St. Louis Cardinals 2022

This hits hard, really hard. My older sibling is Bruce's age. They were also diagnosed with cancer this year. Her prognosis is good. Bruce passed from it.

Having lived through the not very good Cardinals' teams of the 1970's, that '82 World Series title was heaven on earth, the first title of my adulthood. Sutter and his splitter was a huge part of that indelible moment.

Guess I don't feel as bad about the Cardinals being knocked out by the Phillies now.

Benjamin Hochman


They were feeling a feeling they’d never felt, this strange mix of delirium and enthusiasm and — could it be? — optimism, all while they jumped and gyrated during a moment as rare as a rainy San Diego night.
Sure enough, it was a rainy night in San Diego — at times, just absolutely pouring — and it was perfect. As I watched Saturday from the comfort of my St. Louis home, dry and cozy and content, I wished I was there, soaking up this bliss. The fans experienced their Padres winning a National League Division Series for the first time since the month Juan Soto was born. And the Padres did so by knocking off, poetically and inexplicably, the mighty Dodgers in their mightiest of seasons.
Baseball, the late commissioner Bart Giamatti said, is designed to break your heart. We know that well here in St. Louis. The Cardinals won their division this season, yet didn’t even win a game this postseason. That said, the “you” of San Diego has sure been through it. Consider the franchise started in 1969 and has made the playoffs just seven times. The Cardinals made the playoffs seven times from 2013 through 2022.

The Padres have made the World Series twice (1984 and 1998) and won one total game. Entering this year, the last time the Padres made the playoffs in a 162-game season was 2006. Remember that postseason? When the Cards knocked them off en route to the title? Imagine if the Cardinals didn’t advance to the postseason from that year until the 2020 pandemic season? That’s San Diego.
Oh, and all along, the team up the street was dominant. Los Angeles, fittingly, is above the city of San Diego, looking down on this little town, perhaps the way Chicago does to St. Louis. The Dodgers, these blue devils, made the playoffs every year this past decade. Even when the Padres spent big, the Dodgers spent bigger. And this year, the Dodgers defeated the Padres 14 of 19 times in the regular season, which helped LA win 111 games. As an analyst on TBS, the Hall of Famer David Ortiz joked that the Dodgers were “the Padres’ padres.”

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The disparity in baseball payrolls is insane..........This line further in the article says it all.....................................

The Padres’ payroll, around $237 million, is fifth-highest in baseball. The combined salaries of just Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Wil Myers and Blake Snell are more than the payrolls of the Pirates, Guardians, Orioles and A’s.

WOW.....................

pruman91 said:

Hochman: Why Cardinals fans should appreciate the Padres this postseason

San Diego led the series, 2-1. But by the seventh inning of Game 4, L.A. led, 3-0. And then, San Diego scored five runs in the seventh.

www.stltoday.com

Benjamin Hochman


They were feeling a feeling they’d never felt, this strange mix of delirium and enthusiasm and — could it be? — optimism, all while they jumped and gyrated during a moment as rare as a rainy San Diego night.
Sure enough, it was a rainy night in San Diego — at times, just absolutely pouring — and it was perfect. As I watched Saturday from the comfort of my St. Louis home, dry and cozy and content, I wished I was there, soaking up this bliss. The fans experienced their Padres winning a National League Division Series for the first time since the month Juan Soto was born. And the Padres did so by knocking off, poetically and inexplicably, the mighty Dodgers in their mightiest of seasons.
Baseball, the late commissioner Bart Giamatti said, is designed to break your heart. We know that well here in St. Louis. The Cardinals won their division this season, yet didn’t even win a game this postseason. That said, the “you” of San Diego has sure been through it. Consider the franchise started in 1969 and has made the playoffs just seven times. The Cardinals made the playoffs seven times from 2013 through 2022.

