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St. Louis Cardinals: Protection (or better) waiting in the wings

ByDr. Michael D. Miles|
ST. LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 11: Manager Mike Matheny
ST. LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 11: Manager Mike Matheny
2 of 5
St. Louis Cardinals
SAN DIEGO, CA – SEPTEMBER 6: Jack Flaherty

The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of questions in their MLB pitching rosters and answers to these are likely waiting down in the farm system.

The Winter Warmup allowed fans to come face-to-face with a few of the Cardinals’ MLB pitchers as well as a few of the promising young arms ready to make an impact.

In relation to the starting rotation, Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, and Weaver all spoke to the fans. Each brought a promise for the coming season. Waino stated that he wants to return to greatness again and avoid the mediocre. Martinez says he is excited that the Cards added his friend Ozuna. Weaver added weight to help him endure the workload of a starter.

The supporting cast included Jack Flaherty, Austin Gomber, and Dakota Hudson. These three (and others) are stoked and ready to help when needed and/or have their chance to move to the majors and stay there. Let’s take a look at each.

Starting with Gomber who has farther to climb than the other names listed:

Register Pitching
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff W L W-L% ERA RAvg G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W
2014 20 -1.4 State College NYPL A- STL 2 2 .500 2.30 3.26 11 11 0 0 0 0 47.0 55 17 12 3 18 0 36 3 0 2 207 1.553 10.5 0.6 3.4 6.9 2.00
2015 21 -0.9 Peoria MIDW A STL 15 3 .833 2.67 3.00 22 22 0 1 1 0 135.0 97 45 40 10 34 0 140 1 0 9 538 0.970 6.5 0.7 2.3 9.3 4.12
2016 22 -1.3 2 Teams 2 Lgs A+-AA STL 7 8 .467 2.69 2.98 21 21 0 1 0 0 127.0 102 42 38 5 33 0 116 4 0 9 510 1.063 7.2 0.4 2.3 8.2 3.52
2016 22 -2.4 Springfield TL AA STL 1 0 1.000 1.40 1.86 4 4 0 0 0 0 19.1 11 4 3 0 9 0 15 0 0 3 76 1.034 5.1 0.0 4.2 7.0 1.67
2016 22 -1.1 Palm Beach FLOR A+ STL 6 8 .429 2.93 3.18 17 17 0 1 0 0 107.2 91 38 35 5 24 0 101 4 0 6 434 1.068 7.6 0.4 2.0 8.4 4.21
2016 22 -1.0 Glendale AZFL Fal 5 1 .833 2.14 2.41 7 7 0 0 0 0 33.2 26 9 8 1 12 0 33 1 0 1 140 1.129 7.0 0.3 3.2 8.8 2.75
2017 23 -1.1 Springfield TL AA STL 10 7 .588 3.34 4.03 26 26 0 0 0 0 143.0 116 64 53 17 51 0 140 6 0 5 590 1.168 7.3 1.1 3.2 8.8 2.75
Minors (4 seasons) Minors 34 20 .630 2.85 3.35 80 80 0 2 1 0 452.0 370 168 143 35 136 0 432 14 0 25 1845 1.119 7.4 0.7 2.7 8.6 3.18
All Levels (4 Seasons) 39 21 .650 2.80 3.28 87 87 0 2 1 0 485.2 396 177 151 36 148 0 465 15 0 26 1985 1.120 7.3 0.7 2.7 8.6 3.14
AA (2 seasons) Minors 11 7 .611 3.10 3.77 30 30 0 0 0 0 162.1 127 68 56 17 60 0 155 6 0 8 666 1.152 7.0 0.9 3.3 8.6 2.58

Next up, Hudson:

Register Pitching
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff W L W-L% ERA RAvg G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W
2016 21 -1.4 2 Teams 2 Lgs A+-Rk STL 2 1 .667 0.68 2.70 12 1 5 0 0 3 13.1 10 4 1 0 7 0 19 1 0 4 58 1.275 6.8 0.0 4.7 12.8 2.71
2016 21 -2.1 Palm Beach FLOR A+ STL 1 1 .500 0.96 2.89 8 0 5 0 0 3 9.1 6 3 1 0 7 0 10 0 0 1 40 1.393 5.8 0.0 6.8 9.6 1.43
2016 21 0.3 Cardinals GULF Rk STL 1 0 1.000 0.00 2.25 4 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 4 1 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 3 18 1.000 9.0 0.0 0.0 20.3
2017 22 -2.7 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA STL 10 5 .667 3.01 3.42 25 25 0 1 0 0 152.2 147 58 51 7 49 1 96 8 0 14 643 1.284 8.7 0.4 2.9 5.7 1.96
2017 22 -4.6 Memphis PCL AAA STL 1 1 .500 4.42 4.66 7 7 0 0 0 0 38.2 36 20 19 2 15 0 19 0 0 4 161 1.319 8.4 0.5 3.5 4.4 1.27
2017 22 -2.1 Springfield TL AA STL 9 4 .692 2.53 3.00 18 18 0 1 0 0 114.0 111 38 32 5 34 1 77 8 0 10 482 1.272 8.8 0.4 2.7 6.1 2.26
All Levels (2 Seasons) 12 6 .667 2.82 3.36 37 26 5 1 0 3 166.0 157 62 52 7 56 1 115 9 0 18 701 1.283 8.5 0.4 3.0 6.2 2.05

Finally, Flaherty:

Standard Pitching
Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W Awards
2014 18 STL-min Rk 1 1 .500 1.59 8 6 0 0 0 0 22.2 18 9 4 1 4 1 28 3 0 2 94 0.971 7.1 0.4 1.6 11.1 7.00 CDS GULF
2015 19 STL-min A 9 3 .750 2.84 18 18 0 0 0 0 95.0 92 38 30 2 31 0 97 7 1 10 409 1.295 8.7 0.2 2.9 9.2 3.13 PEO MIDW
2016 20 STL-min A+ 5 9 .357 3.56 24 23 0 0 0 0 134.0 129 63 53 8 45 0 126 2 0 11 564 1.299 8.7 0.5 3.0 8.5 2.80 PLM FLOR
2017 21 STL-min AAA,AA 14 4 .778 2.18 25 25 0 0 0 0 148.2 120 36 36 12 35 2 147 0 0 5 581 1.043 7.3 0.7 2.1 8.9 4.20 MEM,SPD PCL,TL
2017 21 STL NL 0 2 .000 6.33 6 5 0 0 0 0 21.1 23 15 15 4 10 1 20 1 0 0 94 68 5.27 1.547 9.7 1.7 4.2 8.4 2.00
1 Yr 0 2 .000 6.33 6 5 0 0 0 0 21.1 23 15 15 4 10 1 20 1 0 0 94 68 5.27 1.547 9.7 1.7 4.2 8.4 2.00
162 Game Avg. 0 12 .000 6.33 37 31 0 0 0 0 132 142 93 93 25 62 6 124 6 0 0 581 68 5.27 1.547 9.7 1.7 4.2 8.4 2.00

Just look at the promise of that future!

Here’s my take: Gomber is value in a trade which is why the organization has shown him off during the Winter Warmup, Hudson is great protection and could be traded at the deadline, and Flaherty MUST be on the no-touch list as he is the most likely to replace Waino/Mike Mikolas during the 2018 campaign.

Having said that, it wouldn’t surprise me if both Flaherty and Hudson are on the no-touch list. Both are likely to begin the season in Memphis, which is for the best so that each can have regular development and can become beyond MLB-ready.

These three aren’t the only ones who you should keep an eye on. I encourage that all St. Louis Cardinals fans keep an eye on Ryan Sherriff (in fact, I wrote about him as a dark horse closer candidate) and Rowan Wick.

If the pitchers aren’t enough to show the promise that is waiting in the farm system, infield support can be found there as well.

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