The St. Louis Cardinals' pitchers are lighting up the AFL

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While the St. Louis Cardinals are eliminated from postseason play, they still have prospects playing baseball. How have the team’s prospects done out West?

While fans still sit in the gloom of how the St. Louis Cardinals finished their season, there are plenty of things to be happy about still. There isn’t ever really an end to the baseball season and right now, the Arizona Fall League is going on and the Cardinals have eight players playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs with the best of their peers.

The six-week league is where each team sends its best prospects to continue getting them work and to test them against the best of the best. Often times, players who are right on the fringe of breaking into the league compete in the AFL and are seen in the MLB soon after. Performing well in the AFL is a great way for prospects to garner national attention as well.

In 2019, the Cardinals sent pitchers Seth Elledge, Roel Ramirez, Griffin Roberts, and Kodi Whitley and position players Ivan Herrera, Elehuris Montero, Kramer Robertson, and Conner Kapel. The most notable player left off the AFL rosters was the Cardinals’ number one prospect, Dylan Carlson. The team planned to send Carlson but pulled him back right before, asking him to work on building strength over the offseason instead.

We will not only look at the pitchers who are lighting up the AFL, but also the batters.

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 12: Atmosphere of Busch Stadium is seen during game two of the National League Championship Series between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals on October 12, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Ivan Herrera, C, 19

If you haven’t learned Ivan Herrera’s name, learn it now. This international signee out of Panama very well could be the successor to Yadier Molina. First, it was Carson Kelly, now it’s Andrew Knizner, next it might be Herrera. Molina just keeps playing and the catching prospects the Cardinals have get too old to keep.

Carson Kelly was able to help the team get Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Knizner (closer to 25 than 24 years old) might be the next catching prospect to be traded while Yadi just keeps chugging on. Herrera allows that.

At just 19, Herrera made it to High-A Palm Beach this year, with a combined .284 batting average and .779 OPS. In the AFL, he is hitting .300 with a .812 OPS while continuing to work on his defense. Herrera might still be a couple of years away, but he is doing fantastic in the AFL and that’s great to see from someone so young.

Elehuris Montero, 3B, 21

2019 was a lost year for Montero, as after winning the Midwest League MVP in 2018, injuries and struggles saw his production drop off a cliff in 2019. Montero shot up prospect rankings after 2018 and he looked like he could join Nolan Gorman as a stud third baseman fo the future and he’s going to have to find that confidence again.

After posting a combined .562 OPS between High-A Palm Beach and AA Springfield this year, Montero has slightly improved to a .748 OPS in the AFL. It is going to take him some time to return to form as he broke his hand and is working to regain that strength. This is due mostly to his .395 OBP which shows advancing maturity in his hitting approach after his .245 OBP this season.

The huge thing for him is going to be plate discipline and whether he will stick at third base or be forced to move to first base.

He’ll have to be added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster this winter if they want to keep him out of the Rule-5 draft and he’s one the Cardinals will want to keep.

Kramer Robertson, SS, 25

The former LSU shortstop spent his year between AA and AAA and fans kind of saw what he figures to be in the Majors. His .231 batting average and .724 OPS isn’t anything special, but his ability to play any infield position other than first base sets him up as a great utility infielder.

Conner Capel, OF, 22

Capel was acquired by the Cardinals in the now-infamous Oscar Mercado trade of last Trade Deadline and is still kind of an unknown. The left-handed corner outfielder is not athletically surprising at 6-1 and 185 lb, and he didn’t hit particularly well this year between AA and AAA with a .248 batting average and a .684 OPS.

When you dig a little deeper, you do see that he had a 1.252 OPS in his eight games he did spend at the AAA level and his 11 homers may suggest that there’s some power there. The other thing is that he is doing all this at 22 years of age.

Now don’t let the fresh wound of the 20-year-old star, Juan Soto, blind you, Capel was 1.7 years younger than his competition at AA and 4.3 years younger at Memphis.

That being said, Capel isn’t having a great AFL trip. Thus far, he is hitting just .204 with a .493 OPS. It’s not for lack of opportunity as he’s had 60 at-bats, something just isn’t clicking for the young outfielder. We’ll see if he’s in the Cardinals’ plans this winter.

ST LOUIS, MO – SEPTEMBER 05: Genesis Cabrera #61 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium on September 5, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images) /

Seth Elledge, RP, 23

Seth Elledge was acquired last season when the Cardinals decided to move on from Sam Tuivailala and traded him for Elledge from the Seattle Mariners. The 6-3, 240 lb reliever is a big guy and had a solid year between AA and AAA.