The Padres have made the World Series twice (1984 and 1998) and won one total game. Entering this year, the last time the Padres made the playoffs in a 162-game season was 2006. Remember that postseason? When the Cards knocked them off en route to the title? Imagine if the Cardinals didn’t advance to the postseason from that year until the 2020 pandemic season? That’s San Diego.
Oh, and all along, the team up the street was dominant. Los Angeles, fittingly, is above the city of San Diego, looking down on this little town, perhaps the way Chicago does to St. Louis. The Dodgers, these blue devils, made the playoffs every year this past decade. Even when the Padres spent big, the Dodgers spent bigger. And this year, the Dodgers defeated the Padres 14 of 19 times in the regular season, which helped LA win 111 games. As an analyst on TBS, the Hall of Famer David Ortiz joked that the Dodgers were “the Padres’ padres.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The disparity in baseball payrolls is insane..........This line further in the article says it all.....................................

The Padres’ payroll, around $237 million, is fifth-highest in baseball. The combined salaries of just Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Wil Myers and Blake Snell are more than the payrolls of the Pirates, Guardians, Orioles and A’s.

WOW.....................

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I hate it. There should be a hard ceiling and floor.

pruman91 said:

Hochman: Why Cardinals fans should appreciate the Padres this postseason

San Diego led the series, 2-1. But by the seventh inning of Game 4, L.A. led, 3-0. And then, San Diego scored five runs in the seventh.

www.stltoday.com

Benjamin Hochman


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The disparity in baseball payrolls is insane..........This line further in the article says it all.....................................

The Padres’ payroll, around $237 million, is fifth-highest in baseball. The combined salaries of just Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Wil Myers and Blake Snell are more than the payrolls of the Pirates, Guardians, Orioles and A’s.

WOW.....................

Click to expand...

And the Philles are #4 at around $242 million. Per Fangraphs our final total came in at around $163 million. The Cardinals had the lowest payroll of any team to make the playoffs from the NL, by a good $20-30 million. That's an ace pitcher or superstar bat right there. This is why the club needs to invest more if the goal is the WS.

wpr said:

I hate it. There should be a hard ceiling and floor.

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Ironically DeWitt would probably be against that. If a cap were to be implemented at this point it'd probably have to be phased in in such a way as to allow the big spenders to have a chance to get under it and the final number would have to be somewhat realistic. You need buy-in from the players' union too. Honestly hard to see any number lower than $225 million or so getting that and I think that'd force DeWitt to spend more. You never see teams spend significantly less than the cap in other sports - everyone gets close to the cap (in the NFL the Browns are $34 million under the cap but every other team is around $10 million or less under and half the league has less than $5 million in cap space). Even if the cap were set at $200 million, which would never happen, then you'd see tons of pressure on DeWitt to spend more.

the juiceman cometh said:

And the Philles are #4 at around $242 million. Per Fangraphs our final total came in at around $163 million. The Cardinals had the lowest payroll of any team to make the playoffs from the NL, by a good $20-30 million. That's an ace pitcher or superstar bat right there. This is why the club needs to invest more if the goal is the WS.



Ironically DeWitt would probably be against that. If a cap were to be implemented at this point it'd probably have to be phased in in such a way as to allow the big spenders to have a chance to get under it and the final number would have to be somewhat realistic. You need buy-in from the players' union too. Honestly hard to see any number lower than $225 million or so getting that and I think that'd force DeWitt to spend more. You never see teams spend significantly less than the cap in other sports - everyone gets close to the cap (in the NFL the Browns are $34 million under the cap but every other team is around $10 million or less under and half the league has less than $5 million in cap space). Even if the cap were set at $200 million, which would never happen, then you'd see tons of pressure on DeWitt to spend more.

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The salary cap in the NHL is causing a lot of decisions that teams don't want to make .......The Blues have some major decisions to make next year regarding ROR and VT that could be detrimental to the continuation of being a contender....Fortunately , the Blues have made some good moves in the draft and Armstrong has a good record of making trades that have helped the Blues continue as said contender ....the trade with the Flyers for B. Schenn is on a par with the Cardinals trade for Lou Brock.......Absolute larceny at it's best.........

