St. Louis Cardinals just know how to develop pitching
Past and present testaments to this assertion in no particular order over the last two decades would be pitchers like Matt Morris, Dan Haren, Ian Kennedy, Jason Motte, Jaime Garcia, Luke Gregerson, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Trevor Rosenthal, Michael Wacha, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Carlos Martinez. Most were drafted or in some way brought up through the St. Louis Cardinals‘ minor league system.
The only exceptions are Kennedy, who was drafted by the Cardinals in 2003 but did not sign. One might wonder what kind of Major League starter he would have turned into under the tutelage of Cardinals’ coaches straight out of high school as opposed to the Yankees’ after three years at USC? The second is Carpenter, who was a 49-50 starter with a 4.83 ERA in his six-year Blue Jays career, before sitting out 2003 and blossoming into a Cy Young winner that went 95-42 with a 3.06 ERA from 2004-11 in St. Louis.
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It’s no surprise that Cardinals scouts are esteemed when it comes to recognizing talent. Their likely 13th postseason appearance since 1996 is all but officially confirmed this season and is proof scouts and coaches alike both do their jobs very well within the organization. Furthermore, the Cardinals currently lead MLB with a 2.60 team ERA. How the club develops and manages their arms is a feat to behold and their four World Series appearances since 2004 exhibits an envious nature many other clubs should have towards their processes.
Take for example some other up and comers within the farm system. In Single-A right now, we have Austin Gomber to look at. Gomber was a fourth round draft pick out of Florida Atlantic University las year. He played in Low-A in 2014 and has since started 2015 with the High-A Peoria Chiefs. He is 13-3 with a 2.93 ERA and leads the entire Midwest League with 122 strikeouts in 123 innings pitched. But don’t forget fellow rotation mates Matt Pearce, Daniel Poncedeleon and Jack Flaherty. All, except Poncedelon, are 21-years or younger like Gomber, have started at least 13 games for Peoria and have sub-3.00 ERAs.
In Double-A’s Texas League, the Springfield Cardinals continue the trend of successful arm-rearing. 23-year-old Artie Reyes is 7-7 with a 2.64 ERA through 17 outings. Kyle Barraclough is a promising relief pitcher just traded to the Miami Marlins but brought up through the Cards’ system for 3.5 seasons. Before getting promoted, the 25-year-old had a combined 2.06 ERA with two different Double-A teams in 2015. He debuted only on August 7 and has since accumulated a win over over three appearances with five strikeouts in only 2.2 IP. Barraclough has surrendered one hit and zero runs.
In Triple-A, Cardinals fans have already captured glimpses of what is to come. As if fans needed reassurance when a club that loses its ace in April still goes onto have the best pitching staff in the league. The depth backing up the big league arms is exceptional.
Tyler Lyons debuted in 2013 for St. Louis. He hasn’t been overly efficient above Triple-A, but he’s only 27 and probably has quite a bit of life left in his southpaw delivery. Tim Cooney has been more successful. After posting a 2.74 ERA with the Memphis Redbirds in 2015, he’s made six starts in the show and has an admirable 3.16 ERA. Don’t forget about Thomas Lee down in Memphis either, who could still be a factor in the bigs one day at only 25. The move from Double-A earlier this year has apparently inspired him, as he now boasts an ERA of 1.62 over six starts with a K:BB of 4.00.
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If the Cardinals want to call up a reliever instead of a starter, they can do that too. Sam Tuivailala has 15 saves and a 1.75 ERA for the Redbirds. His 9.0 K/9 in Triple-A would also translate nicely at the Major League level. He is only 22 and should be up soon now.
The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the premier teams in MLB at developing talent — hitters and pitchers included. But the men working with the pitchers do a fashionable job. When someone like Wainwright goes down, the “next man up” philosophy rings true. It’s likely a major reason they sacrificed a talent like Shelby Miller to acquire a bat in Jason Heyward that hasn’t quite lived up to his potential yet.
After a slow start, Heyward is now hitting .286 on the year and .337 since the All-Star break. He never hit better than .277 over an entire season with the Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals win a lot of ball games more often than not. Anytime a sports franchise does that, it’s because they have an amazing staff working diligently behind the scenes.
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