St. Louis Cardinals: Memphis Check-in

Thank you, Atlanta and Milwaukee, for allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to find some positives and post some wins!  Are there positives waiting in Memphis too?

The St. Louis Cardinals seems to have found the mojo necessary to put together some wins.  Of course, it took two B-titled, B-rated (I know, I’m being generous) teams to help the birds take flight.  Perhaps the Cardinals should simply play teams that have B titles…

How about Memphis?  Are there positives that are showing?  Now that Memphis has concluded its eight-game homestead, are there players that Cardinal fans should watch?

In terms of batting average, Jacob Wilson leads the team after appearing in seven games and twenty-four at bats with an average of .375 (Memphis’ hit leader as well with nine recorded hits).  Following him, Matthew Williams holds an average of .333, and Mike Ohlman has an average of .318.  The remainder of the Redbirds lineup has fallen below the .300-mark at this point of the season.

Memphis’ OBP leader is Williams with an OBP of .412.  Following him, Wilson has an OBP of .407, and Ohlman rounds out the top three with an OBP of .375.

These top three players- Williams, Ohlman, and Wilson- also hold the top statistical spots as it relates to OPS.  Listed in this order- Williams, Ohlman, Wilson- their OPS numbers are .945, .875, and .866 respectively.

Sticking with the offense, Memphis has two players- Alex Mejia and Charlie Tilson– who have posted triples to this point in the season with one each.  Doubles, on the other hand, are where Memphis excels with ten players posting doubles to this point in the season.  These players are:

Doubles, on the other hand, are where Memphis excels with ten players posting doubles to this point in the season.  These players are: Anthony Garcia (4), Williams (3), Tilson (2), Wilson (2), Carlos Peguero (2), Jonathan Rodriquez (1), Ohlman (1), Mejia (1), Nick Martini (1), and Patrick Wisdom (1).

Memphis has witnessed three players to-date smash home runs: Rodriquez (2), Ohlman (1), and Peguero (1).

From the pitching mound, Deck McGuire has posted the most innings pitched at 11.1 with an ERA of .079.  Despite this outstanding performance from the mound, McGuire holds no games of record (no wins, no losses).  J.C. Sulbaran has pitched the next highest number of innings at 10.0 with an ERA of 1.80 and a 2-0 record.

J.C. Sulbaran has pitched the next highest number of innings at 10.0 with an ERA of 1.80 and a 2-0 record.

Jeremy Hefner has pitched 9.2 innings with an ERA of 1.86 and holds a 1-0 record.

Arturo Reyes, a name that is currently thought of as a rising pitcher, has appeared in five innings and surrendered only two hits, tying him for the least amount of hits allowed on the team.  He is tied with Ryan Sherriff (4.1 IP), Heath Wyatt (4.0 IP), and John Church (5.1 IP).

On the downside of pitching, Hefner and Wright have surrendered a single home run to opposition each.  Having noted those, however, Hefner is the team-leader in strikeouts at ten, with Arturo Reyes behind him at eight, Sam Tuivailala with eight, and McGuire with eight.

So who is there to watch?  Will any of these names find themselves on the Memphis-to-STL shuttle?

More from St Louis Cardinals Prospects

• Reflecting on the 2013 Cardinals’ top 30 prospects
• The St. Louis Cardinals’ 2024 rotation needs work
• Cardinals: Moises Gomez hit 39 home runs, could be in St. Louis in 2023?
• Cardinals: These two prospects have the tools to break out in 2023
• Cardinals: Alex Reyes and Delvin Perez should be cautionary tales

If he can keep the numbers consistent or climbing, Wilson could well find himself the next-man-up.  The trouble facing him, however, is the lack of a spot into which to place him since STL is stocked with infielders.  Could he replace Greg Garcia?  While the numbers aren’t apples-to-apples, Garcia currently holds a .500 batting average through six at-bats (see Wilson’s numbers above).

Could he replace Greg Garcia?  While the numbers aren’t apples-to-apples, Garcia currently holds a .500 batting average through six at-bats (see Wilson’s numbers above).

On the pitching side, McGuire is an interesting name to watch.  While his sample is small, he is showing very positive things.  Could he climb to STL and replace an ailing arm in the pen or even one of the starting rotation spots?

With Tyler Lyons waiting in the pen, McGuire would very likely be the last name selected to replace a roster spot but could fill a pen spot later this season.

Stay tuned for more of these check-in articles as the minor league season progresses.  Follow me on Twitter and let’s cheer on our Redbirds and Cardinals together!