I agree that the Cardinals have the capacity to spend more each year...........My hope is that the FO finally realizes what is needed to get that 12th WS title....
Whether or not they do it is out of our control except for ticket sales ........3 million + attendance allows them to pick low hanging fruit and the only thing I look forward to is the ascension of the prospects that are highly ranked by the pundits........

The braves brought up and played double AA prospects and they thrived .........I wish the Cardinals would do the same instead of worrying about service time and payroll.............Next season will be a major test with the catchers position being at the front of my wish list for major improvement over what Knizner or Herrera could do .....We shall see.....................................

pruman91 said:

The salary cap in the NHL is causing a lot of decisions that teams don't want to make .......The Blues have some major decisions to make next year regarding ROR and VT that could be detrimental to the continuation of being a contender....Fortunately , the Blues have made some good moves in the draft and Armstrong has a good record of making trades that have helped the Blues continue as said contender ....the trade with the Flyers for B. Schenn is on a par with the Cardinals trade for Lou Brock.......Absolute larceny at it's best.........

I agree that the Cardinals have the capacity to spend more each year...........My hope is that the FO finally realizes what is needed to get that 12th WS title....
Whether or not they do it is out of our control except for ticket sales ........3 million + attendance allows them to pick low hanging fruit and the only thing I look forward to is the ascension of the prospects that are highly ranked by the pundits........

The braves brought up and played double AA prospects and they thrived .........I wish the Cardinals would do the same instead of worrying about service time and payroll.............Next season will be a major test with the catchers position being at the front of my wish list for major improvement over what Knizner or Herrera could do .....We shall see.....................................

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100% agree with all points. We have a great farm system and are sometimes too conservative with call ups. Catcher should be top of the list for additions. I worry that our needs list is long (C, front end SP, SS, OF - in that order) but barring a major change in budget we basically have the space to adequately address one area of need.

You bring up the Braves which is kind of the team the Cards should pay attention to, I think. We develop talent really well. The Braves are one of the few teams that have brought up better talent than us in recent years. Acuna, Harris, Strider, Riley. Grissom looks like their next stud. More homegrown talent than anyone. But they still spend nearly $30 million per season more than us. The lesson there is that good player development does not obviate the need to spend money at a competitive level. It can close a reasonable gap but not a monumental one.

the juiceman cometh said:

100% agree with all points. We have a great farm system and are sometimes too conservative with call ups. Catcher should be top of the list for additions. I worry that our needs list is long (C, front end SP, SS, OF - in that order) but barring a major change in budget we basically have the space to adequately address one area of need.

You bring up the Braves which is kind of the team the Cards should pay attention to, I think. We develop talent really well. The Braves are one of the few teams that have brought up better talent than us in recent years. Acuna, Harris, Strider, Riley. Grissom looks like their next stud. More homegrown talent than anyone. But they still spend nearly $30 million per season more than us. The lesson there is that good player development does not obviate the need to spend money at a competitive level. It can close a reasonable gap but not a monumental one.

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agree also..........................as far as the SS position and fast tracking prospects I have no problem with moving Winn up to the MLB roster.......he is supposed to be a good to great defender and as far as his batting level , he CAN"T be any worse than PDJ........he probably is a better defender than PDJ also and that is the ONLY reason PDJ was on the playoff roster ......

I hope Walker and Winn are on the opening day roster and have some hope's of Contreras at the catchers position , his supposed lack of defense and handling of a staff notwithstanding.....
The Cardinals have to target some higher echelon starting pitchers and I hope they resign Quintana......he was without any doubt's their best pitcher since being acquired at the trade deadline........Montgomery started awesomely , then tapered off ....it will be interesting to see how he performs next season with a full off season and then spring training to become worthy of an extension.........

The outfield really changed from a supposed strength to a daily exercise i who plays and what position......I lost some confidence in Carlson and his ability to be the everyday starter in center field...............His inability in batting left handed to be a force to be reckoned with and his proclivity to injury as well as TON's numerous stints on the IL has opened the door for me to allow Walker and Garcia ( the dude who hit the 38 or 39 homers ) a chance to see what they can do ........Maybe one or both can take the opportunity to be an everyday performer.......Remember what happened when Pujols got his chance and in no way am i even considering either are in Pujols level but youneverknow as that one word description has been used ......lol...........

