St. Louis Cardinals: Rule 5 Draft Gains and Losses

Credit: Larry Kave and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Rule 5 Draft on the final day of this year’s Baseball Winter Meetings in Nashville was, as usual, buried in rumors about trades and free agents, but the St. Louis Cardinals were ready.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost 8 of its minor leaguers to the draft but picked up 3. All of the acquisitions are pitchers, while the bulk of the players taken by other teams are righthanded pitchers specifically.

Still, the three pitchers it did get represented a lot more activity than I thought, given the organizational depth and where the St. Louis Cardinals were picking — 30th, dead last. But they have to clear a roster spot for just one of the three.

The St. Louis Cardinals took soft-tossing righty Matt Bowman in the Major League phase of the draft. The team drafted the other two pitchers in the triple-A rounds, where they must stick all year to be kept in the system.

Here’s the thing about these three pitchers. They all have good backstories. Bowman is essentially a baseball nerd who, while at Princeton, wrote a paper on the mechanics of franchise building. One of the minor league guys is a gregarious type who embraces the community outreach minor league teams always ask the players to do. The other has made it back into affiliated baseball after two season in the independent leagues.

But will any of them ultimately be contributors with the St. Louis Cardinals? Let’s have a look.

Next: Major League Phase, Round 1

Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Phase, Round 1

• 4th Round: Colorado Rockies select Luis Perdomo, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
• 30th Round: St. Louis Cardinals select Matt Bowman, RHP, New York Mets

Perdomo’s departure is really no surprise. Baseball America and MLB.com had listed him among the top talents available. He’s a live arm who could conceivably be a bullpen asset in Colorado.

But who is Matt Bowman? The Mets’ 13th round pick in 2012 is a 24-year-old Princeton alum who had his worst season, statistically, last year. His ERA at triple-A Las Vegas was a lofty 5.53, albeit in a hitter-friendly ballpark and league. Before that, however, he’d risen steadily through the Mets system, showing both durability and a knack for getting outs.

The righthander doesn’t do it with stuff. His fastball hovers around 90. With Bowman, it’s all about location and deception via his Tim Lincecum-like delivery. And he likes to absorb every little piece of information he can get his hands on. It’ll be interesting to see whether he can give the St. Louis Cardinals any kind of depth in the big leagues.

Next: Triple-A Phase

Credit: Larry Kave and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Triple-A Phase, 2nd Round

• 4th Round: Milwaukee Brewers select Kender Villegas, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
• 13th Round: Arizona Diamondbacks select Robles Reyes, SS, St. Louis Cardinals
• 28th Round: Chicago Cubs select Michael O’Neill, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
• 30th Round: St. Louis Cardinals select Michael Heesch, LHP, Chicago Cubs

An 8th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2012, the 6-5, 265-lb. Heesch moved to the bullpen full-time in 2014 and has had pretty good success ever since. His career ERA in four seasons is 2.93.

Other than a spot appearance in triple-A in 2014, however, Heesch hasn’t pitched above the A level yet. On the other hand, he’ll be 26 in May. It’s time for the big push forward.

There isn’t a whole lot of information out there on Heesch, but his numbers suggest success will hinge on his ability to minimize mistakes. The lefthander walked 24 and gave up 57 hits in 64.1 innings pitched last year, so he had to get out of a few jams of his own making. An organizational change and indoctrination into the Cardinal Way may be just what he needs to turn the corner.

Next: 4 Winter Meetings Takeaways for the St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals lost two more pitchers in later rounds. The Tampa Bay Rays snagged righthander Fernando Baez, who pitched at low-A Peoria last year, in the third round of the triple-A phase. The Miami Marlins picked righthander Juan Caballero, who pitched at rookie-level Johnson City in 2015.