Pitching as mostly a reliever, his combined 4.39 ERA and 1.389 WHIP isn’t amazing, but he’s a big strikeout guy that just had problems walking too many players. As another Rule-5 draft-eligible player, the trip to the AFL was big for Elledge’s long-term outlook with the Cardinals.

He has done nothing but impress so far as through six games and 7.0 innings pitched, Elledge has not given up a single earned run and has an 11:0 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has not walked a single batter.

This success may not be sustainable, but at least so far, Elledge has shown up big-time.

Roel Ramirez, RP, 24

Another acquisition from another fun trade, Roel Ramirez was acquired in the Tommy Pham trade at the 2018 Trade Deadline. The former 8th round pick was a bit of a throw-in piece and this is actually his second trip to the AFL. His first trip in 2017 with the Rays led to a 10.24 ERA and was an unmitigated disaster.

Since then, he has put together a couple of better campaigns. By better, I don’t necessarily mean good, as his 4.78 ERA and 1.452 WHIP in 2019 as a 24-year-old mostly at AA Springfield isn’t great. While he did start five games on the year, he was primarily a reliever.

As another Rule-5 draft-eligible player, this year’s trip to the AFL felt like a last-ditch effort for Ramirez to prove himself to the Cardinals. He definitely has.

While it’s only been 7.1 innings, Ramirez has just a 1.23 ERA and 0.955 WHIP. he has been started once and his 10:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio is great. There’s just still a question of whether any of this production is truly repeatable for the older prospect.

Kodi Whitley, RP, 24

Whitley is another player who has taken a long and windy road from draft to the AFL. The 27th round draft pick in 2017 made it all the way to AAA after starting at High-A in 2019 and pitched great at every level.

The 6-4 Whitley had a combined 1.60 ERA with a stellar 1.069 WHIP over three levels this season at the age of 24. After his great regular season performance, it was natural to test Whitley in the AFL and so far, he has kept up the great work. Through six games and 7.0 innings, Whitley has a 1.29 ERA with an even better 0.571 WHIP. Like Elledge, he has an amazing 8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Whitley, at his advanced age, would definitely be someone you could see in the St. Louis bullpen at some point in 2020.

Whitley, Ramirez, and Elledge have been three of the best four relievers for the Glendale Desert Dogs. That is great to see for a team with a bullpen that had a large body of work in 2019. High-quality minor league reinforcements are never a problem.

Griffin Roberts, SP/RP, 23

The St. Louis Cardinals’ second 1st-round pick in the 2018 draft, Roberts has a lot of expectations on him out of Wake Forest University. After being drafted last year, Roberts pitched just under 10 innings before being shut down after pitching for Wake Forest all Spring.

Unfortunately for Roberts, he was suspended for 50 games to start the 2019 season for marijuana use and so he had a late start to the season. As an advanced prospect even at the time of being drafted, Roberts is expected to be a quick riser through the Minors as either a starter or a reliever with his knockout slider.

2019 was kind of a rough year for Roberts pitching between Rookie ball and High-A Palm Beach. He skipped Low-A Peoria and may need to revisit Palm Beach before moving up in 2020. Moving back to starting there, Roberts had a 7.26 ERA and 1.736 WHIP over 65.2 innings. His problem at Palm Beach is slightly concerning as his strength (strikeouts) fell off the board and his walks shot up.

Roberts’ walk rate and strikeout rate almost matched each other as at 4.8 and 4.9 respectively, neither was good. The Cardinals likely wanted to keep pushing Roberts to stretch out his pitch count as he has been starting in the AFL.

Through four starts, Roberts has a much-improved 3.07 ERA and 1.364 WHIP. The key? His walk rate dropped down to 1.2 and strikeout jumped back up to 11.0, much more in line with what the team saw from him in Rookie ball and in 2018.

It seems the AFL was exactly what Roberts needed as he is probably renewing the Cardinals’ faith in him each time he keeps going out and dominating like he is.

Wrapping up

It’s clear that of the players the Cardinals sent to the AFL, the pitchers are dominating while the batters are lagging slightly. This isn’t a problem though as none of the Cardinals top prospects are truly there. Could we see some of these players in St. Louis in 2020? I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw half of them there.

Next. Yeah, they’ve got issues (a musical analysis). dark

There are still a few weeks left in the AFL season and we will do a final wrap when it ends, but for now, the Cardinals are showing well against the other young players that teams have to offer.

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The St. Louis Cardinals’ pitchers are lighting up the AFL