St. Louis Cardinals: Possible September call-ups sitting ready

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ST. LOUIS, MO – JUNE 25: Pitching coach Mike Maddux #31 of the St. Louis Cardinals surveys field during a delay in a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians at Busch Stadium on June 25, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

The St. Louis Cardinals, back in the hunt for October, will have decisions to make in less than two weeks when rosters expand.

The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of options already on the 40-man roster but might have interest in looking outside of those names already sitting waiting under 40-man protection. As to the arms, these names include the following in my opinion: Kevin Herget, Andrew Morales, and Chris Ellis.

Before digging into the numbers, let me openly admit that I doubt that these three names will see themselves listed on the September call-ups. Why? The current bullpen has turned to the positive and the names already on the 40-man are enough to fill the need of the closing season. Should a spot become open for an arm, these three are the first to receive attention in my opinion.

First up, Herget. Herget is leading the Memphis Redbirds pitching staff in recorded strikeouts, games started, and innings pitched. Sadly, he also leads the team in earned runs allowed, allowed home runs, and allowed hits. These are things that I doubt will allow him to fill a 40-man expanded spot.

Have a look at Herget’s numbers:

Register Pitching
Year	Age	AgeDif	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	RA9	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
2018	27	0.4	Memphis	PCL	AAA	STL	8	10	.444	4.49	4.63	26	20	1	1	0	0	128.1	137	66	64	20	32	2	111	1	0	3	538	1.317	9.6	1.4	2.2	7.8	3.47
Year	Age	AgeDif	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	RA9	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
Minors (6 seasons)		Minors		38	19	.667	3.32	3.89	208	38	73	1	0	32	476.2	469	206	176	39	124	8	457	15	2	31	1978	1.244	8.9	0.7	2.3	8.6	3.69
All Levels (6 Seasons)				40	19	.678	3.25	3.79	225	38	87	1	0	40	493.2	479	208	178	40	128	9	472	16	2	32	2040	1.230	8.7	0.7	2.3	8.6	3.69

Andrew Morales, in opposition to the Herget numbers, is one name who might actually receive a call. Morales has appeared out of the Memphis pen and yet carries a 1-3 record with an impressive ERA. He would fit nicely in the pen down the stretch for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Have a look at his numbers:

Register Pitching
Year	Age	AgeDif	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	RA9	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
2018	25		2 Teams	2 Lgs	AAA-AA	STL	1	3	.250	3.77	4.08	43	0	19	0	0	6	57.1	48	26	24	7	28	2	69	1	0	4	245	1.326	7.5	1.1	4.4	10.8	2.46
2018	25	-1.6	Memphis	PCL	AAA	STL	1	3	.250	3.33	3.67	40	0	19	0	0	6	54.0	43	22	20	6	24	2	64	1	0	4	227	1.241	7.2	1.0	4.0	10.7	2.67
2018	25	0.9	Springfield	TL	AA	STL	0	0		10.80	10.80	3	0	0	0	0	0	3.1	5	4	4	1	4	0	5	0	0	0	18	2.700	13.5	2.7	10.8	13.5	1.25
Year	Age	AgeDif	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	RA9	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
All Levels (5 Seasons)				13	18	.419	4.10	4.76	119	44	27	0	0	8	316.0	334	167	144	38	112	2	278	8	2	22	1380	1.411	9.5	1.1	3.2	7.9	2.48

Lastly, the St. Louis Cardinals might look to Chris Ellis as a pen expansion piece. Ellis came to the St. Louis Cardinals organization in the Jaime Garcia trade to Atlanta. In 2018, Ellis has appeared in 13 games for Memphis. He isn’t as impressive as Morales but does carry 56 strikeouts across 68 innings. He carries a blossomed 4.37 ERA.

I would welcome Morales over all three of these names. I believe that Herget and Ellis have a nice future but just aren’t ready enough to help the Cardinals in 2018. That said, do not write them off of your radar as the year progresses just in case they do climb the ladder to the St. Louis Cardinals.

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