St. Louis Cardinals: Memphis Redbirds Starting Roster Prediction

The 2017 St. Louis Cardinals spring training is drawing to a conclusion and with it the roster has been trimmed. While Cardinals Nation now knows who will be the supposed starters in St. Louis, who will be the supposed starters in Memphis at the start of the campaign?

The St. Louis Cardinals trimmed a few additional players from the major league roster on Monday. Among these were Carson Kelly. With Kelly’s addition, the Memphis Redbirds- the AAA-affiliate of the Cardinals- now has a full slate of names from which to build a roster.

Let us take a look at these names, where I assume their will start, and how well they have performed in 2016 and in 2017 Spring Training. From these numbers, I will take a stab at how we might expect them to perform. This roster prediction will become solidified (or assumed-to-be-solidified) as of Thursday at the annual “Battle of the Birds” in Memphis.

Let’s first look at the starting pitchers. Memphis’ roster contains names such as Marco Gonzales and Mike Mayers who are no stranger to the confines of AutoZone Park. Luke Weaver also joins them and he too is familiar with the Bluff City park. Arturo Reyes returns for another year to climb the mound, as does supposed-starter Thomas Lee.

Marco Gonzales did not pitch in 2016 due to injury and did not appear in any spring training games this season. His return from Tommy John surgery should be an interesting one to watch.

Mayers is famous for the one MLB start against the Dodgers wherein he was absolutely shelled and left on the mound to take the beating. Mayers currently owns an MLB ERA of 27.00 for allowing sixteen earned runs in the 5.1 innings pitched in that single game.

This spring, however, Mayers has appeared in eleven innings and has earned an ERA of 1.64. I look for him to turn things around in 2017 and be a supporter when need in St. Louis.

Weaver was often debated as a potential roster spot in St. Louis but I was never really high on this idea. I believe that Memphis is the best spot for Weaver this season so he can continue to develop. In his 36.1 innings in the MLB in 2016, Weaver posted an ERA of 5.70. This spring, he has appeared in five innings and has posted an ERA of 12.60. I look for him to work on his command this season.

Arturo (not the Reyes pitcher whose season was ended with Tommy John surgery) started nineteen games in Memphis in 2016 and earned a 4.17 ERA. He earned a non-roster invitation to spring training this year and appeared in 10.1 innings posting a 4.35 ERA.

His performances were not bad but not strong enough to earn him a spot on the major league roster. I look for him to prove his abilities this season (2016 was his first season at AAA).

Thomas Less started nineteen games for Memphis in 2016 and posted a 6.11 ERA across fifty-six innings. Lee did not receive an invitation to spring training but I look to him to continue to serve as a starter in Memphis. 2016 was his first season in AAA and this year looks to be one in which he can prove his stuff or not.

Moving to the outfield, I predict that we will see these three names starting in the outfield positions: Nick Martini, Tommy Pham, and Anthony Garcia.

Martini has shown some great numbers in the past and I look for him to continue his work in 2017. Pham needs to show that he can repeatedly hit so this will be his focus. Garcia has appeared in AAA in 2015 and 2016 but I look for this season to be a full AAA season for him.