Marco Gonzales Is Odd Man Out for Now

And in the end, Marco Gonzales was the odd man out in the battle for the rotation.

Gonzales, a St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect, will start the season at Triple-A Memphis instead of in the rotation, according to the team.

This is largely because Gonzales has minor-league options remaining and the team can send him down and call him up without fear of being punished. An option lasts all of one season.

It is largely a roster issue. Gonzales certainly wasn’t sent down for ineffectiveness. He was 3-0 with a 1.04 earned run average, seven walks and nine strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. The walks may have been the killer in this case, even though he had won three games and had a low ERA.

Those lamenting Gonzales’ demotion, take this to heart. This is only Gonzales’ second full season as a professional and Gonzales is only 23 years old. He’s got a lot of time left to prove himself as a solid big-league pitcher, and if Lance Lynn, John Lackey, Michael Wacha or Adam Wainwright go down, Gonzales could get called up if Jaime Garcia hasn’t recovered from his shoulder setback.

Gonzales has a very bright future in St. Louis. He’ll handle this demotion just fine.