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: Laredo Lemurs

Triple-A Phase, 1st Round

• 12th Round: Boston Red Sox select Johnny Polanco, RHP,St. Louis Cardinals
• 15th Round: Baltimore Orioles select Corey Jones, RHP,St. Louis Cardinals
• 30th Round: St. Louis Cardinals select John Brebbia, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Brebbia may be listed as Arizona Diamondbacks property, but he spent most of the summer playing independent ball in the American Association. He saved 19 games for the Laredo Lemurs, posting a 7-2 record and 0.98 ERA. He earned the MVP of the American Association championship series. The Diamondbacks signed him in September.

Before that, Brebbia spent 2014 season with Sioux Falls of the American Association. The New York Yankees had originally drafted him in the 30th round out of Elon College back in 2011. New York released him after the 2013 season, during which he’d split time at low-A Charleston and high-A Tampa. We’ll see if the experience he got as a closer will help him in his second go-around in affiliated ball.

Next: Triple-A Phase, 2nd Round