JMHO

pruman91 said:

agree also..........................as far as the SS position and fast tracking prospects I have no problem with moving Winn up to the MLB roster.......he is supposed to be a good to great defender and as far as his batting level , he CAN"T be any worse than PDJ........he probably is a better defender than PDJ also and that is the ONLY reason PDJ was on the playoff roster ......

I hope Walker and Winn are on the opening day roster and have some hope's of Contreras at the catchers position , his supposed lack of defense and handling of a staff notwithstanding.....
The Cardinals have to target some higher echelon starting pitchers and I hope they resign Quintana......he was without any doubt's their best pitcher since being acquired at the trade deadline........Montgomery started awesomely , then tapered off ....it will be interesting to see how he performs next season with a full off season and then spring training to become worthy of an extension.........

The outfield really changed from a supposed strength to a daily exercise i who plays and what position......I lost some confidence in Carlson and his ability to be the everyday starter in center field...............His inability in batting left handed to be a force to be reckoned with and his proclivity to injury as well as TON's numerous stints on the IL has opened the door for me to allow Walker and Garcia ( the dude who hit the 38 or 39 homers ) a chance to see what they can do ........Maybe one or both can take the opportunity to be an everyday performer.......Remember what happened when Pujols got his chance and in no way am i even considering either are in Pujols level but youneverknow as that one word description has been used ......lol...........

JMHO

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Yeah, I think with the OF we kind of need to consolidate talent. There seems to be a lot of major league level talent, but little of it is elite. At this point I am worried Carlson's power will never come. He just did not hit the ball hard at all this season. I think TON is the best shot at production. He just has to stay healthy. He's also a FA after this season so that's going to be a big decision. Nootbaar is good, roll with him. Then you've got guys like Yepez, Burleson and Moises Gomez who have good bats but not a lot of other tools, and DeLuzio who has defense and speed but no bat. I think it makes sense to trade at least a couple of those guys.

And yes, I'd love to give Walker and Winn a shot on the opening day roster. I imagine they'll both get spring training invites so I'm excited to see how they do.

• Jeff Gordon

Infielders​

Outfielders​

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Lot's of interesting comments at the end of the article.............................

pruman91 said:

Cardinals hitter report cards: Stars shined bright, but player development is not linear

Columnist Jeff Gordon assigns year-end grades to Cardinals hitters. The stars shined bright, including the renaissance of Albert Pujols, but some promising hitters took steps back.

www.stltoday.com

• Jeff Gordon

Infielders​

Outfielders​

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Lot's of interesting comments at the end of the article.............................

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Think either the grade on TON is too harsh or the grade on Carlson too generous. TON posted an OPS+ of 101 and Carlson of 100. Down year for both of them really need at least one of them to bounce back next season. I'd personally bet on TON because in this age of advanced metrics we know that hitting the ball hard is a good metric in predicting success and TON does that, Carlson doesn't. As an interesting challenge, guess which of the following is TON and which is Carlson:





And just because this kinda wowed me, heres Nootbaar:

Jeff Gordon

As expected, the Cardinals kept their top baseball executives on board for next season.
Owner Bill DeWitt Jr. values management continuity and stability. He’s pretty boring that way.
The team announced new multiyear contracts for general manager Michael Girsch and scouting czar Randy Flores on Monday. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak was already locked in thanks to an earlier extension.
So the band stayed together after the team’s disappointing playoff loss to the Phillies. That was a bad ending to the organization’s otherwise strong year overall.
The Cardinals enjoyed their 15th consecutive winning season and reached the postseason for the 10th time in that span. They also managed their long-term assets well while building a critical mass of talent.

