2015 St. Louis Cardinals Pitchers To Watch

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Mar 11, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher

Tim Cooney

(66) delivers a pitch against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. The Mets defeated the Cardinals 9-8. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

4. Tim Cooney

Cooney is an interesting pitcher. He is probably a bit of an unknown among casual Cardinals fans. He has flown under the radar in the Cardinals’ system not having the Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, or even Marco Gonzales type stuff. Cooney was drafted in the third round in the 2012 MLB draft so he has moved pretty quickly throughout the system. Having his best year of his career this past season with AAA Memphis tallying a 14-6 record and an ERA of 3.47. Many people believe that if he was in a different organization he could be starting in the big leagues this year. In his article he wrote on Tim back in December, Rant Sports writer Drew Jenkins had this to say: 

"Cooney may not have the most impressive stuff, but he makes up for it with great command and control that make it play up. That gives him a fairly high floor as a No. 5 starter, and if he can develop his breaking stuff and become a little more effective against same-handed hitters, then he could become a No. 4. That is solid enough for a guy who gets little to no attention in a stacked Cardinals system."

It would likely take a miracle for Cooney to make it into the rotation this season and for a guy with 4-5 spot potential it will be hard to see him making this rotation ever with guys like Rob Kaminsky, Alex Reyes, and Luke Weaver that have much more high end talent than Cooney on their way to the big leagues in the next few years. However, this does not mean Cooney isn’t a player to watch this season. With the Jaime Garcia news and Sam Freeman trade look for Cooney to be an option to add the bullpen should Kevin Siegrist or Randy Choate struggle or come down with an injury. He could also be a potential option for a trade as he simply is not likely to start in this organization anytime soon.