St. Louis Cardinals: Team agrees to State College Spikes extension

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 31: General view of a St. Louis Cardinals batting helmet against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 31, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 31: General view of a St. Louis Cardinals batting helmet against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 31, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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The St. Louis Cardinals have extended their contract with the State College Spikes for two more years.

State College has been the Short Season A team for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2012. The new extension of the Player Development Contract runs through 2020. Both clubs have been able to benefit from the partnership in past years. This also means that every Redbird affiliation will continue after the year.

For more information, Ballpark Digest did a great job covering the extension. Here is the link. The same site also has a helpful page to follow every MiLB affiliation that might be changing.

State College Success

This organization has been around since 2006. The Cardinals were their first affiliation, however they moved on after that year. In 2012, the affiliation began once more. The Spikes have won two New York Penn League Championships in 2014 and 2016. Both as a member of the St. Louis farm system.

Not only have the Spikes boasted a ton of All-Star players in their league since being affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, but they have set records by sending six players last season.

Some of the Cardinals top prospects have run through State College over the years. Former first rounder Delvin Perez is there this season. In year’s past, the Spikes have helped develop players like Carson Kelly, Luke Voit, and Harrison Bader.

2018 Spikes

This season, the State College Spikes sit eight games back in their division. Their roster contains two of the St. Louis Cardinals 2018 top 30 prospects, Perez and Wadye Infante. There are several 2018 draft picks as well, including Kevin Woodall and Brendan Donovan.

Three Spikes are heading to the NYPL All-Star game: Perez, Nick Dunn, and Edwin Figuera. All three are infielders. This could signal a turnaround in the seemingly stalled development for Perez.

Next. Memphis is equivalent to Boston. dark

Keeping the same affiliation for several years at every level is not always guaranteed, but the St. Louis Cardinals have locked in their only pending level for a couple more years.