Their mix of productive veterans and young, cost-controlled players gives them leverage to build a special team during the next few seasons.
Now let’s see if this front office can seize that opportunity.
The expanded bracket creates an easier path to postseason play. But advancing in the playoffs is harder than ever, as the defending world champion Atlanta Braves and the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers discovered while getting eliminated over the weekend.
“You never know what’s going to happen; you don’t know what team’s going to get hot, what things have to go right for you to go deep into the postseason,” Braves manager Brian Snitker noted after his team’s demise.

Derrick Goold

His hair not yet dry from the manager’s orchestrated Champagne ambush, Cardinals executive John Mozeliak stood near the team’s celebration — the spoils of a division title — and could see the future his staff had been preparing for, one they could no longer postpone.
Across the room from him stood the fixtures of past and present: two retiring greats, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, and nearby was venerable starter Adam Wainwright. All drenched. Pujols picked up where he left off, back in the playoffs with the Cardinals just like he was the last time he wore the redbirds, in 2011. Molina and Wainwright remained the constants, the battery that powered 15 consecutive winning seasons and won four National League pennants. Molina personified the Cardinals’ continuum, connecting the 100-win teams of 2004 and 2005 through 2022, his 13th autumn in the playoffs.

An abrupt exit from the postseason meant what Mozeliak watched in Milwaukee were the last splashes of success for that trio together, a prelude to the moment the Cardinals knew was coming.
It proved to be brightest before dusk.
“You trade for Nolan Arenado because you’re trading for greatness. You trade for Paul Goldschmidt because you want greatness,” president of baseball operations Mozeliak said, motioning toward the MVP candidates in the middle of the lineup, a Champagne bottle in his hand. “The way we were thinking was, yes, we understood we had some players who were on the downward side of their careers — Yadi and Waino. And then we’re looking at this: How can we re-establish the elite talent the Cardinals have always had?
“We could not wait for it,” Mozeliak said. “You can develop it. Or, you can trade for it. Or, you can sign it. And we chose to trade for it.”

Rick Hummel

After a second consecutive sub-.200 season, Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong not surprisingly is seeking a change.
“I know I’ve got a lot to work with,” said DeJong, a 2019 All-Star who hit .157 this season after batting .197 the year before and has lost his starting job. “A clean slate would be good.”
But he doesn’t mean that “clean slate” should be somewhere else. He isn’t angling for a trade. He wants to be the shortstop here.
“Yeah, definitely. I want to be here and finish this contract strong and set myself up for the future,” DeJong said after the Cardinals had been bounced from the wild-card round in two games by the Phillies.
Next year, DeJong will make a base of $9 million in the sixth and final year of a six-year contract he signed after his rookie season of 2017, when he hit 25 homers, drove in 65 runs and batted .285, which by far has been his highest average in the majors.

He hit 30 homers but batted only .233 in his All-Star year of 2019, and his past two years have been disasters. After batting .130 for the first month of the 2022 season, he was banished to Class AAA Memphis, where it appeared he had rebranded himself by hitting 17 homers, driving in 54 runs and slugging .552 in 201 at-bats.
Upon his return to the Cardinals in late July, the 29-year-old DeJong was inserted into the lineup and gave the Cardinals a two-week flash of what they had seen before and had hoped to witness again. Homering in Washington in each of his first two games back, DeJong hit .295 for a 13-game span with four homers and five doubles.

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In all my years watching MLB I don't remember a player in either league having such a terrible and embarrassing season as PDJ.........His stats from this year and even including 2021 make Mario Mendoza , the player who the Mendoza line is named after , look like an All Star.......
his horrible addiction to swinging at pitches outside the strike zone and especially slider's outside and in the dirt shows he has no idea and no skills as a productive MLB batter.............

Yeah , I know he has had years of 30 homers and made the All Star team one year , and is proclaimed to be at least an adequate fielding SS , but he has regressed so far that he has no path to a return to being considered as a roster named player for 2023 with the Cardinals.........

What are the possibilities for next season ????......................................

