K.B.'s Baseball Blog

Minor league baseball teams go by the nicknames the “farm teams” because of a joke from the 1930s when St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey formalized the minor league system, and teams in small towns were “growing players down on the farm like corn.”

70 years later, the Cardinals now have 6 affiliates, the Memphis Redbirds (AAA), the Springfield Cardinals (AA), the Palm Beach County Cardinals (A), the Quad Cities River Bandits (A), the Batavia Muckdogs (A), and the Johnson City Cardinals (R), and over 250 minor league players.

In the past season, all the of the Cardinals minor league teams combined for a 337-364 record, a .480 winning percentage, which doesn’t sound promising, although 2 of the teams did make the playoffs. The Quad City River Bandits were among the four teams competing in the Midwest league playoffs, but were defeated in the first round. The Springfield Cardinals made in all the way through the Texas league to the championship series, but lost to San Antonio to take second place.

So the Cardinals minor league teams are struggling, but many players are still thriving in the minors. There are a number of intriguing prospects, as follows:

Colby Rasmus, OF. At 21, Colby completed his third professional baseball season in 2007. He was raised in a baseball family with his father, Tony Rasmus, being a former professional player himself, and his brother, Cory, being a #1 draft pick by Atlanta in 2006. He had a .275 batting average in 128 games with Springfield in 2007, along with a league high of 29 homeruns. In addition to his power, he has a good mix of speed, stealing 18 bases. He is considered the Cardinals #1 prospect, and was ranked by MILB.com as the 7th best overall prospect in 2007. With the trade of former Cardinal center fielder Jim Edmonds, could have a successful long-term tenure with the Cardinals at center field.
Chris Perez, P. The big 6′4″, 225 pound relief pitcher is one of the most powerful pitcher in all of the minors. Chris, who is 22, struck out 77 players in 56.2 innings in 54 games split between AAA and AA. He had a 2-1 record with a 2.88 ERA and 36 saves. He was originally drafted in the first round of the 2006 player draft. As the Cardinals current closer, Jason Isringhausen, get older, Chris could find himself as the Cardinals every day closer in a few years.
Jaime Garcia, P. Jamie, 21 and originally from Mexico, suffered a let down season in 2007, after he went 5-9 with a 3.75 ERA. Although he was drafted in the 22nd round in 2005, he immediately impressed in his first pro season, 2006, by going 9-7 with a 3.54 ERA. Although his stats aren’t incredible, he still has the stuff to be a great big league pitcher.
Jarrett Hoffpauir, IF. This versatile infielder can play secondbase, shortstop and his primary position, thirdbase. At age 24, Jarrett completed his fourth professional season in 2007, split between AAA and AA. After coming out of the gate with a .345 batting average while in AA, he was promoted to AAA where he hit an eve .300, to have a total 2007 batting average of .323 with 11 homeruns and 57 RBIs. He is currently on the Cardinals 40-man roster.
Mike Parisi, P. Originally a 9th rounder out of the 2004 draft, Mike, 24, has now played 4 seasons of minor league ball with 6 teams. He had a rather tough year in 2007, going 8-13 with a 4.91 ERA in 28 starts for Memphis. In his career, he has a 32-35 with a 4.33 ERA. Even though some of the stats aren’t pleasant to look at, he still has proven his self to be a possible 200 inning major league pitcher.
Bryan Anderson, C. Considered by some to be the #1 catching prospect in baseball, Bryan, barely 21, has already played 3 professional catching seasons. He spent 2007 with Springfield, compiling a .298 batting average with 6 homeruns. He is a very good defensive catcher. But with Yadier Molina as the Cardinals catcher until 2012, Anderson’s future with the Cardinals is uncertain.
Kyle McClellan, P. At 23, Kyle is a long time Cardinal Minor leaguer, playing with them since he was 18, in 2002. 2007 has definitely a turn around season for him. Before 2007, he had a career ERA of 4.31, but in 2007, he came back with a 1.82 in 40 games of relief pitching between A and AA. If he can keep it up, he has a good future in the Cardinals bullpen.
Peter Kozma, SS. After being drafted directly out of high school as the number overall draft pick by St. Luis in 2007, he went straight into professional baseball business, at only 19. But in 2007, his first year, he put together only a .233 batting average with 2 homeruns and 4 stolen bases in 42 minor league games. But with no future shortstop on the Cardinals team, he could have a job with them up the middle in a few years.
Adam Ottavino, P. The number one draft pick by the Cardinals in 2006, Adam, 22, completed his second pro season in 2007, going a respectable 12-8 with a 3.08 ERA in 28 starts in A. In his first pro season, 2006, he went 4-5 with a 3.32 ERA. In his three seasons collage seasons, he put together a total record of 13-13 with a 3.09 ERA with 290 total strikeout in 253.1 innings. With a little work, he could be a successful future starter
Joe Mather, 1B-OF. After 7 seasons of minor league ball since he was drafted in the third round of the 2001 draft, Joe, 25, has finally started to make a name for himself. After hitting 16 homeruns in 2006, he came out of nowhere in April 2007, hitting 10 homeruns in the first month. At the end of the year, he had a total 31 homeruns, after being promoted to AAA. With Albert Pujols not going anywhere at first base, Joe’s best shot at making the Cardinals roster is through the outfield.
Jason Motte, P. Three years after signing with the Cardinals in 2003, Jason, 25, join the Cardinals in 2006 for his first professional season. He had a 3.69 ERA in 2006 with a 2-3 record. He did much better in 2007, 4-3 record and a 1.98 ERA in 9 games in A, and 45 in AA. He also struck out 69 player in 59 innings.

As the Cardinals minor league and major league players report to spring training this month, each will being try to prove himself worthy of the big leagues. Out of all those prospects, Hoffpauir has the best overall shot at making the team, but Rasmus and Mather are both competing for outfield spot as well. Catcher Bryan Anderson and pitchers Jaime Garcia and Chris Perez have also been invited to spring training.

So with the Cardinals preparing for another season in the big leagues, they are also preparing to “grow” some more player in the minor leagues.

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Comments: 2

Hey KB Posted by Gratitude

Posted at 7:40 PM on Feb. 17, 2008

Thats all very interesting! (What you posted about)(But I must admit, I didn't get to read it all)
I never really "looked" at your background, its cool!
Well I gotta run!
ttyl
God Bless,
~*Mandie*~