St. Louis Cardinals: Dark Horse Prospects for 2016

Feb 18, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Trey Nielsen (78) throws during pitching drills at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Trey Nielsen (78) throws during pitching drills at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 18, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; A general view of an MLB glove on the practice field at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; A general view of an MLB glove on the practice field at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Matt Pearce – SP

Wait the Cardinals have another good pitcher in their system? Don’t they have enough? Nope. You can never have enough good pitching in your system and the Cardinals certainly do have a lot of it.

Matt Pearce doesn’t seem like a top prospect in the realm of an Alexander Reyes or Jack Flaherty, and he absolutely is not in the same realm of those guys. However, Pearce is definitely a solid pitcher. In his first full season as a professional, the 13th round draft pick from Polk College went 11-10, with a 2.43 ERA and a really good 1.11 WHIP.

The biggest thing from Pearce’s season with the Peoria Chiefs, was that the right-hander set a Midwest League record 46 1/3 innings pitched without a single walk allowed. These are some pretty good numbers for a guy who’s not much a prospect.

In a piece for Milb.com Pearce said this, “I like to pound the zone for the guys behind me, because I know they don’t like to be out there when a pitcher’s walking so man guys. When you think about it, a .300 average makes a hitter successful, and then he’s only getting hits in three of 10 at-bats. The ball’s in your hands as a pitcher.”

Pearce stands in at 6’3″, 205. So, he has a pretty athletic build and the control for a guy at this level of his career is quite impressive. Pearce will get rewarded with a promotion to Palm Beach, where he should have another solid season and could find himself being promoted to Springfield at some point in the season.

Next: Another infielder for the Cards