Fully Armed

It looks like the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen is getting some much needed help.  Though the Cardinals were swept by the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, I’m hopeful that the recent roster moves will inject some much needed life into our beloved Redbirds.

Trevor Rosenthal:  Rosenthal was officially called up today  from the Double-A affiliate Springfield Cardinals.  The Lee’s Summit, Missouri native just celebrated his twenty-second birthday in May, and has some pretty impressive stats since his being drafted in the twenty-first round of the 2009 MLB Draft.  Last October, he was listed as the #92 prospect by our Seedlings to Stars site:  http://seedlingstostars.com/2011/10/07/the-seedlings-to-stars-2012-top-100-prospects-92-trevor-rosenthal/.  Since being drafted, he has mostly been starting, with the exception of 2009 and 4 games in 2010.  The last 4 years have given us a pretty decent sample size, as Rosenthal has thrown 270 1/3 innings already.  In those innings, Trevor Rosenthal has 272 strikeouts, good for just over a strikeout per inning.  He has given up just 14 homers, and hitters are only batting .228 against him.  This year, for Springfield, his ERA is just 2.78, with a WHIP just over 1. 

Some of you may remember him pitching the St. Louis Cardinals final exhibition on April 2.  In that game, he went 4 perfect frames against the Springfield team he would play with this season to date.  A few members of the Cardinals scouting team thought in 2009 that Rosenthal was raw in terms of both control and maturity.  His work ethic was somewhat questionable.  Now, he’s no longer an immature 19 year old.  He’s a star on the rise, and he will greatly help the struggling Redbird pen.  His fastball sits between 94-96, and he has shown that he can keep his offspeed stuff down in the zone.  Let’s hope he is as polished when facing the best baseball has to offer when he hits The Show!

Brian Fuentes:  John Mozeliak has said that the St. Louis Cardinals are looking at 2 weeks before he’s ready to join the major league team, but hopes he can provide depth, as the Cardinals only have one left-handed reliever right now.    His struggles certainly are well known, as he’s got a 6.84 ERA in 26 appearances this year.  As recently as 201o though, he was good, if not great for periods of time.  He and the Cardinals brass are hoping that he can regain his control, and pitch with the success he’s enjoyed for most of his career.  While analyzing his statistics from when he pitched in Colorado (with the exception of 2004), he was good for 60+ innings and a solid strikeout rate.  Keep in mind too that he pitched in a very hitter friendly park, and didn’t allow his ERA above 3.44 other than in ’04.  Even his days as an Angel were pretty solid.  If he can somehow reclaim that, the St. Louis Cardinals have themselves a steal, because good major league ready lefties are difficult to find.

I feel like somewhat of a hypocrite saying, “Keep calm, all is well.  No need to worry everybody.  Just stay the course, and our Cardinals will be fine.”  — mostly because my Twitter feed is full of  quick and angry reactions to the Cardinals seemingly unexplainable troubles this season.  However, I do feel that their season will turn around before the sand in the hour glass runs out.  Let’s not forget that coupled with these recent moves is the return of Lance Berkman.  While he looked less than polished in his 0-4 return over the weekend, I can assure you that he will probably be clutch more often than not.

We face the Milwaukee Brewers tonight, and I hope you’re ready.  Lynnsanity should continue tonight, even though Ryan Braun and the Brew Crew have been hot lately.