mark for 2014 after undergoing shoulder surgery and Curtis is not in the Cards long range plans.
Finally, the Cardinals added Oscar Taveras, outfielder Mike O'Neill and infielder Greg Garcia to their 40-man roster.
Taveras was a no-brainer. The Cardinals would have never left him exposed to the Rule 5 draft.
O'Neill has been proving critics wrong for years, by his ability to hit for average and get on base (career .328/.435/.405 line in the minors). He has little power or speed, but if his skills translate to the majors, he can be at least a quality 4th or 5th outfielder.
Garcia is a quality middle infield prospect who started getting some work at third this year. He has a career .281/.386/.403 line in the minors and should prove to be at least a good utility infielder in the majors.
Yesterday, Derrick Goold provided a pretty comprehensive list of players eligible for the Rule 5 draft in the Cardinals organization, based on that and the above moves, here are the players I think could potentially be drafted next month.
John Gast
I was a bit surprised that the Cardinals dropped Gast from the 40-man roster. Although he underwent surgery to repair a torn lat in July, he still is a quality prospect and any team that drafts him can stash him on the DL until he's healthy. In my mind, he's the most likely Cardinal to get selected next month.
Boone Whiting
An 18th round pick in 2010, Whiting has decent minor league numbers (3.13 ERA in 345 innings) despite the lack of overpowering stuff. His fastball sits in the 89-91 mph range, but he has a quality slider to go with it. Some team could select him as a bullpen arm.
Seth Blair
A first round pick (46th overall) in 2010, Blair has dealt with control issues, inconsistency and injuries in his minor league career. He posted a 5.07 ERA at AA this year and still has a mid-90's fastball, but may be better suited for relief.
Jordan Swagerty
A second round pick in 2010, Swagerty has a nice minor league debut in 2011, posting a 1.83 ERA in 93.2 innings. However, he had Tommy John surgery in April 2012 and pitched just 10.2 innings in 2013.
He has a mid-90's fastball and an excellent curve and could be another guy that a team could select and stash on the D.L. while he works his way back.
Robert Stock
Stock was drafted as a catcher but was converted to a pitcher in 2012. He pitched for USC in college and flashed a low-to-mid-90's fastball and an average slider. He's still pretty raw (4.20 ERA in 109.1 innings in the minors), but could be stashed in a major league bullpen.
Overall, you will notice that all of the above players are pitchers, mainly because teams usually select pitching in the Rule 5 draft, as its easier to stash a pitcher in a major league bullpen, and because the hitters the Cardinals left unprotected are not so special.
I think that Gast is likely to be chosen and possibly even Whiting, which will greatly hurt the Cardinals depth.
First, they tried to clear some extra space by putting Ryan Jackson on waivers, however he was claimed by the Houston Astros. Despite the Cardinals struggles with Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso at short, Jackson never seemed to be an option, at least in the minds of Cardinals management, thus clearing him off the roster makes sense.
Second, the Cardinals removed pitcher John Gast and infielder Jermaine Curtis from the 40-man roster. Gast is a question mark for 2014 after undergoing shoulder surgery and Curtis is not in the Cards long range plans.
Finally, the Cardinals added Oscar Taveras, outfielder Mike O'Neill and infielder Greg Garcia to their 40-man roster.
Taveras was a no-brainer. The Cardinals would have never left him exposed to the Rule 5 draft.
O'Neill has been proving critics wrong for years, by his ability to hit for average and get on base (career .328/.435/.405 line in the minors). He has little power or speed, but if his skills translate to the majors, he can be at least a quality 4th or 5th outfielder.
Garcia is a quality middle infield prospect who started getting some work at third this year. He has a career .281/.386/.403 line in the minors and should prove to be at least a good utility infielder in the majors.
Yesterday, Derrick Goold provided a pretty comprehensive list of players eligible for the Rule 5 draft in the Cardinals organization, based on that and the above moves, here are the players I think could potentially be drafted next month.
John Gast
I was a bit surprised that the Cardinals dropped Gast from the 40-man roster. Although he underwent surgery to repair a torn lat in July, he still is a quality prospect and any team that drafts him can stash him on the DL until he's healthy. In my mind, he's the most likely Cardinal to get selected next month.
Boone Whiting
An 18th round pick in 2010, Whiting has decent minor league numbers (3.13 ERA in 345 innings) despite the lack of overpowering stuff. His fastball sits in the 89-91 mph range, but he has a quality slider to go with it. Some team could select him as a bullpen arm.
Seth Blair
A first round pick (46th overall) in 2010, Blair has dealt with control issues, inconsistency and injuries in his minor league career. He posted a 5.07 ERA at AA this year and still has a mid-90's fastball, but may be better suited for relief.
Jordan Swagerty
A second round pick in 2010, Swagerty has a nice minor league debut in 2011, posting a 1.83 ERA in 93.2 innings. However, he had Tommy John surgery in April 2012 and pitched just 10.2 innings in 2013.
He has a mid-90's fastball and an excellent curve and could be another guy that a team could select and stash on the D.L. while he works his way back.
