Feb 17, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals director player development Gary LaRocque (right) talks with outfielder James Ramsey (left) during spring training at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Astros called up George Springer this week, but they lost another top outfield prospect for some time. According to Brian McTaggert of MLB.com, Delino DeShields Jr. is out several weeks after fracturing his jaw when he was struck in the face with a fastball on Friday. He was released from the hospital Saturday and is clearly in good spirits based on this tweet:
To anyone that is concerned as you can see I'm doing fantastic! Blessed to see another day! Always smiling 😊 lol pic.twitter.com/C5koD0Z5t9
— Delino DeShields (@LinoDeShields) April 19, 2014
DeShields has bounced back-and-forth between second base and the outfield, and while his future likely lies in the outfield, he still has plenty of work to do when reading the ball off the bat.
James Ramsey is making the Texas League look easy in his second time through the league as he leads in all three Triple Crown categories. He is hitting .386 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 15 games. Despite the impressive stats thus far, he is in the top five in a category the Cardinals hoped he wouldn’t be, and that is strikeouts. He has struck out 17 times while drawing just six walks thus far.
While James Ramsey has been as hot as any hitter in the minor leagues early this season, the player most primed for a call-up just might be his teammate, Aledmys Diaz. Diaz has not played professional baseball since 2011 in Cuba, but has jumped right into Double-A and hit. He has an average over .300 and is slugging over .500 thanks to two home runs and four doubles in 14 games. Greg Garcia has been performing well in Triple-A, but off-season signing Jhonny Peralta has really struggled with the bat in his first year following the biogenesis suspension last season. Diaz could offer the Cardinals a solid bat up the middle should an injury occur or Peralta continues to struggle at the plate.
The Texas Rangers Double-A pitching staff took a hit earlier this week. Martire Garcia pitched in the minor leagues for the first time since 2011 this season for the Frisco RoughRiders, but he will not be available for the next 50 games after testing positive for the banned drug Clomiphene, per MiLB.com.
Matt Harrison made his final rehab start with the RoughRiders, looking sharp and efficient as he threw just 86 pitches while allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out five in eight shutout innings.
The Kansas City Royals affiliate in Northwest Arkansas finally put an end to an 11-game skid with back-to-back wins at Tulsa to bring their record to a less-than-impressive 4-12.