September Call-ups: St. Louis Cardinals promote 3 from Memphis

facebooktwitterreddit

With the Memphis Redbirds eliminated from the Pacific Coast League postseason, the St. Louis Cardinals announced three more September call-ups.

More from St Louis Cardinals News

The Cardinals promoted three more minor league players to the active roster. Infielder Greg Garcia, outfielder Tommy Pham and right-handed pitcher Sam Tuivailala were promoted from the Memphis Redbirds. To make room for the additions on the 40-man roster, catcher Audry Perez and outfielder Rafael Ortega have been designated for assignment. The active roster currently stands at 36 players, four short of the maximum 40 players available to the club in September.

This is the third stint of the season for Garcia in the big leagues. Pham and Tuivailala will both be making their Major League debut when they make their first appearance this month.

Garcia finished the 2014 minor league season with a .275 batting average, eight home runs and 41 RBI in 110 games combined between Springfield (AA) and Memphis (AAA). Garcia was a 7th round draft pick in the 2010 draft out of the University of Hawaii.

The Cardinals selected Pham in the 16th round of the draft in 2006 out of Durango High School in Las Vegas, NV. He converted from shortstop to the outfield, where he has drawn accolades as being one of the top defensive outfielders in the Cardinals organization. Had it not been for injuries, Pham would have surely made his debut by now. He hit .324 (3rd, PCL) with 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 104 games at Memphis. He led the team in batting, stolen bases (20) and triples (6).

Tuivailala was drafted as a shortstop on the 3rd round of the 2010 draft out of Aragon High School in San Mateo, CA. He converted to a pitcher during the 2012 season with the Johnson City Cardinals (Rookie).

At three levels (A, AA, AAA) this season, he went a combined 2-2 with a 3.15 ERA and eight saves in 48 games. Amongst minor league pitchers with 60 or fewer innings pitched, his 97 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched were the most.

In 108.1 career innings pitched, Tuivailala has allowed just two home runs while striking out 170 batters. He will be playing for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League when the season ends.