Robert Stock
Stock was drafted as a catcher but was converted to a pitcher in 2012. He pitched for USC in college and flashed a low-to-mid-90's fastball and an average slider. He's still pretty raw (4.20 ERA in 109.1 innings in the minors), but could be stashed in a major league bullpen.
Overall, you will notice that all of the above players are pitchers, mainly because teams usually select pitching in the Rule 5 draft, as its easier to stash a pitcher in a major league bullpen, and because the hitters the Cardinals left unprotected are not so special.
I think that Gast is likely to be chosen and possibly even Whiting, which will greatly hurt the Cardinals depth.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Tyler Lyons roughed up again. Does this spell the end for his spot in the rotation?
After lasting just 1.2 innings tonight while allowing 4 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, it appears that Tyler Lyons time in the Cardinals starting rotation is nearing its end.
With three off days coming up, the Cards can skip Lyons' turn in the rotation and give themselves some time to figure out who they'll use the next time a 5th starter is needed.
The Cardinals have days off on June 24, 27 and July 1. Thus, the next time the Cardinals need a 5th starter is on July 6th against the Marlins. Not a bad team for a pitcher to make his first major league start against.
Who might they call up?
My money is on Carlos Martinez. However, the Cardinals have surprised us with their decisions before, going against the grain or conventional thought.
Another option might be Boone Whiting. He has pitched well at Memphis, with a 4-2 record and 3.86 ERA. The 18th round pick in 2010, would be on schedule to pitch on July 6th.
In any case, we'll likely have to wait a couple weeks to see what happens, until then we keep guessing.
With three off days coming up, the Cards can skip Lyons' turn in the rotation and give themselves some time to figure out who they'll use the next time a 5th starter is needed.
The Cardinals have days off on June 24, 27 and July 1. Thus, the next time the Cardinals need a 5th starter is on July 6th against the Marlins. Not a bad team for a pitcher to make his first major league start against.
Who might they call up?
My money is on Carlos Martinez. However, the Cardinals have surprised us with their decisions before, going against the grain or conventional thought.
Another option might be Boone Whiting. He has pitched well at Memphis, with a 4-2 record and 3.86 ERA. The 18th round pick in 2010, would be on schedule to pitch on July 6th.
In any case, we'll likely have to wait a couple weeks to see what happens, until then we keep guessing.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Who will get the start on Wednesday?
As a result of the rainout on Friday, the Cardinals pushed back Shelby Miller's start to game one of their split double-header against San Francisco Saturday, with Adam Wainwright starting the nightcap on normal rest. But the rainout also will force the Cardinals to have to make a difficult decision as to who will start this Wednesday's game, which would have been Miller's normal turn.
One option would be to start either Miller or Wainwright on short rest. However, given that Miller is a rookie and Wainwright is not too far removed from Tommy John surgery, this is probably the least likely scenario.
Another option would be to call up a pitcher for a spot start. But who?
Carlos Martinez, who was with the big club earlier, is still ramping up as a starter and just pitched Sunday, so he is not an option. Two other pitchers, Boone Whiting and Richard Castillo, have been pitching well at AAA, but neither is on the 40-man roster and its unlikely that the Cardinals would want to clear roster space for one start, as any player dropped from the 40-man roster would have to clear waivers.
Maikel Cleto is on the 40-man roster and last started on May 29th. He would be the most logical starter if the Cardinals decided to call someone up. He is slated to make the start tonight for Memphis, so keep an eye on him.
The final option would be to use a bullpen start. For example, start Seth Maness or Joe Kelly and let each of them pitch 2-3 innings, before giving way to the other relievers. This is less than ideal, as is puts a strain on the bullpen and the Cardinals have no days off for the next week. However, it appears that this is the direction the team is leaning, provided they do not have to utilize their bullpen extensively over the next two days.
So, keep an eye on the Cardinals bullpen usage and who starts or is pulled from their start at Memphis over the next two days. The Cards will likely announce who's starting on Tuesday, but we can probably figure it out before then.
One option would be to start either Miller or Wainwright on short rest. However, given that Miller is a rookie and Wainwright is not too far removed from Tommy John surgery, this is probably the least likely scenario.
Another option would be to call up a pitcher for a spot start. But who?
Carlos Martinez, who was with the big club earlier, is still ramping up as a starter and just pitched Sunday, so he is not an option. Two other pitchers, Boone Whiting and Richard Castillo, have been pitching well at AAA, but neither is on the 40-man roster and its unlikely that the Cardinals would want to clear roster space for one start, as any player dropped from the 40-man roster would have to clear waivers.
Maikel Cleto is on the 40-man roster and last started on May 29th. He would be the most logical starter if the Cardinals decided to call someone up. He is slated to make the start tonight for Memphis, so keep an eye on him.
The final option would be to use a bullpen start. For example, start Seth Maness or Joe Kelly and let each of them pitch 2-3 innings, before giving way to the other relievers. This is less than ideal, as is puts a strain on the bullpen and the Cardinals have no days off for the next week. However, it appears that this is the direction the team is leaning, provided they do not have to utilize their bullpen extensively over the next two days.
So, keep an eye on the Cardinals bullpen usage and who starts or is pulled from their start at Memphis over the next two days. The Cards will likely announce who's starting on Tuesday, but we can probably figure it out before then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