1......... Return to the Cardinals as a roster bench player based on his $ 9 million contract ???
2......... Traded , somewhat similar to the Dexter Fowler scenario of a couple years ago ???
3......... Outright release ??????
4......... Designated for assignment to Memphis ???
5......... Other ???

I'm sure PDJ would be happy with option # 1 or even option # 4.........

How viable is option # 2 ??..................How much salary would the Cardinals have to absorb ??..............What would the Cardinals return be on a trade ??

How likely is option # 3 ??.............Based on the Cardinals past I would hazard a guess that option # 3 is the LEAST likely to happen.........

Option # 5 is a black hole to me as I made this post , as to what else is a possibility ??


All I know is PDJ is NOT MLB worthy of a roster spot with the Cardinals if I was in charge of player personnel decisions...........

I would try option # 2 as much as possible , but the other options other than option # 3 are NOT on my list of what if's ...............

It should be a busy off season for the Cardinals , with starting pitching and catching at the top of the list of things to do ........Outfielders is a close second but I think bringing up Jordan Walker and giving him a long audition is absolutely necessary......

Signing Quintana to a 2-3 year contract with incentives is also a necessity.................He's earned it after the performance he had after being acquired......

The rest of the Cardinals player movement is prime Hot Stove League material and I look forward with the hope of the Cardinals spending enough $$$ to reach the next level in the pursuit of WS title # 12.......

As always , this is Just My Humble Opinion...........................

Oct 17, 2022 11:01 AM
Greetings! Baseball is in full swing. And two wild cards are playing for the league title. What do we think about that and the Cardinals, of course, too?
Fire away.
Commish

On PDJ, I think to trade him Cards eat 6 or 7 of that $9 million and the return will be nothing of value. Probably a low end minor leaguer. And honestly, even given the money retained and de minimis return, the Cards should do it if they can find a willing team. Time to turn the page, as much as I like PDJ and really wish it had worked out for him.

Making the grade: Read all of columnist Jeff Gordon’s year-end Cardinals report cards​

Read each of Jeff Gordon's 2022 St. Louis Cardinals year-end report cards.
(3) updates to this series since 1 hr ago

Daniel Guerrero

As managerial positions began to get filled across baseball on Friday like those with the Rangers and Blue Jays, one name within the Cardinals organization surfaced as a possible candidate for the Marlins’ opening.
Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker reportedly interviewed for Miami’s managerial opening and is viewed as one of the “top candidates” for the position, according to MLB Network.
John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, said on Friday that the Cardinals don’t comment on other team’s interviews.
The 2022 season marked Schumaker’s first as the Cardinals’ bench coach. Schumaker, 42, spent the 2018-20 seasons as a coach with the Padres following his retirement as a player in 2016.

Schumaker’s contract with St. Louis contains option language that allows him to leave this offseason or return as bench coach for 2023.
Schumaker, who resides in Southern California, was the Padres' first base coach in 2018 and later became San Diego’s associate manager — a role similar to that of a bench coach — prior to the 2020 season.
He returned as San Diego’s associate manager for the 2021 season and was hired to work alongside first-year manager Oliver Marmol as the Cardinals' bench coach in early November 2021.

Ben Frederickson


Some forget former Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant — “St. Louis is boring” — was not the first North Sider to irk now departed and future Hall of Fame Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina due to an offseason comment.
Remember the Cubs Convention drama that briefly bubbled in 2018?
Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, who had emerged during the Cubs’ World Series championship season in 2016, had one ring, two seasons beneath his belt and a growing confidence about his career arc.
So much so that he suggested to a reporter he could one day pass greats like Buster Posey and Molina.
Molina turned to Instagram to give the then 26-year-old Contreras a reminder. Respect your elders. The message was received.


The two catchers cleared the air. A positive relationship developed. It was Molina, after all, who Contreras had studied for tips and tells on how to become a cornerstone catcher, a role he hoped to hold in Chicago forever after growing into a three-time All-Star there. If the Cubs are now unwilling to give the free agent the commitment required to let him fulfill that role, and it sounds like they are, the Cardinals should strongly consider benefitting from the Cubs’ loss.
Everyone has an opinion about what the Cardinals need to prioritize on their offseason shopping list of trades and free-agent signings. Between the combination of holes in the roster and versatility of players set to return, a compelling case can be made to improve every spot but first and third base. A high-level starting pitcher with strikeout punch would elevate the postseason profile of the rotation. Albert Pujols is gone from the list of designated-hitter options, leaving a gap. Shortstop could be a play if Tommy Edman shifts elsewhere. The outfield is unproven, again.

Hope I'm wrong but I get the feeling that the Phillies making it to the WS is going to be used as justification for not making significant investments. Something along the lines of "We got knocked out by the team that made it to the World Series, no shame in that. With a little luck it could have been us. No reason to change anything."

Daniel Guerrero
Both in the traditional box score and through advanced metrics, Cardinals prospects Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn’s offensive performances during Salt River’s Thursday matchup against Mesa in the Arizona Fall League proved to be a difference maker.
The duo that represented the Cardinals at this year's All-Star Futures Game combined for five RBIs as Salt River, the team Cardinals prospects like Winn and Walker have been assigned to for the short-season league, beat Mesa 10-6. Winn, who batted leadoff and started at second base, drove in three runs with two coming from a line drive single that tied the ballgame in the sixth inning.
Two spots below Winn in the batting order, Walker went three-for-four and drove in two runs in the fifth inning on a double that had an exit velocity of 103.4 mph, according to statcast. Walker’s 103.4 mph double was one of three balls he put in play that topped 100 mph.

Walker’s other two hard balls on Thursday — both of which resulted in singles — registered at 110.9 mph and 110.1 mph. The pair of singles accounted for the two hardest-hit balls put in play by any prospect during Salt River’s win over Mesa.

For Walker, the three-hit day improved his slash line to .300/.326/.528 over 40 at-bats. He has driven in nine RBIs and connected on two homers in 11 AFL games for Salt River.

the juiceman cometh said:

Hope I'm wrong but I get the feeling that the Phillies making it to the WS is going to be used as justification for not making significant investments. Something along the lines of "We got knocked out by the team that made it to the World Series, no shame in that. With a little luck it could have been us. No reason to change anything."

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I hope you are wrong too. If they want to use the Phillies model, they need to focus on the two pitchers at the top of the rotation.

How would the Cards fans react if Mo (Girsch) picked up Contreras and 1 front line starter (either trade a major league outfielder and several minor leaguers or through FA) and did nothing else of consequence? I was unaware of Contreras' relationship with Yadi. Maybe he would like to be his heir. That would be a pretty big improvement to the lineup. I know, everyone wants to know the "actual" costs in players and contract, etc. Assume the most painful outfielder to give up for the pitcher and Contreras costs 5/$17M/yr. The pitcher, 3 yrs/$23M/yr (I did say front line starter, so, better than anyone we have).

Illwinsagain said:

How would the Cards fans react if Mo (Girsch) picked up Contreras and 1 front line starter (either trade a major league outfielder and several minor leaguers or through FA) and did nothing else of consequence? I was unaware of Contreras' relationship with Yadi. Maybe he would like to be his heir. That would be a pretty big improvement to the lineup. I know, everyone wants to know the "actual" costs in players and contract, etc. Assume the most painful outfielder to give up for the pitcher and Contreras costs 5/$17M/yr. The pitcher, 3 yrs/$23M/yr (I did say front line starter, so, better than anyone we have).

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Honestly the FO should stop thinking trade first. Free agency lets you obtain talent without giving up talent in return. Why deplete an already shaky outfield when Carlos Rodon is right there, and only costs money?

Overall though I'd be happy with signing/acquiring Contreras and a front line starter, because I honestly expect us to do less than that. My expectation is we sign someone like Tucker Barnhart at catcher and either roll with what we have at pitcher or sign another mid-rotation type. I really have a hard time imagining we pay $25 mil/yr to someone, even if Waino retires. If Waino comes back, not a chance. Again, hope I'm wrong!